A Florida third-party truck inspector recently was sentenced in federal court for providing inspection stickers and reports on vehicles he had not inspected. On Feb. 15, Jose Miguel Basto of Hialeah was sentenced to 10 months home confinement, with electronic monitoring, and three years probation, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. Basto faced a $250,000 criminal fine and five years in prison.
Basto pleaded guilty Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in Miami to one felony charge of making material false statements in connection with unlawfully providing an annual inspection report and decal for a commercial motor vehicle used for transporting flammable liquids. As a specific condition of probation, Basto is prohibited from being involved in any truck inspections within the jurisdiction of the state of Florida and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The case was investigated jointly by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Florida DOT. Both agencies say they will continue to pursue potential reinspections of other vehicles inspected by Basto.
