Kamala Harris - For California Attorney General 2010

SF DA Gets Tough on Environmental Polluters

By Doug Sovern, KCBS
April 21, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS) - Prosecutors are using a San Francisco mechanic who has admitted to "playing dirty," when it comes to keeping the air clean, as they crack down on environmental crime.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said investigators caught Ivan Mendoza through a sting operation, after somebody became suspicious about the high price of his "guaranteed" smog checks. "He was charging $300 versus what would normally be a $100, $150 expense."

Listen   KCBS' Doug Sovern reports

According to Harris, Mendoza didn't actually check anyone's exhaust. Instead, he used "clean piping" to get smog certificates for cars that couldn't possibly pass the test. "There's a very direct connection between these dirty cars that are releasing these emissions and the pollution we're experiencing in our air, and the quality of air that our children breathe," said Harris.

Mendoza is going to jail, and Harris wants the public to turn in anyone else who's cheating the smog certification system. "We think it's happening more often than you'd think."

Source: KCBS

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