Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/555125
ByDonThompson TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Asmanyas 100 commercial truck driv- ers paid up to $5,000 each to bribe state Department of Motor Vehicles employ- ees for illegal California li- censes, federal authorities said Tuesday. Up to 23 traffic accidents could be related to the fraud, officials said, though there were no fatalities. Emma Klem, a 45-year- old Salinas DMV employee, and trucking school owner Kulwinder Dosanjh Singh, 58, of Turlock, both pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspir- acy to commit bribery and identity fraud, U.S. Attor- ney Benjamin Wagner said. Two other DMV employ- ees in Salinas and Sacra- mento and two other Cen- tral Valley trucking school operators have been ar- rested on similar charges. Court records say the em- ployees changed computer records to falsely show that drivers had passed written and behind-the-wheel tests after they were bribed by the owners of three truck- driving schools between June 2011 and March 2015. "Individuals who use their positions to obtain commercial drivers' li- censes for unskilled and untested drivers jeopar- dize our nation's security and safety. Allowing un- qualified drivers to operate heavy commercial trucks on our highways is hon- estly quite chilling," said Carol Webster, acting assis- tant special agent in charge of the U.S. Homeland Secu- rity Investigations office in Sacramento. DMV examiners Andrew Kimura, 30, of Sacramento, and Robert Turchin, 65, of Salinas, were indicted last week on charges of conspir- acy, bribery and fraud in connection with identifica- tion documents, along with trucking school owners Pavitar Dosangh Singh, 55, of Sacramento, and Mangal Gill, 55, of San Ramon. Pavitar Singh and Kimura have pleaded not guilty, while Turchin and Gill are to be arraigned Fri- day in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Kimura's attorney, Wil- liam Portanova, said his cli- ent is a good person caught in an unfortunate situa- tion, "but we're going to work through it and help this young man." Class A commercial driv- ers' licenses like the ones involved in some of the al- leged bribes are required to operate trucks, including 18-wheel cargo semitrailers. They are tougher to obtain than regular driver licenses. Applicants must pass both a written test and a behind- the-wheel test that is offered at a limited number of DMV locations, including Salinas. The DMV revoked or can- celled 602 commercial li- censes that could be linked to the fraud, including the 100 that were pinpointed by investigators, said Frank Alvarez, the DMV's chief in- vestigator. Drivers can re- take the tests, sometimes after a hearing, and Wag- ner said none are likely to be prosecuted during the ongoing probe because in- vestigators are targeting the organizers. BRIBERY Fe ds s ay D MV w ork er s tr ad ed cash for California licenses RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Benjamin B. Wagner, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California, discusses the investigation into a scheme involving illegal diver'slicenses, Tuesday in Sacramento. By Sally Ho The Associated Press Seismologists study- ing a yearlong swarm of thousands of mostly mi- nor earthquakes in north- west Nevada say they could be the precursor for a "big one," although speculation that they're related to a se- ries of extinct volcanoes can't be ruled out. The University of Ne- vada's Reno Nevada Seis- mological Laboratory an- nounced Tuesday that there have been 5,610 earthquakes in a swarm that started in July 2014 in the Sheldon Na- tional Wildlife Refuge near the Oregon border. More than 200 have reg- istered at a magnitude of 3 or greater, which is enough to be felt by ranchers and residents nearby. The larg- est one hit on Nov. 6 with a magnitude of 4.7, although there's also been a recent flare-up since mid-July. "It's kind of unusual that it has lasted so long," said Ken Smith, a seismologist. It's been a topic of dis- cussion whether or not those quakes stem from the extinct volcanos in the Sheldon refuge collectively known as the High Rock Caldera, which is at least 15 million years old. That hasn't been ruled out yet, but Smith said there's no direct evidence of volcanic activity driving the quakes. To rule it out would require more seismic and geodetic measurements. Such a repetition of small earthquakes is often associ- ated with volcanic activity, but the latest ones point to a fairly typical tectonic se- quence that is characteris- tic of the western Great Ba- sin region. PRECURSOR Th ou sa nd s of q ua ke s hi t no rt hw es t Ne va da FacebookPage 4,151fans + 18 this week .. and growing, every week! 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