BALTIMORE CITY UNLICENSED SCRAP
TIRE HAULER CONVICTED

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today the conviction of Rahman Smothers 39, of the1800 block of N. Guilford Street in Baltimore City, on a charge of hauling scrap tires without a license.

Smothers pled guilty in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City to unlawfully transporting scrap tires without a license. According to the statement of facts, from January 20, 2005 through August 20, 2005 Smothers hauled tires from Pikesville Automotive Service Center on Reisterstown Road after his license was terminated in June of 2004. During the time from 1999 through 2004 while he still had a license, Smothers failed to file semiannual reports required to identify where he picked up tires and where he disposed of them. Maryland law requires service stations and retail outlets that accumulate old tires removed from vehicles to report which licensed haulers take the tires away. Tire disposal facilities also report which transporters bring in tires for disposal. In this case, Smothers lost his license after multiple violations of the reporting requirements. Later his invalid license appeared on scrap tire facility reports indicating that Smothers hauled tires from several scrap tire accumulation facilities in Baltimore City and County.

“ Scrap tire haulers are regulated by the Maryland Department of the Environment to ensure that the million plus scrap tires generated each year in Maryland are disposed of properly,” said Attorney General Curran. “If a scrap tire hauler repeatedly refuses to comply with their legal obligations and then continues to operate after losing their license, this office will use all the tools at our disposal including criminal prosecution to make sure that tire generators and haulers follow the law.”

District Court Judge George M. Lipman approved the terms of the plea agreement and imposed a $5000 fine, suspended all but $2000 and placed Smothers on one year of probation. The maximum penalty available for this violation is a $10,000 fine.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General with the assistance of the Maryland Department of the Environment Waste Management Administration’s Scrap Tire Program, the Baltimore City Police Department, and the Maryland State Police.