Police Find Chicago Man Has Driver's Licenses Under Three Names

A Chicago man, whom La Grange Park police said had originals or copies of driver’s licenses under three different names, was released on $1,500 bond and faces a Sept. 8 court date at the 4th Municipal Building in Maywood.

Lawrence A. Pudas, 62, of 3400 W. 111th St., was ticketed for improper use of registration, no registration and misdemeanor driving while his license was suspended.  

A La Grange Park police officer checking cars at 31st Street and Cleveland Avenue at about 8:43 a.m. Aug. 12 spotted a 2006 black Volkwagen Jetta that had a license plate that expired this past March and was registered to a 1999 GMC four-door car. The license plate sticker also had been altered to extend the expiration date to this August, police found.

The driver could not give an explanation for the altered ticker and would not comment on the license plate belonging to a Berwyn couple’s GMC and not matching the car, police said.

Police said the driver gave them a color copy of a driver’s license for Michael J. O’Connor,  52, of the 111th Street address. The Illinois secretary of state’s office said the O’Connor driver’s license had been relocated to Pudas at a Blue Island address and had been suspended Dec. 26, 2010. The driver said his lawyer “knows the whole story.” and Pudas also had a California license under the O’Connor name, police said. Pudas tried to call his attorney but was told he was not available.

Berwyn police went to the Elmwood Avenue address where the couple registered to the license plate lived. Police could not find the couple and were told nobody knew them.

At the police station, Pudas would not sign his name to the property form for the $12.80 that was temporarily being taken away from him, police said.

Police said they found in his wallet a color copy of a driver’s license for a David Arvesan, also at the 111th Street address, that the secretary of state also said had been relocated to Pudas.  Also in the wallet were Social Security, insurance, prescription-drug coverage, business cards, a medical examiner’s certificate from the 1990s and firearm owner’s identification cards for Arvesan, as well as Social Security, TCF Visa, Jewel and Dominick cards under the O’Connor name, police said.

The secretary of state’s office said Pudas pleaded guilty to making false statements while applying for a driver’s license, because of the multiple driver’s licenses. His license was suspended for one year    

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