Federal prosecutors are making good on their promise to punish 11 men from three trucking sector companies who allegedly tampered with emissions controls in violation of the Clean Air Act.
Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, called the case “one of the largest of its kind ever charged in the United States.” Ryan Bos, of Grandville, Michigan, was recently fined $6,000 by U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo and placed on probation for what was called a “limited role” in the money-making scheme.
“A sentence of probation promotes general deterrence given the substantial collateral consequences of this case on Mr. Bos’s work and personal lives, including the $1 million fine to which the businesses he co-owns have stipulated and the expected loss of the privilege of volunteering at his seven-year-old son’s school and coaching his son’s sports teams because of his felony conviction,” defense attorney Charles Quigg reportedly said.
Bos co-owns Griffin Transportation with Craig Scholten. The pair also owns Accurate Truck Service with Doug Larsen; all three men were charged in April.
Former Accurate Truck Service manager Robert Swainston received a $4,000 fine at the end of September and was placed on one-year probation. Prosecutors indicated that Swainston worked with Diesel Freak staff members, who reprogrammed systems to deliver favorable emissions readings. By contrast, Accurate Truck Service and Griffin Transportation deleted data to reduce repair costs required to meet environmental standards. This is a list of individuals who were indicted in the case.
- Accurate Truck Service co-owner Douglas Larsen.
- Accurate Truck Service and Griffin Transportation co-owner Craig Scholten.
- Accurate Truck Service and Griffin Transportation co-owner Ryan Bos.
- Accurate Truck Service employee Robert Swainston.
- Accurate Truck Service employee Randy Clelland.
- Diesel Freak owner Ryan Lalone.
- Diesel Freak employee Wade Lalone.
- Diesel Freak employee Dustin Rhine.
- Diesel Freak employee James Sisson.
- Former shipping company owner Scott DeKock.
- Former employee of DeKock’s shipping company Glenn Hoezee.
Federal prosecutors claimed that from 2012 to 2018, Accurate Truck Service removed or altered the vehicle emissions components. Then, Diesel Freak reprogrammed truck computers, allowing them to operate despite emissions-control tampering.
“This criminal scheme has released or will release an enormous amount of pollutants into the air, many of which are dangerous to human health,” including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter,” Totten reportedly said.
According to reports, Griffin Transportation performed at least a dozen “deletions” on trucks. Diesel Freak reportedly performed more than 360 emissions reading deletions, and Accurate Truck Service handled upwards of 83.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/04/26/semi-emissions-controls/70154766007/
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