HARTFORD, Conn. -- A former Department of Motor Vehicles employee said Monday that he believes the department is corrupt.

The former license agent said he tried to warn his bosses for years about a driving school that was breaking the law and claimed it was only after he went public that criminal charges were filed.

That employee spoke to lawmakers Monday and called for the DMV commissioner to resign.

Jim Ricci said he quit his job as a license agent at the DMV last year when his bosses wouldn't take action on his repeated warnings about violations at the Academy of Driving.

“Top management was well-aware this was happening but looked the other way or made superficial attempts to correct the problems,” Ricci said.

Since Ricci quit, criminal charges have been filed against Academy of Driving owner Jack Sousa, his wife and some employees.

But Ricci said he’s found negative DMV reports dating back to 1986 and gave warnings himself over three years.

“I had three commissioners, three deputy commissioners, four upper managers, plus three lieutenants,” he said. “My reports fell on deaf ears. No action was ever taken.”

DMV Commissioner Robert Ward said that since he took over, the investigation was launched and the charges filed. He said he couldn’t explain why action wasn't taken sooner when reports date back 20 years.

“It wasn't some report that was sitting on my desk when I arrived in 2007, nor was I aware of it,” he said.

Ward said he wished the agency could have moved faster, but he knows it needed to follow the rules that require a hearing first. That will happen later this month.

“I wanted all of the charges investigated,” Ward said. “That resulted in criminal prosecution and what we believe will be a revokation of the license.”

However, lawmakers promised to look at any changes needed at the agency, calling Ricci's testimony incredible and disturbing.

“It is corruption,” said state Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport. “Whenever there's a violation of the law, that's corruption, and more-so, when the authorities in charge don't correct the problem or allow it to exist, that's inherent corruption.”

Ward said his investigators are looking at all the evidence. If it does point to any DMV employees who still work there, he said, there may be disciplinary action taken against them.