Exclusive: Nassau police 'looking into' online seller of illegal decorative license plate after News 12 investigation
Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder tells News 12 the department is now looking into the vendor who sold News 12 a decorative license plate.
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Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder tells News 12 the department is now looking into the vendor who sold News 12 a decorative license plate.
New York state law says it is illegal for any to manufacture, sell, or offer for sale a decorative or facsimile plate.
"We'll send them a notice. We'll let them know, 'Hey, we're investigating you,'" said Ryder. "We will go back to that seller and say, 'Hey, you're selling these things. They look awful real.'"
News 12 recently uncovered just how easy it is for anyone to buy a fake license plate online.
Commissioner Ryder says their search for fake plates can also potentially prevent other crimes.
"They're doing robberies with these type of fake plates. They're doing drug dealing with these type of plates. They're driving their cars illegally with these type of plates," he said,
The MTA is cracking down on drivers using fake plates to avoid congestion pricing.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan says finding drivers using fake plates is about more than tolls.
"They're also committing a lot of crimes and that's why the NYPD is a partner with us,” she said. “They want to eradicate the crime that also goes along with this."
NYS Police Zone 1 Commander Capt. Vincent Augeri says they’ve made at least one arrest on Long Island of someone using fake plates and know how to spot fake plates.
"When troopers are on the roadway, they're constantly running plates for traffic infractions," he said. "The spacing of the letters would immediately bring questions to my mind."
Police say fake plates can be a challenge to an investigation, but say they're confident they'll catch their suspect.
"If you're driving a car with fake plates on it, I'm taking your car," said Ryder.
News 12 contacted Amazon regarding this latest development from Nassau police, as well as the previous story regarding a seller on its website selling decorative plates.
A representative says they are investigating the matter.
News 12 contacted Suffolk police for an interview about this subject, but the department could not make someone available for an interview before the story aired.
