The wheels of justice are turning in Clark County, where Tracy Coiteux, a 44-year-old business co-owner, has been convicted on charges of conspiracy and multiple counts of violating the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that after a three-day jury trial, and a quick three-hour deliberation, the verdict against Coiteux is in. The charges stemmed from tampering with diesel trucks' emissions systems at Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest and a related sales company, RPM Motors and Sales NW, according to details obtained by the Justice Department.
Reports indicate that this environmental fast one pulled by Coiteux, along with her husband, Sean Coiteux, and Nick Akerill, the service manager, involved the removal of pollution control equipment from trucks. They didn't only stop at the hardware; they went on to reprogram the software that ensures truck emissions remain within legal bounds. It's said that a modified truck could pollute as much as 1,200 compliant ones. Sean Coiteux pled guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on August 13, with Tracy's date with legal destiny set for August 19, 2024. Meanwhile, Akerill took a plea on state pollution charges, landing him a 30-day stint with a Clark County work crew, as noted by the Justice Department.
Digging into the case files, it’s evident that from January 2018 to January 2021, the Coiteuxs and their partner in grime charged about $2,000 per truck for "deletes" and "tunes," which ran afoul of the Clean Air Act. The investigation kicked off with a tip from an ex-employee and led to untangling some 375 modifications, amounting to half a mil in ill-gotten gains. A search warrant executed in January 2021 exposed the automotive shop's dirty laundry – finding removed emission parts and replacement tailpipes meant to cover their tracks.
These violations don't come cheap. Tracy Coiteux could face up to five years for the conspiracy, and each Clean Air Act violation slaps on an additional two years and the possibility of a $250,000 fine. But the final sentence is still up in the air, to be determined by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle, who will weigh in the sentencing guidelines and other considerations. The Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division spearheaded the case, with help from prosecutors Seth Wilkinson and Cindy Chang, plus EPA Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla Gebel Perrin.
