An AU alum convicted of misusing diplomatic license plates in November regrets the decision to do so and is worried about its effect on his career plans.
Nicholas Marino, a 2009 graduate of the School of Public Affairs, was pulled over one night last November when he was speeding home from a nightclub. Marino attempted to get out of the traffic violation by claiming diplomatic immunity because he had diplomatic license plates on his car.
The police officer discovered he was using diplomatic license plates without approval from the State Department, and Marino was charged last Thursday with misrepresentation of a State Department seal.
For an individual to acquire diplomatic license plates, they must have a seal of approval from the State Department, Marino said. However, he had forged a State Department official’s name on the application to obtain the plates.
He concedes he was wrong for choosing not to follow the correct procedure for obtaining diplomat license plates.
“Had I obeyed protocol, this situation never would have happened,” he said.
This conviction may negatively impact his short-term and long-term plans for his career.
“I was going to get a transfer to Los Angeles [for my job], but that may now be in jeopardy,” he said.
An article in The Washington Post published on Thursday stated that Marino had bought the Italian license plates at a novelty store in Kennesaw, Ga., but Marino said he had obtained the license plates through a legal application.
He said the confusion over whether he bought fake diplomatic plates in Georgia came from the fact that he had bought the car in that state not too long before the traffic incident occurred. The car was still registered to the previous owner.
A member of Marino’s family worked for the Italian embassy until 2005, when they were assigned elsewhere.
Marino, a dual citizen of Italy and the United States, wanted to be able to continue enjoying the benefits of being associated with the Italian embassy, he said.
“At one point in time, my family and their status gave me certain diplomatic privileges,” he said. “I was trying to continue using the benefits of this connection longer than was allowed.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon charged Marino with two years of probation and assigned him a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Marino believes this curfew is unfair, and he plans to negotiate with the court to modify the curfew.
“[Judge] Leon wanted to make an example out of me because he thought my lifestyle was extravagant,” he said
jryan@theeagleonline.com
