Warminster Turnpike Driver Faces Felony Over Tolls (ICYMI)

WARMINSTER, PA — A Warminster resident is among five southeast Pennsylvanians accused of taking more than 1,700 combined rides on the turnpike without paying — racking up more than $66,000 in unpaid tolls.

Thomas A. Macrina, 40, of Warminster, took 331 unpaid turnpike trips through Bensalem, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. His complaint says he owes $3,517.30 in tolls.

The other four people charged with theft of services last week were from Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Bensalem.

The most frequent offender, according to prosecutors, was a man from East Greenville, in Montgomery County, who traveled on the turnpike without paying 542 times between Sept. 2016 and April 7, racking up a debt of $22,751.55.

Each defendant in the case is charged with a single felony count and Macrina also is charged with driving without being properly licensed.

Prosecutors say the charges are part of a continued crackdown on the most extreme cases of drivers using the turnpike and other state toll roads without paying. The five charged last week are the second group of drivers in a year to be charged in Bucks County, which prosecutors say is home to some of the state's more frequently ignored turnpike interchanges.

Previous cases have helped the PA Turnpike Commission recover tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid tolls, the DA's office said.

According to prosecutors, offenders typically enter and exit the turnpike through E-ZPass lanes, where cameras photograph vehicles as they pass through. The amount a driver owes is calculated based on the driver's entry and exit locations, although a driver can be charged for traveling the full length of the turnpike if an entry or exit location can't be pinpointed.