Grand jury indicts Rhode Island trucking firms, owners

Winsor Hill Hauling and CDE are charged with conspiracy and false statements.    A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island, on April 11 returned a seven-count indictment charging Leslie Cucino and Winsor Hill Hauling and Recycling Corp. of Foster, R.l., and Robert Cucino Jr. and CDE Corp. of Johnston, R.I., with conspiracy and false statements.
   According to the indictment, using threats up to and including termination, the owners of CDE and Winsor Hauling allegedly directed employees to falsify driver vehicle inspection reports and not report safety defects or deficiencies that would affect the safe operation of the vehicles or result in mechanical breakdowns. 
    On numerous occasions from about March 9, 2009, through the present, the company owners directed drivers to falsely certify that the commercial motor vehicles they were operating had no defects, although the vehicles had serious safety defects that were required to be reported. In some cases, the drivers had received citations of serious violations from Massachusetts or Rhode Island state police on the same day, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
   A significant amount of the companies’ business included hauling fully loaded truckloads of scrap metal to Providence and Boston.
   DOT regulations, enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, require motor carrier drivers to prepare a daily vehicle inspection report on each commercial motor vehicle they operate. The report must be in writing, prepared at the completion of each day’s work and mention at least the following parts and accessories: service brakes, parking (hand) brake, steering mechanism, lighting devices and reflectors, tires, horn, windshield wipers, rear vision mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment. 
   The report must be preserved and made available upon demand. It is the primary means FMCSA inspectors and state law enforcement authorities use to enforce federal regulations relating to the safety of the commercial motor vehicles.