Woman that racked up $17,651 in EZ tag fines is finally caught

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2991899

No EZ ride for EZ Tag scofflaw

Woman who piled up $17,651 in fines is caught in sting and jailed

By S.K. BARDWELL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


Carlos Javier Sanchez/Chronicle
Legally tagged vehicles use the EZ Tag lane on the West Sam Houston Parkway Thursday.
For Marcella Adams, getting around town Wednesday wasn't easy.

Adams was pulled over after sailing her EZ Tag-less Mazda 626 through an EZ Tag lane at the toll plaza on the West Sam Houston Parkway North.

"From time to time, we do EZ Tag stings," said Calvin Harvey, coordinator for the Incident Management Division of the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

Pulled over for the offense, most drivers receive a citation. But Adams, evidently, is a true fan of the EZ Tag lanes, if not the actual EZ Tags.

Adams has managed to amass $17,651.25 in fines and violations for misusing EZ Tag lanes since March 2003, Harvey said.

Adams was caught in a previous sting, Harvey said. The Harris County Attorney's Office has a judgment against her for misusing EZ Tag lanes, but Harvey said Adams not only never paid what she owed, "she kept on violating."

Assistant County Attorney John Barnhill was unable Thursday to say how much Adams owed from the earlier judgment. Her file has been turned over to the law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson for collection, he said.


Other motorist owed $426
Adams' achievement put her at the top of the scofflaw standings during Wednesday's sting operation; in distant second place was a fellow who owed $426 for violations, Harvey said. Eleven other EZ bandits, among more than 40 offenders spotted, got citations, he said.

"Those were the ones we were able to stop," he said. "We try to catch as many as we can."

Jonnie Bryant, spokeswoman for the toll road authority, said about 60,000 letters are mailed to violators each month.

Not all of the recipients, however, are true violators, she said. Some are legitimate EZ Tag users who have forgotten to update the authority when their credit card expiration date changed.

Art Storey, who oversees the toll road authority as executive director of the county's Public Infrastructure Department, said EZ tag fraud takes a heavy hit on taxpayers annually.

The county attorney's office handled EZ tag collections until several years ago, when it became overwhelmed by them, he said. Now, the county has used Linebarger for collections. State law permits the firm to impose a collection penalty on violators.

Drivers provide a credit card number to obtain an EZ tag and tollway usage is charged to the account. Some drivers become violators when their cards reach their credit limits. Others simply drive the EZ tag lanes without a tag.

The toll road authority relies on a camera to record motorists going through without paying, Storey said.


Car towed, booted
It sends a letter to violators asking for payment. If the person doesn't respond to that or a subsequent letter, the authority's third letter warns that the matter will be turned over to a collection agency, he said.

Adams' prize Wednesday was a trip to jail, where she remained Thursday in lieu of $200 bail, according to court records. Her car was towed away and booted, Harvey said. To ransom her car, Adams must now try to work out a deal with Linebarger to pay off her fines.

She should know how to deal with the situation — Adams listed her occupation on booking records as a collector for United Recovery Systems, a debt collection agency.

Chronicle reporter Bill Murphy contributed to this story.

susan.bardwell@chron.com