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These seven men were among 69 New Jersey drivers charged with obtaining false licenses.

(Photos courtesy of the state Attorney General's Office)

One man, whose driver's license was suspended after six DUI convictions, allegedly used the identity of a disabled relative to get a new license.

A 75-year-old man allegedly used the ID of a dead guy to try to hide a felony.

Still another man got a driver's license by allegedly using the identity of a brother who lives a coast away in California.

They were among 69 people charged by the state Attorney General's Office with obtaining false driver's licenses. The arrests were made with the help of "facial recognition technology" so precise that the distance between eyeballs on a photo can distinguish a person, officials said.

The Attorney General's office said most of the defendants got the fake licenses after their real ones had been suspended, but among the arrested were convicted felons who used aliases to cloak their past.

A year ago, the MVC announced the arrests of 38 New Jersey drivers as a result of facial recognition technology, including a trucker who had been able to get three commercial driver's licenses under three different names, despite having his license suspended 64 times and being convicted of six DUIs.

"Through the facial scrub program, we have charged more than 100 defendants with obtaining false driver's licenses, including truck and bus drivers whose licenses were suspended due to DUI convictions or other serious driving infractions, and sex offenders and other felons who tried to hide their criminal records," Acting Attorney General Hoffman John J. Hoffman said in a news release. "We are aggressively pursuing these cases to get dangerous drivers off our highways and ensure that criminals cannot use this powerful form of identification to commit further crimes."

They were charged with use of personal identifying information of another, tampering with public records or information and, in some instances, forgery, officials said.

"In addition to the obvious law enforcement component of the facial scrub program, having a clean motor vehicle database allows me to offer certain customer service conveniences like our 'Skip the Trip' program," MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Ray Martinez said.

Since allowing drivers to mail in their license renewals about a year and a half ago, the MVC has received nearly 700,000 renewals in the mail through its "Skip the Trip" program, contributing to a significant cut in the lines and wait times at MVC offices.



The 69 new criminal cases include the following seven defendants, as listed and described by the Attorney General's Office.

• Michael Cuff, 54, of Runnemede, "allegedly used the identity of a disabled relative to obtain a driver's license after his license was suspended in connection with six DUI convictions."

• Neale M. Newenhouse, 75, of Passaic, "who has a felony record that includes a four-year prison term for receiving stolen property, allegedly used the identity of a man who was deceased, John Clifford, to hide his criminal past. He fraudulently obtained a driver's license in the name John Clifford and tried to use that alias when he was later arrested."

• William Gies, 55, of Blackwood, "allegedly used the identity of a brother who lives in California to obtain a driver's license after his license was suspended in connection with five DUI convictions and one refusal to submit to a breath test. He pleaded guilty to tampering with public records and faces a sentence of six months in jail and a term of probation."

• Carlos Shepard, 34, of Hammonton, "fraudulently obtained a driver's license in a false name after his license was suspended for writing bad checks. He has a criminal record that includes convictions for use of a fraudulent credit card and resisting arrest. Shepard pleaded guilty to tampering with public records in connection with the false driver's license and was sentenced to 364 days in jail and four years of probation."

• Dariusz Krzak, 29, of Lawrence, "allegedly obtained a driver's license using the identity of a relative after his license had been suspended in connection with four DUI convictions, including convictions in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2012."

• Jose Camacho, 48, of Hopatcong, "changed his name and fraudulently obtained a license in order to avoid having his wages garnished for child support payments. Camacho pleaded guilty to tampering with public records and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years of probation."

• Ramon Rodriguez, 50, of Camden, "used the identity of a deceased relative of his wife to obtain a license because his license had been suspended as a result of numerous motor vehicle violations. He pleaded guilty to tampering with public records and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years of probation."

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