Activity in two trucking-related criminal cases involving illegal transportation of hazardous materials and unpaid tolls was recently announced by the Department of Transportation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
On Wednesday, March 8, a trucking company owner was arrested by PANYNJ for having more than $300,000 in unpaid tolls and fees, according to an article on nj.com.
Jose Ramirez, owner of Mambo Transportation in Jersey City, reportedly had 4,250 toll violations on his commercial and personal EZ Pass accounts.
The nj.com story says Ramirez was arrested when he went to pick up one of his company’s trucks that was impounded Jan. 30 for having obscured plates and a horn that didn’t work. Ramirez had an outstanding warrant for owing $308,600 in unpaid tolls and fees, nj.com reports.
A New Hampshire man was arrested and sentenced Feb. 17 to pay $2,540 for not showing up to previous sentencing hearings related to his June 2016 guilty plea for transporting hazardous materials without a valid commercial driver’s license.
Lewis Scott Niles admitted that from approximately September 2013 through April 2014, he sold and transported hazardous materials to be used as fuel for heating furnaces to individuals and businesses in New Hampshire and Maine.
The DOT Office of Inspector General says Niles transported approximately 925 gallons of fuel oil and diesel fuel, and approximately 1,500 gallons of flammable liquid in containers with capacities greater than 119 gallons, which is a violation of federal hazmat regulations.