Forgery and Counterfeiting of Registration Plates: Dismissed

Rhode Island State Police stopped a Mercedes Benz for an observed traffic violation.  The operator produced a valid Vermont driver’s license, but had an out-of-state, non-extraditable warrant in Georgia for identity fraud.  The vehicle appeared to be registered in Texas, as demonstrated by a temporary Texas tag.  A check of the registration indicated that it belonged to a tractor trailer freight liner, and not a Mercedes sedan.

Upon further examination, police determined that the temporary tag contained a number of inconsistencies, prompting suspicions that the tag was counterfeit.  Police arrested the man and charged him with the misdemeanor offense of Forgery and Counterfeiting of Registration Plates.  He retained Rhode Island White Collar Crimes Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter.

Attorney Calcagni obtained and produced evidence proving that the man had borrowed a car from a friend.  Additional evidence showed that the vehicle owner recently bought the car and received the apparently fake temporary registration tag from the automobile dealership.  This showed that the man had no knowledge or reason to know that the vehicle as not properly registered and that its registration plate was counterfeit.  Accordingly, Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded prosecutors to dismiss the charges against his client.  The matter has since been sealed and removed from the man’s record.