From Install to Removal: LeeAnn Longo on Navigating NJ Interlock Requirements

Rachel Kugel: Hey, I’m Rachel Kugel and this is Rachel Defends You. Today I have an incredible guest that I’m so excited to have because in the legal community, in the DWI world in New Jersey, she’s a rockstar. That is LeeAnn Longo. She is the Director of Operations for Client Services with Interlock Device of New Jersey.

This is an incredible company. I know she’s gonna talk more about it, but it’s really the main one at this point that I’m sending clients to for a variety of reasons that we’ll talk about. But my favorite is that it’s small. It’s not this huge conglomerate company. It’s a small company made up of real people who actually care, who actually will work with you and your clients to get them through what I always say is to make it like a bump in the road rather than a life changing event.

She’s been with the company for over 14 years, in her current position for eight years. The staff is seven, but it feels like LeeAnn runs everything. At a staff of seven, that’s a really small and intimate community that can really help you and your clients.

She’s a mother of three and a grandmother of a new grandbaby, as well as a Great Dane and a Mastiff, which I can’t even imagine.

You’ll have to show me a picture of that after, or if you have one. I’m so excited to have her here to talk to us about interlock devices in general, how they work, how to use them, and everything you need to know about them, how to get through it if you are someone you love needs one. And I’m super excited. So thank you so much for giving us these few moments of your time today.

LeeAnn Longo: Thanks for having me. I’m excited to share about it.

Rachel Kugel: How did you end up working at IDNJ? Like how did you find yourself there?

LeeAnn Longo: So, originally, the owner of the company’s name is Jason Gooberman. I knew him from, I don’t know if it was high school or after high school, and he started the company, it was really small.

They were doing maybe two installs a week. It was before the first interlock law passed. And he was like, Hey, do you wanna come work for me? I need somebody in the office. And we started super small and figured it out along the way.

And when Ricky’s law passed, we started getting busier and busier, and then it’s just grown. So we started small. It was kind of just me and him and a technician, and then it grew as the laws changed.

Rachel Kugel: It still feels small though, and that’s one of the things I love about it, in terms of all the options out there for people to use.

And I think that’s a good point too, just in terms of growth. ‘Cause it also reflects the changes in the law over time. And really I think where it’s heading in the future, it’s like more and more sentences, more and more people are being mandated to use interlocks. Certainly in criminal cases, in municipal traffic DUI cases even I’m seeing matrimonial and child custody cases.

There’s definitely a move away from more punitive stuff like suspensions and harsher penalties and a move toward protecting the public through interlocks, but also allowing defendants to drive and function and not lose their livelihoods.

LeeAnn Longo: Yeah, I mean, it made sense then, and I’m glad that everybody’s hopped on board because you don’t have to lose your job.

Rachel Kugel: You know, even as small as a six month suspension can throw a complete wrench in your whole life. Yeah, especially in a place like New Jersey. I practice in New York and New Jersey and in New Jersey in particular, the public transportation’s not easy.

People can live in one county and work all the way, you know, downstate in another county. So it definitely is going a long way toward helping people and it’s really only getting more and more because as you pointed out, we had Ricky’s law then changes in the law that were basically making almost all first offenses.

Basically we’re at the point of having an interlock and now we’ve really entered a phase where even second and third offense people can potentially drive with interlocks, for a long period of time. So I think business is only gonna boom further for you and hopefully we can give people information today to know what it is and also to know how to get through it with minimal impact. ‘Cause people have trouble with interlock sometimes too. They wanna talk about what those things are and how to avoid them. So I wonder if you could tell us, just in general, what an interlock device is and how does it work?

LeeAnn Longo: Sure. So an interlock device is a machine that if we get down to basics, it’s got three parts. There’s a control box, there’s a handset, and a cord connecting the two. The control box is what gathers the data and the handset is what you blow into to start the test. So basically it acts like a relay.

You blow in, the car will not start unless you pass the test below an 0.05. If you pass the test, the relay closes, the car’s allowed to start. So it’s a simple installation. It just allows you to start the car if you haven’t been drinking. If you have been drinking, then it won’t, and it’ll lock you out for different amounts of time, depending on how high the BAC is.

And of course, all of that is being recorded on that control box that’s under the dash. It’s kind of like a black box. It’s small, and then each month or by month. When you come in, that information is downloaded off the unit into a computer system that we have access to so that we can send the log files to the court or to the DMV, whoever requests them.

Then certify at the end that you’re good to go and then you’re done.

Rachel Kugel: Does a person just blow into it to start it, or do they have to keep blowing into it? I mean, it’s not just starting it and that’s it.

LeeAnn Longo: Right. So when interlocks first came out you just had to blow into it to start it. But as people were manipulating the system, they realized other things needed to be implemented.

So the rolling retests happened randomly during a drive because somebody could say, Hey dude, come blow into this thing for me while they’re drunk, and then drive off. And now they’re technically driving drunk even though somebody passed the test to start the car. So in order to keep everybody on the road safe and honest, it’ll ask five to 15 minutes after you start the car for the person who’s driving to take a rolling retest, which then proves they’re still sober and the same person and continue, and it’s about twice an hour in a straight hour drive, but completely random.

Rachel Kugel: That’s good information. I always get this from people and I don’t always know the exact right answer or the right reason why it happens this way, but let’s say someone doesn’t fail the rolling retest or like doesn’t do it in the right time, their car doesn’t just shut down in the middle of the street and cause like a massive accident, right?

Like what happens while you’re driving because people get afraid of that. I hear that a lot.

LeeAnn Longo: It cannot shut your car off while it’s driving. That would be dangerous. There’s no ability for that machine to shut the car off while driving. What I have seen though, and we’ll do, if we see somebody who we think is manipulating the system or skipping the retest. We can hook the horn and lights to the unit, so it will alert people around them that there’s some kind of problem. So that’ll stop a drunk driver from continuing to blow into it and failing, or not taking the retest at all because they’re intoxicated. So there’s the ability for us to hook up the horn and lights, which would flash and let everybody know.

Rachel Kugel: The ones in Jersey don’t have cameras because in New York we have cameras. So if someone has someone else blow into it, we get a picture of someone. And I’ve seen some crazy stuff.People lean over and have their wife do it. I’ve seen people try to have their kid do it.

LeeAnn Longo: I mean, it’s nuts what goes on. Jersey hasn’t required the cameras, and I don’t think that they will because it’s still in New York, A DUI is a crime, where in New Jersey it’s just a ticket or a moving violation. So that’s the difference. In New York, you need the camera to protect yourself because if it wasn’t you blowing into it, you could be convicted of blowing into it and failing and it wasn’t you.

Rachel Kugel: Yeah. People end up with violations of probation or violations of conditional discharge and end up facing a year in jail potentially, or more if it’s a felony. And so, yeah, you’re right that it does actually protect them to some extent too. Are there any cars, ’cause I hear this from clients a lot too.

My car is too nice, too fancy, too fabulous, too electric, too delicate. All these reasons why an interlock either can’t be installed in their car or will screw up their car, are there cars that it will mess up or that it can’t go into?

LeeAnn Longo: So if you asked me that question a year ago, I would’ve told you no. We could do every car and it won’t screw up any car. What we found with these new hybrid motored cars, which are couple of the BMWs, a couple of the Mercedes, is it’s not a fully electric car, we can do those, or a fully gas car.

It’s this hybrid component to the motor that doesn’t allow us to trick it from knowing it’s not on yet. We will eventually have the ability, but we’re not the company that’s gonna hack into your car to figure it out. We think that other companies maybe installing them, but it’s not really stopping them from starting the car if they’ve been drinking. We wanna do things by the book and make sure that we’re keeping the client and the people around them safe. So we won’t do it or even try to do it if we don’t think that we can be successful.

There’s probably only been, in the last year, two cars that we were like, Nope, we can’t do it.

Rachel Kugel: A thing I hear a lot too is people love their car or it’s expensive and they think the install’s gonna mess up their car.

LeeAnn Longo: Never, you won’t even know that it was there when it’s out.

 The control box installation happens underneath the dash. So they’re taking a piece off, they’re putting it in, they’re putting everything back. The machine itself comes on a long cord, so it’s not mounted anywhere. It’s kind of just hanging. You keep it in your lap while you’re driving.

Once it’s outta there, you never know it was there. We do leased vehicles, owned vehicles, old vehicles, all kinds of vehicles and they’ll never know it was there. When it’s gone.

Rachel Kugel: There’s no way to put in a motorcycle, right?

LeeAnn Longo: So the problem with the motorcycles, and I know that the DMV’s gonna be upset with me for saying this out loud publicly, but it’s legal to put them on motorcycles.

The problem is that there’s not a current parameter that will allow them to not take the rolling retest. It’s not safe to take a rolling retest while you’re driving a motorcycle. So we have requested the DMV give us some sort of parameters so that we can present that to road guard, the manufacturer of Draeger, the manufacturer of the unit that we use.

And we have been unsuccessful in that. ‘Cause we have some clients in Connecticut, and Connecticut has a parameter for a motorcycle. So it’s doable and we know how to do it, but we can’t, because there’s no parameter in New Jersey to allow to bypass that rolling retest. That would be unsafe.

Rachel Kugel: So it’s really not, I always thought it was about the physical installation, but it’s really about the rolling retest and the safety of that.So that’s interesting. I really thought it was a physical problem with it.

LeeAnn Longo: No, I mean, it’s a pain in the rear end to install them on motorcycles because in New Jersey it rains a lot here.

 We’re gonna lose units over and over again. And this is me just being completely transparent. But what we do is we have them get this saddlebag on the thing that has to be kept in. So there’s ways, and we’ve looked into all of it and we’re more than willing. There’s just no parameter to allow for it.

Rachel Kugel: The saddlebag concept reminds me I had looked into years ago. ‘Cause another complaints I get from people is that it’s embarrassing. I had looked into it years ago that some companies were playing around with where it almost looks like a cup.

Like a Big Gulp cup. And it looks like if you put it up to your lips, you’re drinking from a cup. Have you seen anything? I haven’t seen it in New Jersey.

LeeAnn Longo: We had them. We made them here in our office, like, this is a brilliant idea.

So he made these Starbucks plastic cups and we would sell them. Then what we found was that the condensation that built up inside that cup, because of its logistics, caused failed tests. And listen, I wouldn’t have believed it unless it was a nine month pregnant girl.And she was taking the test and it was failing her.

So what we realized was that. Whatever was happening in the chemical with the condensation inside the cup, it was giving them failed tests. So you can still buy them, they’re out there, but we won’t sell them because we know it’s gonna cause some fake chemical reaction to the machine.

Rachel Kugel: It was causing failed tests. I had looked into it for a client that had to get it,as a gift almost to say like,a way to help them through it. I had looked into those as well. ‘Cause a lot of people do say to me that it’s embarrassing.

You know, people who drive their kids for carpool or real estate agent who gets people in the car to go show them houses have expressed the embarrassment issue. So I guess I won’t give it to anybody. I don’t wanna cause anybody false positive. That’s really interesting.

LeeAnn Longo: Especially now that it’s actually being monitored. ‘Cause you know, all the new law, nobody really even paid attention to it.

Rachel Kugel: That was the best part to explain to people. ‘Cause again, in New York we have a person whose job is to monitor.

I mean, it’s amazing. It’s one person for all five boroughs and she monitors it and if there’s a violation, she gets in touch with the court and the prosecutors and whatever.In New Jersey there was really nobody looking at it. All this time it was just like, yeah, don’t get in trouble.

Don’t get caught driving without it. Super frustrating. It was so upsetting. ‘Cause you see that there’s this major problem, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Yeah. That’s wild. So in terms of cost, that’s another thing people talk about. Is it always the same? Like what kind of things affect cost? I know you don’t have to say an exact number ’cause I’m sure it does vary or it might even vary a year from now. And you don’t wanna necessarily be on the hook with a specific number. But like a ballpark of what it’s, I usually tell people a few hundred dollars to install and about a hundred dollars a month.

Do you think that’s like good advice, bad advice, anything they can do to save money on it?

LeeAnn Longo: Of course all the companies are gonna be different. And I’m gonna tell you that our company is the best. But I’m saying that because I’ve researched all the other companies. So there are two different business models.

All the other companies in New Jersey are in Texas or California, and they subcontract the work to small car audio places here. So they’ll tell you over the phone, We charge you $90 a month, but they’re not telling you that the car audio place that you’re going to is gonna charge you for the installation, the removal, the calibrations, if you miss a test, if you fail a test, they have all these fees because of course, that small car audio place once their skin in the game and to make some money. So that’s the business model.

Our business model is different. We don’t charge for the installation, for the removal, for the calibrations, for any of that. We’re charging a daily rate, and I’ll say it, it’s 4.25 a day, which equates to about $135 a month. Always subject to change, side note. But it’s been that for a while.

Rachel Kugel: So they’re talking about $135 a month with this company. And I think if you calculated all the fees that the other company, it would be probably close to double. Yeah. There’s definitely a lot, I have noticed a lot of fees with other companies because they are bigger, and I don’t mean bigger in a positive way, I just mean like you’re more of a number with them.

I’ve also noticed more problems. I mean, in this line of work there’s gonna be hiccups especially when things change, right? There’s gonna be issues with DMV or MVC as it’s called in New Jersey.

There’s gonna be issues with paperwork. It’s near impossible to have everything flow perfectly all the time. I mean, we’re gonna see that and our job is to try to help people through it. But I have noticed. If there’s a company that’s bigger, maybe isn’t super focused on Jersey, for example, maybe it doesn’t always know exactly what Jersey’s up to the right paperwork.

Those things also cost money ’cause you get it in everything doesn’t go perfectly now you’ve had it for 10 more days than you needed which costs money or you have to redo. And I’ve had people, you and I both know that started out with someone else. And then I switched them to you and they had to pay for that switch, or you’ve been kind enough once in a while to help me on that.

But the point is, there’s all these additional things that also come from going with a company that doesn’t get it right the first time. Which isn’t to say there’s never a hiccup that’s not outside of our control, but I know you guys really try to get it right the first time.

LeeAnn Longo: Yeah, we care.

And that’s the thing, when you call our office, you’re gonna get a person that answers the phone, and we pay extra for the phone system that allows that to happen because everything has gone to this, like, please press one to speak to this. So we paid extra for this phone system that dials directly through so that somebody’s answering the phone.

We want them to know we’re here for them and we’re gonna help and we actually care. And you know, I’ll even argue with the people at the DMV or the people at the court when there’s a problem because I know I’m right and they’re wrong and I know a little bit more ’cause I’m touching all.

Yeah. Well, you do it all day every day. So I’ll try to not argue with the DMV, but be like, Hey, are you sure about such and such? Look at this and help me understand so you’re not gonna get that with those big companies because they’re like next, next, next.

Rachel Kugel: Where we’re like, okay, this is our client and we’re trying to help them. Yeah, trying to get through it. Somebody who’s new to the device. I always try to tell people things to worry about in terms of pitfalls. Like, for example, people don’t know initially, maybe don’t use hand sanitizer, don’t spray perfume, don’t use mouthwash.

Is there something you give people or a list like in terms of concerns about when they’re first learning how to use it.

LeeAnn Longo: So we showed them a video at the installation. It’s about a 10 minute video that’s gonna go over all of that. It’s gonna tell them the things to stay away from, and we have a pamphlet that we give them that also lists the things.

But I’m gonna be 100% honest with you, and I don’t believe in my 14 and a half years of experience that hand sanitizer or mouthwash are nearly as big of a problem as it appears to be because, and this might be a funny little tidbit, for many years only got mouthwash calls on Saturday mornings, which to me was like, so wait, are they not using mouthwash any other day or are they drinking Friday night and they’re still above an 0.05, which isn’t really high, right?

Rachel Kugel: People don’t realize how low that is.

LeeAnn Longo: They’re like, it’s gotta be the mouthwash. And I’m like, it’s probably not. You just have to take a look at what you drank last night and then no more mouthwash problems. So I think that the chatter is that all these things are gonna set it off, but what it is that they’re not realizing that alcohol, depending on your body and everybody’s body is different.

Some people could be completely sober in two hours and some people whose liver isn’t functioning at tip top shape could take eight hours.

Rachel Kugel: Interesting. And then in terms of that, like people don’t realize too, that, and this actually brings me my next question: what causes it?

What number does it have to be to cause a problem or a lockout ’cause I think that’s the other thing people don’t realize. For example, in New York, a lot of times post criminal conviction, they’re actually set at 0.02.

LeeAnn Longo: So these units are set at 0.025 and that happened when the law changed.

They changed that. It used to be higher. It was at an 0.02 when I first started and we were like, this is too low. It’s causing failed test, and back then it would automatically lock you out for an hour. So then we got it moved up to 0.05, and then once this new law passed that they were actually monitoring everything, that it’s back down to a 0.25, but at a 0.25, it’s just saying, try again in a minute.

Rachel Kugel: Oh, it’s not totally locking you out. Well, the other thing I wanted to touch on and I think you’ll agree with me, is a lot of times when you say that retest, so let’s say you take a test, you fail, you get that 0.02 or whatever, and then there’s a retest. I have a lot of clients that panic and they don’t retest.

And I always tell people, retest. ‘Cause first of all, we already potentially have a violation so that ship has sailed. The retest, I really think people look at this wrong, they panic that it’s gonna get locked out. And this is especially true in New York where it’s a crime and I might have to be before a judge arguing it, but even in New Jersey, the retest really protects the client because if it was mouthwash or hand sanitizer. It will be obvious if I blow into it and I blow 0.08 and then half an hour later I blow again and it’s a 0.02. I mean, that’s not possible in physical terms. So it would have to be mouth alcohol ’cause real alcohol doesn’t behave that way.

So I always tell people, don’t be afraid of that retest. That retest is what’s protecting you when you come in and say it was mouthwash. I have a much easier time arguing that it really was mouthwash if I could show it went down, even if it didn’t go down to zero, but if it went on significantly in five minutes.

You know, metabolized alcohol doesn’t behave that way. So I think people do it, and I think I’m right on that. That’s the purpose.

LeeAnn Longo: Yeah. You’re 100% right on that. People in New Jersey don’t know that the only failed tests that matter as far as compliance go are the ones over an 0.08.

 And if you’re failing and you know you’re allowed one in your final 30 days, but you can’t have two. And if you failed five within one hour, continuing to try. It only counts as one.

Rachel Kugel: So there’s no reason not to do the retest.

 And it might help you. It’s wild though, the way New Jersey’s thinking about it. ‘Cause it is so different. Like in New York, if you had five positive blows, you’d be looking at jail time. And you’re telling me that worst case, it’s like five is still one.

LeeAnn Longo: It’s different, what’s good about it is these people in New Jersey are getting sentenced to have three 90 days, seven months, nine months, one year, two years. If by the end of even the 90 day sentences, if you’re in your final 30 days and you’re still attempting to start the car with alcohol in it one time, two times, three times. Then they need, all they’re really doing is extending them another 30, 60, 90 days. Let’s try again, let’s get yourself together. So every time somebody is in non-compliance with our company, I don’t just send them a non-compliance. I call them and say Hey dude, you failed eight times in the final 30 days. This is my way and it’s just because it matters to me. I’m like, you failed eight times this month. It’s usually at six in the morning when you’re trying to go to work.

‘Cause I’ve now looked at the log file, which means you need to stop drinking earlier the night before and you know, I can’t send this log file to a judge and expect them, so sometimes I’ll be like, Hey, why don’t you wait another 30 days, see if you can do better. Because I feel like when you level with people, ’cause the point of interlock devices, at least to me, is some type of rehabilitation process because many people get DUIs.

It’s not hard. You get a DUI on one night out. You’re not really a drinker, but there are people that have drinking problems. So you want ’em to at least take a look at what’s happening and how many, ’cause they’re not knowing what they’re failing at.

And it’s not telling them you’re at 0.08. It doesn’t say it on the screen. So I like to tell them the details. Like, look, dude, you blew a 0.07 at four o’clock in the afternoon on this date. Like, so it’s important for them to know their limits so that they can learn, like, let me change this behavior and then that’s it.

And then the whole point of it was it served its purpose.

Rachel Kugel: I think that’s really kind of beautiful what you said too, because in this line of work, a lot of times, there’s a lot of shame from people. We’re dealing with people at some of the most difficult times in their lives.

And I know a lot of attorneys do it differently in terms of what they require to work with someone or therapy or treatment. And I take a similar approach. My tagline always is, we don’t judge you, we don’t lecture you, we defend you.

 It sounds like, you know, you’re not necessarily passing judgment, but you’re getting them to look at the behavior, maybe make some decisions for themselves about changing that behavior and I think that’s probably has a lot more, I bet more than you even know in terms of like, you know, butterfly wings and all that.

It probably has really affected people more than, you know, in terms of getting treatment or getting themselves on the right path. Because you’re not coming at someone with judgment. You’re coming at them with like, Hey dude, I’m just like telling you, maybe finish drinking a little earlier on this day.

It’s like having that conversation with someone without going, Hey, you’ve got a problem, you need treatment, which doesn’t work even when court’s mandated. It doesn’t work that way. So I actually think you probably do a lot of good with those conversations.

I think people really need to hear that and they need to hear it that way. The other side to it too is it absolutely is a way for people to modify their behavior to see how it’s actually affecting them while driving and make better decisions.

It also does a secondary thing, which is it allows prosecutors and judges to be way more lenient with sentencing. Whether that’s in terms of letting someone drive or even resolving cases without DWIs, to reckless is where they’re deserved and the facts line up and everything is right.

Because it protects the public. No prosecutor or judge wants to be that guy that let you drive and then you go down and mow down four nuns or something. You end up on the front page of the paper. So the interlock also makes sure that if we’re gonna let this person drive from a judge and prosecutor standpoint, we’re assured that the public’s gonna be safe.

I think they thought, you know, people are driving anyway. Suspended or up. So I think that’s another piece of it as well.

LeeAnn Longo: That’s why they did that whole, you know, put the interlock device in during suspension. And nobody understood why and I said, well, back when Ricky’s law passed, Mothers Against Strong Driving came forward.

And they’re like, we have these stats that say this many drivers are still driving while they’re suspended. So we want them to have the units in the car while they’re suspended. And that’s what they did. And it’s silly ’cause you’re like, here, you have to have this thing in your car, but you’re not allowed to drive for seven months and you have to bring it in every month.

Rachel Kugel: How do you do that? Right, exactly. It makes no sense but also, I mean, you understand the logic, but it really only protects people that aren’t gonna follow the law. Because if you’re really gonna be good and not drive, it was a punitive thing for no reason.

And it really was just for those handful of people that were gonna drive anyway. It’s sort of unfair. So what’s the process like for someone that needs to get this? Can you talk a bit about the process, at least with IDNJ about getting it?

LeeAnn Longo: Sure. So you know there’s several courses of action.

If you’re coming in before court, which is new this year, they’re allowing people to put ’em in before court. We wanna make sure that you call in enough time to get yourself scheduled the week before court because the benefit is twofold. One being that if you put it in before court and take the paperwork that we give you, which is consisting of a voluntary installation certificate and a contract to the regional motor vehicle, and get the interlock license before you go to court, then the court is supposed to do two things for you.

It’s supposed to eliminate the suspension which if you don’t do was an indefinite suspension until you get an interlock, until you go to the DMV, which would happen is you’d need a ride to us, a ride to the DMV. Maybe you can get an appointment in a day or two. So now maybe you’re suspended for a week.

So this is eliminating the suspension. And it’s written in the law that they’re supposed to drop the fines to nothing, which are about 250 to 300.

Rachel Kugel: And we’re seeing that, you know, I think that’ll get better over time. We’re still seeing judges that don’t totally understand that and we’re having to advocate. I think as everyone gets more used to it, we’ll see that more across the board.

I always give both options to clients so they can think about getting it before versus getting it. Sometimes they get it before, but then go to DMV after. I mean, there’s kind of pros and cons on both sides. ‘Cause you also have it for seven more days that don’t count.

LeeAnn Longo: Yeah. If court doesn’t get postponed. So I agree that on these first offenders that need it for 90 days, they’re probably better off waiting until after court because you’re talking about an extra week. You’re also talking about two trips to the DMV. We’re talking about before court, then after court, and then at the end when we give you the certificate of compliance, you’re going back a third time. So it depends on how much of a nightmare your DMV is.

Rachel Kugel: They might streamline that over time too. I feel like sometimes the legislature changes laws and then doesn’t give the DMV a whole lot of direction or implement. So that might get better, but for now, I kind of feel the same way. Like I don’t know if I wanna go to the DMV that many times. In a short period of time. And then you look at it and go, well, 300 bucks, you know, that might cover the Uber back and forth. So it might actually end up being sort of 6 0 1 half dozen of the other.

You wanna plan for the interlock to be installed before you go to court.

So I know you said with some of the bigger companies, they’re going to these radio installer type people. Where do they go with ID and who does the installations?

LeeAnn Longo: So we have 12 locations in New Jersey with our own technicians. And when I said we, I had seven staff under me.

That’s just the office staff. There’s then also 10 installers at these different locations. So you just call and we find the one closest to you. They’re as far north as North Bergen, up in Hudson County, Saddle Brook. We have North Brunswick, Kenilworth, Hamilton, which is the Trenton area, and then a bunch in South Jersey, Vineland, Cherry Hill, Pleasantville, and Berlin. So we have a bunch of locations.

Rachel Kugel: Are you guys able to help anybody outside of the state or it’s all Jersey at this point.

LeeAnn Longo: It depends. We used to help a lot in New York. We used to have a lot of Deroda’s clients. I had a great relationship with Deroda, but it’s such a pain with the cameras because all the other states have gone to this 7,000 unit that has the GPS monitoring.

And because New Jersey doesn’t require it, we don’t have them. Nor do we want them because we don’t need all of that stuff here. We can help other states, just depends on what state and do they want reporting. We’re next to Pennsylvania, but we don’t communicate with Pennsylvania.

So we send our Pennsylvania clients over to an affiliate of Drager, and they help them because they communicate with Pennsylvania.

Rachel Kugel: Okay. That’s good to know. What about removal? What’s the process like when you get it off?

LeeAnn Longo: So the removal process is that we, at your second visit, after getting it installed, we’re gonna ask you for a copy of the pink slip that you got at the DMV or your driver’s license, which will either tell us your removal date on it, or it’ll give us enough information that we request the removal date from the DMV, so the DMV then emails us the removal date, say the removal date is September 28th.

So on September 29th, or the soonest appointment you can get at whatever shop you want thereafter. We do what’s called a final download because we have to look at that log file for the last 30 days, make sure there’s no more than one alcohol violation, and we have to issue the certificate of compliance.

So we say we give ourselves 24 to 48 business hours to get that cert over to the client, and we have their removal scheduled usually a week from that final download. So they’ll come in for the final download. Nikki in my office does the looking at the log files and sending the certs, usually the following morning, unless it’s a weekend, they’ll email that to the client.

The client will print that out. Very important. The DMV wants it printed out and walk it into a regional motor vehicle. The motor vehicle will clear their license and they’ll give them another pink slip and a temporary license that no longer has the interlock requirement there, and then they’ll come back to us for removal.

Rachel Kugel: Can I just say that is huge because there are many lawyers throughout the state of New Jersey that do not know how that works. I hope that everybody watches that clip and goes, okay, now I know. I might have it transcribed and turned into a booklet or something.

LeeAnn Longo: And I think what some of those other companies are doing are they’re pushing that out a whole month to get, and they’re not quick with this removal process at all. So that’s where they’re nickel and diming. And when you say, how do you save money? You save money by going to a company who’s actually efficient in this process.

 And we push them a week, not really for us, but for them, because they have to get a printer to print this document out. They have to go to the DMV. Often when we were scheduling them like two days out, they didn’t have time to go to the DMV with their work schedule.

So we push it a week. This way we know we’ve done our part. You guys have done your part. It’s just fair amount of time and let’s get it done.

Rachel Kugel: Everybody in this process has a piece to do. The provider and installer have a piece to do, the attorney has a piece to do, and the client still has an obligation.

You still have to take responsibility for this thing that’s in your car and what you’ve agreed to do by the court and get the government in and out of your life as quickly as possible. Sometimes clients will come to both of us.

I know we’ve both had this ’cause we’ve shared clients that do this. You know, we’re not your mom. We care about you. We wanna get you through this quickly. But there are some pieces that you’re gonna have to take some responsibility for in order for us to help you get this over with, make this a bump in your road rather than a life changing thing.

Get the government outta your life and get you back to copacetic as you were before. And I think that’s an important point too. ‘Cause you know, we’re awesome, but we’re not your mom.

LeeAnn Longo: Yeah. Sometimes it baffles me ’cause when they put it in voluntarily, it’s very important that they know they need to go back to the DMV because that I’ve seen throw a wrench in everything because the DMV doesn’t know when to start calculating the time until you go back.

Rachel Kugel: And so then they call me three months later and they’re like, well, they never started my time. All the time. And I give people the handouts that you guys have provided to attorneys to be able to give to their clients.

I have all the information that’s given to people in advance and it’s part of our procedure and process, so they know it. Whether they internalize it is another question.

LeeAnn Longo: I send a text message every, I have a spreadsheet for everybody who put it in voluntarily so that each morning I go in and text message every voluntary install at 7:50 in the morning and say, you just installed an interlock device.

Your next steps are. As soon as you’re done court, email me the order and certification so that I can send you back the document and you’ll have to go back to the DMV and they still will be like, nobody told me, so I’m like, sir, at 7:49 on May 2nd, I sent you a text message and said.

Rachel Kugel: But the fact that you do that is so above and beyond. I think that’s the takeaway. It’s a joint effort. It’s a team you’re assembling. There’s a team on the front end. When you’re fighting the case, trying to get the best outcome, you’ve got your lawyer, maybe an expert, you’ve got collateral people, sometimes you might that you’re working with in terms of an immigration issue or a CDL, whatever it might be, professional license.

But then on the back end, you have a team also, and that team could be, you’re a lawyer like me. It could be someone like LeeAnn who’s going way above and beyond. But there’s still stuff for you to do, to take some personal responsibility to get this. And really, if you, as much as people wanna bury their head in the sand, if they lock in and do it, we’re gonna help them get through it with minimal impact in and outta your life.

Easy piece. Make it easy on yourself and us. And I think that’s better. Alright, just two more questions. One is, what do you think people should look for in an interlock company? And we’ve kind of said it throughout, I certainly have my opinions, but I think small.

I think caring. If your case is in New Jersey and you drive in New Jersey, I think it’s a huge value to have a New Jersey company because the paperwork is a huge part of the problem when people go with other companies and they get the paperwork wrong for New Jersey, so that would be the thing.

You know, small company people that go the extra mile like you New Jersey centric, if your case is in New Jersey, helps. What do you think?

LeeAnn Longo: So I always tell people when they call, ’cause listen, I understand shopping around and wanting the best deal. I tell them, you wanna ask hidden fees on the phone because they’re not gonna tell you. They’re not gonna tell you they’re not transparent when you call.

You wanna ask them about hidden fees. You wanna ask them, how much is the subcontractor gonna charge me for installation? Because they should know that information because we have that business model in our Connecticut business, which I hate, but it’s there. So I understand it.

And they wanna ask, how difficult is the unit to use? Because there’s some units on the market that you don’t just blow into, you have to blow and hum and blow. And so many people have said that they have a lot of difficulty. And what happens is every time that you don’t take that hum test properly because their business model is that they want you to come in to charge you, to reset it.

Like every time there’s a problem, you’re coming in. So that’s the questions I would tell someone to ask. But of course, all the things we said and a little biased because I think that we’re the best because I have built for the last 14 years trying to make us the best.

Be fair to yourself and shop around, but those are the questions that you should be asking.

Rachel Kugel: Yeah. And how do people, if they need one of these devices, either voluntarily through a matrimonial or custody case through DUI, you know, obviously a lot of people come because their attorney like me sends them and recommends it. And I should say also, as attorneys, we have no skin in the game. I don’t make any money from LeeAnn. I get no kickbacks. The reason I recommend a specific company to a client is really twofold. One, because I think they’re easier to deal with and good for the client.

And two, that they’ve done so well with their customer service that if I need to advocate. If there is a document that’s wrong, I know I can email you and say I can’t figure out what’s going on with it, or a client who failed and we gotta go back to court and I can’t figure out why.

I know that I can call. And for me, that’s a huge benefit, not just for me, but for my clients. Some of the other companies, I won’t name names, but I don’t have that ability. I don’t have a person who I can call if my client has trouble. And so not to say that, listen, something could be the client’s fault.

I’m not saying that. But just being able to find out what’s going on, get the information and advocate for a form, an issue, whatever. I send them because I think that’s a value to them and to me. I don’t wanna be on the phone for five hours trying to figure out who to call.

So for me it’s a value. That is why I recommend them. As attorneys we have no skin in the game. We’re getting no money. Nothing like that. It’s just solely because I don’t care who you use, just know if you use one of those other companies that shall remain nameless. I can’t advocate in the same way I can.

If you use IDNJ. I do sometimes go with some of the other ones, especially if I have somebody outta state and I have to do something. I recommend a diff but the point is like some company where they have communication with your attorney and your attorneys work with them before, I think that makes a big difference.

LeeAnn Longo: But how do people find out through their attorney who to use. Is there a special number people call? Do they go on our website? I’m gonna put it, I’m gonna link it in the notes. So we do a little bit of advertising. We have Google Ads.

So if you Google interlock device in New Jersey, they’re gonna find us that way. We send a mailer out, you know that everybody who gets a DUI is on a list, unfortunately, or fortunately for them. It used to be that we sent it out once when they get the ticket, and then six or nine months later because of the suspension.

Rachel Kugel: But that’s out now. So it’s going out a couple times in the period of a month now. So you should see us in the mail, but be careful because they’re all sending them. And so to be clear, IDNJ.

LeeAnn Longo: Interlock Device of New Jersey is the name of the company. IDNJ is the logo everywhere now.

Rachel Kugel: I’ll link it here too because if you’re in the, I don’t know, I was gonna say unfortunate position, but I won’t say that because it’s a fortunate position that you can drive now.

So if you are in a fortunate position despite that you’re unable to drive and you just get an interlock, IDNJ is a great company that will help you through it with minimal energy.

LeeAnn Longo: We wanna get it, make it as smooth, easy, and pleasant experience as possible. We know that you’ve already been raked over the coals by the police, by the court system and the DMV. This is the home stretch. This is it.

We’re gonna get it squared away. It’s gonna be easy. We’re gonna help you and you’re gonna stay on the road. And that’s it. Nonjudgmental. We’re just here to help you. That’s it.

Rachel Kugel: And I think you guys do a great job at all of it. So thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. I think people need this information and hopefully it’s gonna make both of our jobs easier too, because we’re gonna give that information to people, they’ll know what they need to do and they’ll get it done.

LeeAnn Longo: Thank you so much. I know how super busy you are with fielding annoying emails from lawyers. That’s okay.

Rachel Kugel: I’m gonna let you get back to that. Thank you so much.

LeeAnn Longo: Thank you.