Imagine owning what appears to be an Aston Martin Vantage (approximately $150,000) and using illegal plates on it, for whatever reasons. Usually, people who use these "ghost tags" do so to avoid costly insurance, registration fees, or state taxes. Or simply because they want to use the car for illegal purposes.

Source: Streetsblog/NYC

City Council Member Vickie Paladino has decried unregistered vehicles, called for mandatory bicycle license plates and sponsored legislation to combat fake temporary tags on cars.

At her home in Whitestone, Queens, it’s a different story.

Parked in her driveway last week, visible from the sidewalk, was a luxury sports car bearing an Arizona temporary license plate that the Arizona Department of Transportation says is a fraud.

The 90-day paper tag — the kind that drivers get when buying a car — lists the same plate number as a real temporary tag that was issued in September 2022, according to Arizona DOT spokesman Bill Lamoreaux. But that real tag expired in December, meaning the tag in Paladino’s driveway, which lists an August expiration date, is "fraudulent," Lamoreaux said.

Paladino said the car belongs to her son, Thomas Paladino Jr., but did not otherwise respond to a request to comment.