May 31, 2011
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
– Ronald Chillemi, Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Media Inquiries-
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Essex County Man Sentenced to State Prison for Attempted Auto Theft
TRENTON – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that an Essex County man has been sentenced to state prison for attempting to steal automobiles from a storage lot of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
According to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi, Dwan Matto, 31, of Newark, was sentenced Friday (May 27) to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Ronald Lee Reisner in Monmouth County. Matto’s sentence was based on his March 3 guilty plea to an accusation which charged him with third-degree attempted theft by unlawful taking or disposition. At the time of his guilty plea, Matto also pleaded guilty to Monmouth County charges and his sentence on the county charges will run concurrent to his sentence on those brought by the state.
In pleading guilty, Matto admitted that on April 13, 2010, he attempted to steal a 2010 Cadillac CTS valued at $43,040 and a 2010 Dodge Challenger valued at $28,125, from a storage lot of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Matto was arrested after he was observed in the Port Authority Auto Terminal and chased into the adjacent parking lot.
Detective Jarek Pyrzanowski and Deputy Attorney General Nicole D. Rizzolo were assigned to the investigation. Rizzolo represented the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing. Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Zanzuccki represented the state at the sentencing. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi thanked the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department and the CSX Transportation Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
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