Union City Resident Sentenced in Black Market License Ring

A former New Jersey motor vehicles clerk has been sentenced for her role in what prosecutors say was a ring that illegally sold driver licenses designed to guard against fraud.

Sonia Noel was sentenced to four years in prison in state Superior Court in Hudson County.

The 49-year-old Union City resident was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and is barred from public employment.

Noel, who was a clerk at the Jersey City Motor Vehicle Agency, pleaded guilty June 22 to entering false information into the agency's database for people who lacked the required identification to get licenses.

She was among 40 people charged in December 2011, including her daughter, Melody, who was sentenced to probation.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)