Story highlights
The caravan included Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris
Speeds reportedly topped 100 mph
Two New Jersey troopers who provided an unauthorized escort for the caravan agree to resign
"They are justly paying a high price for their poor judgment," says NJ attorney general
Two New Jersey state troopers who led an unauthorized high-speed escort of a caravan of sports cars last year agreed Monday to resign, according to the New Jersey attorney general’s office.
Sgt. 1st Class Nadir Nassry, 47, who led the March 30, 2012, caravan of exotic cars down a state highway to Atlantic City, pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of falsifying or tampering with records. Nassry admitted that he used black electrical tape to change the numbers on the license plates of his troop car to conceal his participation in the escort, authorities said.
Ss many as 30 high-performance cars including Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris reportedly reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour during the highway run. Drivers were members of a sports car club, according to the state attorney general’s office.
Under a plea agreement, the state will recommend that Nassry, a 26-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police, be sentenced to a term of probation, forfeit his job with the state police and be permanently barred from any law enforcement position or public employment in New Jersey.
Nassry will be sentenced April 29 according to the New Jersey attorney general’s office.
A second trooper who assisted in the escort, Joseph Ventrella, 29, agreed to waive indictment and be charged by accusation with fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records, according to the attorney general’s office. Ventrella will apply for a state intervention program. If completed, the charges will be dropped.
The agreement means he did not plead guilty to the charge, but he has forfeited his job with the state police and will be permanently barred from any law enforcement position in New Jersey, said the attorney general’s office.
“These troopers violated those standards and betrayed the public’s trust, undermining public safety and the reputation of the force. They are justly paying a high price for their poor judgment. Both men have ended their law enforcement careers, and one will have a felony record for the rest of his life,” said New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.
Attorneys for Nassry and Ventrella did not immediately return calls for comment.