Man who owed $1M in tolls arrested on his way to Aruba, cops say

State Police say trucking company had 100 trucks on the road and a "delinquent E-Z Pass account."

Lester Morales, 34, of Little Ferry.NJSP 

TRENTON -- A New Jersey man who runs a trucking company was arrested while boarding a flight to Aruba after police found he owed more than $1 million in unpaid tolls, authorities said.

Lester Morales, 34, ran a Jersey City firm that sent 100 trucks through more than 100 tolls a day using "a delinquent E-Z Pass account," according to a statement from the New Jersey State Police.

Morales' company did business under the name Do it Right Trucking, "but unfortunately he was doing it wrong by racking up more than $1 million in unpaid tolls and administrative fees," said Col. Rick Fuentes, the head of the State Police.

Accused toll cheat busted

Authorities say a two-month investigation found the Little Ferry resident had been racking up toll violations for more than a year.

Investigators from the State Police learned he was about to board a flight to Aruba and notified Port Authority Police, who arrested him at Newark Airport on Thursday, police said.

Morales was charged with theft of services, according to police. 

He was being held Friday at the Middlesex County Jail without bail. It was not immediately clear whether he had retained an attorney.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.