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N.J. Attorney General's Office investigating 'Death Race 2012' down Parkway to AC | NJ.com

N.J. Attorney General's Office investigating 'Death Race 2012' down Parkway to AC
Published: Sunday, April 22, 2012, 2:24 PM Updated: Monday, April 23, 2012, 9:00 AM
By Christopher Baxter/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger

View full sizePorsche AGA file photo of a Porsche. In complaints obtained by The Star-Ledger, witnesses said that in the early afternoon of March 30, they saw two State Police patrol cars with their emergency lights flashing driving in front of and behind the southbound caravan, which included dozens of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other vehicles, all with their license plates covered with tape.

TRENTON — Embarrassing allegations that two state troopers escorted a high-speed caravan of sports cars to Atlantic City last month without regard for the safety of other drivers galvanized state officials from the governor’s office on down today.

"This is a very serious and disturbing matter for a couple of reasons but particularly in terms of the disregard for public safety by all those allegedly involved," a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie, Michael Drewniak, told The Star-Ledger in a prepared statement.

Drewniak said Christie — a former U.S. Attorney in New Jersey who often boasts of his record of being tough on crime and corruption — is confident the State Police and Attorney General’s Office "will act swiftly and appropriately after all the facts are verified and considered."

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, said the matter was being taken "very seriously" and that New Jerseyans can expect accountability.

"This is a very disturbing situation, one that the attorney general and the superintendent of the State Police take very seriously," Loriquet said. "Anyone responsible for this incident clearly exercised extremely poor judgment. Swift action will be taken upon completion of our investigation."

The responses came hours after The Sunday Star-Ledger disclosed charges that on the afternoon of March 30, two patrol cars with flashing emergency lights led and trailed the southbound caravan down the Garden State Parkway. Witnesses said the caravan included 25 to 30 Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other vehicles, all with their license plates covered with tape.

One witness, Wayne Gantt of Little Egg Harbor Township, dubbed the escort "Death Race 2012."

Four sources familiar with the trip, including two law enforcement sources, said the caravan was led by Sgt. 1st Class Nadir Nassry of Phillipsburg, an assistant station commander in the State Police’s Totowa substation. Nassry could not be reached for comment, and no one answered when a reporter knocked on the front door of his home today.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss the matter.

Gantt and another witness, John Kennedy of Madison, filed complaints with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the parkway. They said many drivers struggled to get out of the way of the caravan, including one older driver who panicked and almost wound up in a ditch.

The complaints were obtained Friday by The Star-Ledger using the Open Public Records Act.

The occupants of the caravan included former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, according to a source with knowledge of the trip. When asked to confirm that the NFL player was part of the luxury car blitz, Jacobs’ agent, Justin Schulman, told The Sunday Star-Ledger: "Brandon was part of a group that went down to Atlantic City on March 30."

Schulman expanded on his comments today in an e-mail statement, saying, "Brandon did go to (Atlantic City) that day but wasn’t aware of the details of the police escort."

State Police Col. Rick Fuentes did not return an e-mail and phone call seeking comment. A spokesman for the State Police, Lt. Stephen Jones, has declined to say if the caravan was authorized and did not identify the troopers involved, citing the confidentiality of the investigation. Today, Jones also declined to comment on Nassry’s driving record as a trooper.

In addition to Christie and Chiesa, the matter drew condemnation from the Legislature.

"Public safety must always be paramount," Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said in a prepared statement. "I’m hopeful the investigation will determine exactly what happened here, and if wrongdoing is found those responsible must be held accountable."

If the sports cars in the caravan had their license plates covered with tape, as a witness said they did, they broke the law, according to Mike Horan, a spokesman for the state Motor Vehicle Commission. A first offense is punishable with a fine of up to $100.

"The plates have to be clearly visible," Horan said.

A spokesman for the Turnpike Authority, Tom Feeney, said there are cameras at the Parkway’s tolls that may have captured the trip, but any videos and images by law are not considered public records and can only be released under order from a judge in a criminal investigation.

The trip came two days after Jacobs, a two-time Super Bowl champion, agreed to terms of a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

Jacobs, who is known for his collection of flashy sports cars, told Rides Magazine in October that he often cruises with the Driving Force Club. The elite New York City-based group is "for all car fanatics with a spice of racing and adrenalin rush in their hearts," according to its website.

Two videos posted to YouTube.com depicted a caravan of sports cars from the club returning from Atlantic City on March 31, and captions on the videos said the caravan included Jacobs. The videos were removed from the website today.

Star-Ledger staff writers James Queally and Eric Sagara contributed to this report.

Previous coverage:

• N.J. state troopers face probe for 'Death Race 2012' down Parkway to AC