newjerseynewsroom.com

Two men have pleaded guilty for their roles in a multi-county automobile and motorcycle theft ring, state Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli said Thursday.

Tito Moses, 36, of Morrisville, Pa., and Abdullah Drake, 34, of Irvington, pleaded guilty before state Superior Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle in Newark to separate accusations charging each of them with second-degree fencing.

Petrolle scheduled sentencing for June 2. The state will recommend that Moses and Drake be sentenced to up to six years in state prison.

In pleading guilty, Moses and Drake admitted that on Nov. 10, they were trafficking in a stolen 2008 BMW 750, valued at approximately $85,000, and a 2009 Nissan 370Z valued at approximately $35,000, knowing that they had been stolen.

The guilty pleas are part of an on-going investigation into a multi-county automobile and motorcycle theft ring. On Nov. 10, detectives from Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and officers from the Essex/Union Auto Theft Task Force arrested six individuals in Newark, believed to be involved in the automobile theft ring.

Det. Jarek Pyrzanowski and Deputy Attorney General John J. Higgins handled the investigation. Higgins also handled the prosecution.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM