Alleged drunken driver charged with identity theft at age 73

EAST BRUNSWICK — A 73-year-old Old Bridge man who was arrested earlier this month on drunken driving charges after a Route 18 car accident is accused of giving police a false identity, one taken from a deceased man.

Police determined that Angelo Candelaria is the true identity of the man who was involved in a hit-and-run accident April 3, but that he gave police the name Carmine Cicchino at the time and showed a valid New Jersey driver’s license for that identity. Police would later learn that Cicchino is the deceased husband of an acquaintance of Candelaria’s, and that he used Cicchino’s personal information to procure the license more than two years earlier.

Candelaria, whose own license had been suspended, had allegedly driven his Ford Escort through a red light while turning onto Route 18 from Racetrack Road westbound when he struck a Honda Accord operated by a 26-year-old Somerset man. Police said Candelaria fled the scene on Route 18, but was followed to his home by a witness, and was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to a breath test analysis, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to report an accident.

After news of his arrest — under Cicchino’s name — ran in the newspaper, police were notified that Cicchino had died in 1997. Candelaria then failed to appear for a hearing in East Brunswick municipal court, and police issued a $1,000 warrant for his arrest. Patrolman John Breen called the suspect and had him come to East Brunswick to post bail. Candelaria did so on April 9, producing further documentation in Cicchino’s name, according to police.

Candelaria was then arrested and charged with identity theft, hindering his own apprehension and possessing a false government document. His bail was set at $2,500, in addition to warrants out of North Brunswick for $975 and New Brunswick for $250.