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By: Serach Nissim
The oversized pickup truck that has been terrorizing Williamsburg residents is using fake license plates, in an illegal bid to avoid speeding tickets.
As reported by the NY Post, the infamous black Ford-150, painted with images of dripping red blood to illicit fear and bearing a Palestinian flag, is owned by a speed-demon who has raked up at least 51 traffic summonses between October 2020 to May 2nd. The owner, identified as Jose Littef, 21, has incurred $3,622 in fines and late fees for those summonses and currently owes $551.94 – including $226.94 on three speed camera summonses in default judgment with additional fees still being added on. The violations include18 counts of speeding in school zones which were caught on camera, and four tickets for running red lights, as per a Post analysis of city records.
The black truck’s disturbing exterior includes tinted windows, images of bullet holes, splattered blood, and bloodstained handprints– which may be a symbol of the tragic Ramallah lynching of 2000, where two Israeli reservists were brutally murdered by a Palestinian mob. The truck sports a fake “ghost” license plate that read, “OH GAZA,” which is not the actual registered plate.
The vehicle has no registration or inspection stickers on display. The Post said that in April a source had provided the publication with a picture of the truck with the original plates issued in Pennsylvania, before the owner started using a fake plate. The Post was only able to access the vehicle’s violation record after getting hold of this information.
For months, the truck could be seen illegally parked near the corner of North 4th Street and Bedford Avenue in one of the most famous streets, where the Jewish neighborhood meets the hipster area. “Never in my life did I think I would feel scared to be Jewish in Brooklyn — especially Williamsburg,” said a woman who’s lived in the neighborhood 15 years and declined to share her name out of fear. “And while I recognize that the person who owns that truck must be in a lot of pain to decorate it that way, I can’t help but feel targeted by it being parked at the epicenter of our neighborhood — across from our Chabad. It feels very intentional,” she added.
The truck owner reportedly runs a food truck named The Original Caribbean King. He is partners with his half-brother Anas Arman, 34, who is also of Palestinian descent. Residents say that they have not seen the truck since the Post’s expose’ about it two weeks ago.
Per the Post, also two weeks ago, police had pulled the truck over examined the vehicle’s rear and questioned whether the “license plate” and window tint were legal. The cops had ultimately walked away without taking action. Williamsburg resident Michael Safir, who calls the vehicle “Hamas Truck,” said authorities should be doing a better job cracking down on ghost plates. “If a jacked up F-150 covered in fake blood and bullet holes is getting away with no plates or registration, it makes you wonder just how many ‘normal’ cars are doing the same thing,” Safir said.
Littef could not be reached for comment, but he and Arman previously claimed the “OH GAZA” plate was legally issued.
