The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has filed lawsuits against six toll scofflaws who owe a total of $108,000 in unpaid tolls for bridges and tunnels, court records reviewed by Crain’s show.
The latest legal filings are part of the authority’s efforts to ramp up its recovery of unpaid fees that the agency would have invested into improving roads. The agency says it recovered $18 million in unpaid tolls by issuing more than 7,500 toll evasion-related summonses to drivers in 2024 — a 27% increase compared to the previous year.
The worst of the six offenders is New York resident Alex Bartusiavicius, who works as a construction manager for Cranbury, New Jersey based Sweetwater Construction, who allegedly owes $51,000 in unpaid tolls from November 2015 through September 2019, according to court papers filed Wednesday. Another top toll evader is New Jersey resident Narin Mulkhraj, who works as an electrician for Coachman Electric, which is based in Matawan, New Jersey, and owes more than $22,000, according to a case filed on Feb. 25.
Other alleged toll cheats include Emilio Paniagua of New Jersey, who owes the Port Authority nearly $11,500 in unpaid fees from between May 2018 and April 2019. New York resident Carlos Aranda allegedly owes more than $10,000 in unpaid tolls, while Florida resident Maricel Fuentes owes the agency nearly $6,000 in missed fees, court records show.
“Toll evaders are not only breaking the law by avoiding their legal obligations on our roads, but they’re depriving our infrastructure of much-needed funds for maintenance,” said Rick Cotton, the authority’s executive director, in a statement.
Port Authority officials also are going after drivers for relatively small amounts, such as New York state resident Fauzi Braimah, who in a Feb. 5 legal filing the agency said owes it more than $2,400 for unpaid tolls between March and July of 2017.
The top toll evaders last year include Linden, New Jersey based trucking company Mid Haulers for $341,00 in unpaid fees and Jersey City-headquartered Kai Trucking for $130,000 in missed tolls, according to the Port Authority.
