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Friday, March 29, 2024

Mass. AG announces $116,000 settlement with auto emissions inspectors

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BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on Friday announced a $116,000 settlement with two motor vehicle emissions inspectors to resolve allegations that they issued up to 67 fraudulent passing inspection stickers.



Between November 2008 and January 2010, William Daly and Michael Daly allegedly conducted fraudulent inspections at the Wrentham-based Bill's Automotive Center Inc. by testing vehicles they knew would pass the emissions test, printing passing certificates and using the certificates to represent vehicles with failed emissions tests.


The process, known as clean scanning, is a violation of the Massachusetts Clean Air Act, the Massachusetts Regulation of Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, and emissions inspection regulations.


"By putting these faulty vehicles back on the road to make a few extra bucks, we believe these licensed motor vehicle inspectors intentionally violated the law that protects the air we breathe from pollutants," Coakley said in a statement.


"Fortunately, because of enforcement cases like these, we have seen a significant drop in these illegal practices, which is a benefit to both businesses and public health."


Coakley's complaint, which was filed on Thursday with the consent judgment, also alleged that Bill's Automotive and JMB Realty Inc., the owner of the property, violated the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act by maintaining a leaking industrial wastewater holding tank that discharged polluted wastewater into the groundwater.


Under the terms of the settlement, the Dalys and the station must pay up to $116,000 in civil penalties. Some of the penalties will be waived if the Dalys and the station comply with the agreement.


Bill's Automotive and JMB Reality must also hire a licensed hazardous waste site cleanup professional to determine if industrial wastewater leaked from the storage tank into the surrounding soil. As part of the agreement, Bill Daly is prohibited from conducting vehicle inspections and Michael Daly will lose his license for 15 months.


The settlement is the 11th judgment Coakley's office has obtained against stations and inspectors related to emissions inspection fraud since 2009.

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