Corinne Moore and Rachel Van Gilder
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A trucking company out of Gaylord and several people have been sentenced after federal investigators say they deliberately removed the emissions control systems from semi-trucks in violation of the Clean Air Act.
On Friday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that Diesel Freak, LLC, had been sentenced to pay a fine of $750,000 and serve a term of probation. It’s the largest single fine imposed in the case.
The owner of the business, Ryan Lalone, and two employees, Wade Lalone and James Sisson, were each sentenced to one year of probation.
The company, Lalone and Sisson previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.
Federal prosecutors say that between 2015 and November 2018, Diesel Freak tampered with the emissions controls on semi-trucks. The goal was to make the trucks run for cheaper, investigators say, but it meant they were putting out too much pollution.
“Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions, such as asthma and respiratory illness, and contributes greatly to poor air quality — concerns the defendants in this case ignored in favor of financial profit,” Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division Lisa Matovic said in a release.
Lalone estimated that 70% of Diesel Freak’s business was emissions control tampering, the release said.
Federal prosecutors filed charges in April. They say Diesel Freak would reprogram the engine computers after Wyoming-based Accurate Truck Service removed the emissions-controlling hardware. Feds say Diesel Freak did it at least 362 times and Accurate at least 83 times.
Investigators say two other companies, Grand Rapids-based Griffin Transportation and Logistics and a shipping company, sent their trucks to Accurate and Diesel Freak to have the emissions controls removed.
All the fines against various businesses and people in the case total about $1.8 million. In October, Accurate Truck Service and Griffin Transportation were each ordered to pay $500,000. The companies were also sentenced to a year of probation. The owners of those companies also got home detention, probation and fines.
Scott DeKock, who previously owned a shipping company involved in the case, was sentenced to a year of probation and a $10,000 fine.
“This case is one of the largest of its kind ever charged in the United States and today’s sentences send a clear message that polluters who break environmental laws will be held accountable. Environmental rules safeguard the water we drink, the lakes we fish, and the air we breathe. It’s critical that we protect our people and our planet from harmful pollutants,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a release.
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