Georgia Seizes Three Gas Stations for Alleged Cheating
WTLV reports that Georgia state inspectors discovered that all three gas stations at the Camden County Cisco Travel Plazas (off of I-95) have been shortchanging their customers for the last eight years. A superior court judge ordered an attorney (yes, a lawyer) to take over the stations' management and seize any profits. District Attorney Stephen Kelley says the dramatic steps were taken "without warning- so no one could spend it away or hide it." While Kelley admits that "juries might have to decide who's innocent and who's not," he points out that one of the former station owners has a history of rolling back odometers. Another former owner, yet to be located, "missed a court appearance in Missouri this week." If the state finds that the stations cheated customers, Kelley hopes the seized assets can be converted into "massive" refunds. And if not?
Glenn is a baby-boomer, born in 1954. Along with his wife, he makes his home in Connecticut. Employed in the public sector as an Information Tedchnology Specialist, Glenn has long been a car fan. Past rides have included heavy iron such as a 1967 GTO, to a V8 T-Bird. In between those high-horsepower cars, he's owned a pair of BMW 320i's. Now, with a daily commute of 40 miles, his concession to MPG dictates the ownership of a 2006 Honda Civic coupe which, while fun to drive, is a modest car for a pistonhead. As an avid reader, Glenn enjoys TTAC, along with many other auto-realated sites, and the occasional good book. As an avid electronic junkie, Glenn holds an Advanced Class amateur ("ham") radio license, and is into many things electronic. From a satellite radio and portable GPS unit in the cars, to a modest home theater system and radio-intercom in his home, if it's run by the movement of electrons, he's interested. :-)
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Wanted for questioning - Earl Hickey.
Yes, because gas station owners are all billionaires. I'm sure those massive refunds will be about $2.44 per customer.
There was a similar case in LA a while back. The fuel stations had installed a hidden switch that controlled the pump. When the LA County Weights and Measures truck shows up to test and certify the pumps, the manager would switch the pumps to "normal" mode. As soon as they were gone, they switch the pumps back to "cheat" mode. It took an undercover investigation to catch them in the act. That, and a couple of clerks came forward to testify about the switch they have to use when Weights and Measures showed up.