Tow Owner Incarcerated for Emissions Tampering

Dennis Cleveland, owner of Affordable Towing in Springfield, Missouri was sentenced for illegally tampering with the emissions controls of the company’s diesel towing vehicles. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Cleveland to pay a $255,000 fine. 

 “This business owner intentionally polluted the air in southwest Missouri for more than a decade with massive amounts of cancer-causing toxins in violation of federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “He pursued personal profit at the expense of the environment and the health of his neighbors....” 

On March 9, 2023, Cleveland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and one count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device. Cleveland admitted that, since 2011, he has directed his employees to physically disable emissions control components on multiple heavy-duty diesel tow trucks. 

Cleveland was contacted by law enforcement on multiple occasions and ordered to stop emission modifications but persisted in violation of the law. Cleveland conspired with Robert Dyche, the owner and operator of Full Flash Tuning, which specializes in illegally tampering with the on-board diagnostic systems on these vehicles. Cleveland caused the Affordable Towing trucks to be tampered with to save money by avoiding maintenance expenses on emissions control systems and by spending less money on fuel. 

This tampering is frequently referred to as “tuning” or “flashing” an on-board diagnostic system. As a consequence of “tuning,” tampered vehicles spew substantially more deleterious pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (Nox), carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and particulate matter (PM) into the air, presenting a risk to the environment and public health. 

Dyche pleaded guilty on March 13, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and awaits sentencing. 

Source: justice.gov