Councilman Shahin Khalique, who has styled himself as a responsible municipal lawmaker, was driving a vehicle in Totowa with registration and insurance that expired a year ago.
Totowa police pulled him over in his white 2014 Audi station wagon on Minnisink Road and Furler Street on May 10, 2018 at about 12:47 p.m.
Sgt. Joseph Tomasello ran Khalique’s plate on his mobile data terminal which returned a “hit” response for expired registration.
Khalique handed Tomasello a registration card that had expired on Jul. 31, 2017. He also handed him an expired insurance card.
“Mr. Khalique stated that the insurance was still valid under the same policy on the card,” reads the police report filed by Tomasello.
Tomasello contacted the insurance company. Insurance on the vehicle was cancelled in Feb. 2017, he was told.
Totowa Police report of incident involving Khalique.
Khalique was issued two summonses and his vehicle was impounded by Tony’s Auto Body.
When asked about the embarrassing episode on Tuesday, Khalique said, “I don’t recall.” A reporter sent him screenshots of the police report.
“The items were up-to-date and we corrected the misunderstanding immediately,” Khalique subsequently said.
Khalique paid a $33 penalty for the summonses on Jun. 4, 2018, according to Totowa court records. Court records show a finding of “guilty.”
Khalique is running for re-election in the 2nd Ward. Two men – former councilman Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman and Frank Filippelli – are trying to unseat the incumbent councilman.
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