Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dallas County cracking down on illegal emissions inspections
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At 10 a.m. this fine morning, Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez and constables conducted county-wide arrests for illegal vehicle emissions inspections and fraudulent inspections stickers.
Vehicle emissions are essentially car poots that hurt the atmosphere.
Later in the day around 2 p.m., Dallas County Judge Jim Foster will announce from the Dallas County Commissioners Court (411 Elm Street) the arrests made as part of the Clean Air Emissions Task Force operations.
"The last thing Dallas County is going to do is stand by while people illegally profit as children are being diagnosed with asthma," said Foster. Law enforcement agencies estimate that individuals engaged in illegal vehicle inspections and fake stickers can illicitly earn $60,000 to $80,000 a year.
Individuals arrested in today's initial countywide sweep have been charged with tampering with government records, a 2nd degree felony which carries a penalty of 2 to 20 years in state prison.
"As we enter high ozone season, we must take action to clean the air that we all breathe," Foster said. "The Clean Air Emissions Task Force will be dedicated full time to cracking down on individuals and businesses that profit from polluting our air."
The initial arrests made by the Task Force are part of a countywide effort to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's recently lowered smog limits imposed on the North Texas region.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments estimates that approximately 300,000 of the 1.6 million vehicle inspections conducted in Dallas County annually are fraudulent, fictitious or improperly done.
County Judge Foster, Sheriff Lupe Valdez, District Attorney Craig Watkins, County Constables Derick Evans, Michael Gothard, Ben Adamcik, R.L. Skinner, and Jaime Cortes are actively involved in the countywide Task Force and will participate in today's announcement.
Posted by Chad / info from Dallas County
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