In the latest development in the Affordable Towing truck emissions conspiracy case, a mechanic was sentenced in a federal courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
Robert Dyche, the 67-year-old owner of Full Flash Tuning, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act in March.
On Nov. 28, Dyche was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $500.
According to charging documents, Full Flash Tuning specialized in “illegally tampering with the on-board diagnostic systems” of vehicles.
Dennis Cleveland, the owner of Affordable Towing, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and one count of tampering with an emissions monitoring device. Cleveland admitted that, since 2011, he directed his employees to physically disable emissions control components on multiple heavy-duty diesel tow trucks — components mandated by the Clear Air Act.
Cleveland was sentenced to two years in federal prison in September. He was also ordered to pay $255,000 in fines.
Dyche allegedly did as he was directed, which a federal judge noted when sentencing Dyche.
“Clearly you are not the ringleader,” District Judge Stephen R. Bough said to Dyche. “Clearly you did not make a lot of money.
“You did trust your friend Mr. Cleveland too much,” Bough continued, adding that he believes Dyche will not be committing these types of crimes in the future.
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The owner of Affordable Towing was sentenced to two years in federal prison for leading a conspiracy to illegally tamper with the emissions controls of the company’s diesel towing vehicles.
What was Dyche’s involvement in Cleveland’s conspiracy?
In court and on a KY3 interview, Cleveland admitted he caused several of his 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” a vehicle's onboard diagnostic system.
According to court documents, one purpose for “tuning” is to allow the vehicles to continue to seemingly operate normally while the emissions control system is disabled, rather than forcing the vehicle’s engine into a state known as “limp mode,” which greatly limits the maximum speed of the vehicle, incentivizing the driver or owner to repair the malfunction. The use of “tuning” serves to reduce the high costs associated with maintaining or repairing the emissions control systems on heavy-duty diesel trucks.
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.
Cleveland, through Affordable Towing, contracted with Dyche on multiple occasions to “tune” or “flash” the emissions control systems of Affordable Towing vehicles, thereby causing multiple fleet vehicles to release pollutants into the air that far exceeded the legally allowable amounts under the Clean Air Act. Rather than go into limp mode, each diesel truck would continue to operate normally, as if the vehicle were operating in accord with Clean Air Act restrictions.
In addition to personally tuning Affordable Towing vehicles, Dyche, on multiple occasions, would take the vehicles to an unidentified shop in Rogersville to “tune” the vehicles, for which he was paid by Affordable Towing.
Under federal statutes, Dyche was subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole.
