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It was the stuff that mushy romance movies are made of. There he was, a nine-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police, Edgar K. Marks, dropped down on one knee in the middle of a jewelry store, presenting a $7,600 diamond engagement ring to his girlfriend. It was a 1.36 karat, square-cut diamond from a Woodbridge store called Romancing the Stone.
So, what’s wrong with this picture?
The ring was charged to an American Express Optima card: a very, very busy American Express Optima card. Also charged was a $795 gold watch, a leather motorcycle outfit and Kawasaki motorcycle parts for $1,226, a man’s gold ring for $2,862, a Versace suit and a $1,900 designer suit from Saks Fifth Avenue and a $2,200 Movado silver and gold wristwatch purchased from Neiman-Marcus. The trooper and his girlfriend lent new dimension to the phrase “shop ’til you drop,” charging over $50,000 to the credit card – $16,000 of it in a single day.
The girlfriend, Danielle R. Lynn of Piscataway, was an employee of an Edison company that assists American Express with collections. That’s how authorities think Lynn was able to access the information necessary to make a call to Optima and report a change of address and a lost card. A few days later, when the replacement card was delivered, Lynn was standing outside the door and claimed to be the addressee, signing for and accepting the package.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Secret Service, the State Police Official Corruption Unit and the Piscataway Police Department. It resulted in both trooper Marks and the intended Mrs. Marks being placed under arrest and caused an abrupt halt to the freewheeling shopping trips. The pair was charged with credit card fraud.
And the status of the engagement? Sorry, we’ve not been made privy to that information.
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