A taxi driver has been accused of successfully running a scam which every driver in NYC has fantasized about at some point: Tailgating very close to other drivers to get past bridge tolls without paying. Rodolfo Sanchez, 69, of Long Island City, has been accused of "piggybacking" more than 3,000 times between 2012 and 2014 while crossing the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge—which comes to a total of more than $28,000.
Sanchez was caught after officials found an expired E-Z Pass that had been reported lost was regularly crossing the RFK Bridge toll plazas between Aug. 4th, 2012 and this week. Altogether, the E-Z Pass crossed the RFK toll plaza 3,017 times in that span without paying and "deprived" the MTA of $28,242.50 in revenue. "This type of behavior is egregiously unfair to the millions of honest, motorists who pay tolls every day, and we will continue efforts to root out toll evaders and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," said MTA Bridges and Tunnels Chief of Security Donald Look.
Sanchez, who faces up to seven years in prison, reportedly told investigators he perpetuated the scam because he needed money for his family.
