Garald Bennett, Falsely Certifying Cargo Tanks, Michigan 2017

Michigan Man Sentenced for Falsely Certifying Cargo Tanks

A Cass City, Michigan man was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in custody for falsely certifying and marking cargo tanks as having passed hydrostatic pressure and wet fluorescent magnetic particle tests.

Garald Bennett, 72, of Cass City, Michigan, was sentenced on Monday, March 20, 2017, for violating the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Act.

Bennett managed LPG Service and Leasing LLC, a cargo tank testing facility in Cass City, MI, where he supervised employees. He repeatedly and falsely certified to customers that LPG had inspected and tested the cargo tank portions of tanker trucks used to transport liquid and gaseous bulk cargos, including explosive materials.

Bennett also knew that the water tank at LPG that should have held the water used to conduct hydrostatic pressure tests was drained to prevent freezing. Nevertheless, he continued to certify that hydrostatic pressure tests had been done on tanks brought in for inspection.

The case was investigated by agents of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Bay City, Michigan.

Bennett was sentenced by United States District Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City, Michigan. In imposing the sentence, Judge Ludington described Bennett’s work as “dangerously ineffective.”

“The sentencing of Garald Bennett related to falsely certifying and marking certain cargo tanks as having passed required safety tests is a clear signal that severe penalties await those that would seek to circumvent hazardous materials transportation laws,” said Thomas J. Ullom, Regional Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. DOT’s Office of Inspector General.

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