NJ Co. Duped Schools; Had Unqualified Drivers, Unsafe Buses: AG – West Orange, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Paterson-based company that drove buses for several school districts in Essex County has been hit with criminal charges after state prosecutors said it “covered up” its hiring practices and used vehicles in such poor condition that they had to be impounded.

The company, A-1 Elegant Tours, has been accused of providing false information to school districts, operating unsafe buses, hiring unqualified drivers, and failing to do mandatory drug testing and criminal background checks for its drivers and aides, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced Thursday.

Two of its former drivers are facing criminal charges for allegedly getting behind the wheel of buses while under the influence of narcotics, prosecutors said. Another former driver hired by the company is a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law, prosecutors said.

The company has also been accused of glossing over the condition of its vehicles in reports to school districts. During a surprise series of inspections after a round of morning drop-offs in May 2019, state officials impounded nearly every bus after they failed inspection so badly that they couldn’t be driven off the school properties, prosecutors said.

A-1 Elegant Tours, its owner, Shelim Khalique, 51, of Wayne, and its manager, Henry Rhodes, 56, of Paterson, have each been charged with conspiracy (second degree), false representations for a government contract (second degree), theft by deception (second degree) and tampering with public records or information (third degree).

Khalique and Rhodes were also charged with misconduct by a corporate official (second degree).

The company has been active in Essex County, where it has gained more than $1 million worth of contracts with public school districts since 2016, prosecutors said.

In September 2018, a driver employed with A-1 Elegant Tours hit five cars, two traffic poles and a fire hydrant in East Orange while allegedly under the influence of narcotics, authorities said. A 9-year-old child and an adult female bus aide were aboard the vehicle at the time; neither suffered injury, authorities said.

A-1 Elegant Tours also had contracts with public school districts in Hudson, Passaic and Union counties over the same period. While Thursday’s charges are only related to its contracts in Essex County, an investigation is ongoing, prosecutors said.

A-1 Elegant Tours has racked up a history of citations with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), prosecutors said:

“Throughout 2018, the MVC cited A-1 and its drivers numerous times, including 22 citations for allowing a disqualified driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, nine citations for failure to possess a valid CDL while operating a commercial motor vehicle, five citations for failure to possess valid endorsements, and one citation for driving with a suspended license. The MVC issued additional citations for failing to present appropriate documentation. These citations all arose from on-site vehicle inspections performed by MVC at A-1’s Paterson yard. A-1 allegedly used various methods in an effort to evade MVC inspections and citations, including diverting unlicensed drivers away from inspection sites and having drivers keep buses at their homes overnight.”

The company has also faced controversy over its service in Paterson, where the local school district issued more than 100 violations against it during the 2017-18 school year, including problems with the credentials of its drivers, NorthJersey.com reported.

Thursday’s charges came after an investigation from the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, the New Jersey State Police, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.

“The idea that anyone would allow young school children to be transported by drivers who not only lacked the proper credentials but, in some cases, were high on narcotics or had serious criminal records is extraordinarily troubling,” Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said that A-1 Elegant Tours and its operators “put the lives of many children at risk.”

“It’s painfully apparent that the operators of this company lost their moral compass, putting profit above safety by placing innocent children on buses unfit for the road, which were operated by unqualified drivers, who in many instances had criminal records,” said Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

New Jersey laws and regulations require that all school bus drivers possess a valid commercial driver’s license, with two additional endorsements to carry students as passengers. School bus drivers and bus aides are required to undergo drug testing and criminal background checks, and drivers or aides with criminal records or known substance abuse issues are prohibited from driving or working on school buses, prosecutors said.

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