Investigations

On July 11, 2017, Fraticelli Trucking Company Inc. (Fraticelli), of Penuelas, Puerto Rico, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, San Juan, Puerto Rico, to a $20,000 criminal fine. Fraticelli previously pleaded guilty in May 2017 to illegally transporting a highway route controlled quantity (HRCQ) of cobalt 60, a class 7 highly radioactive material.

 

The investigation disclosed that on March 7, 2014, Fraticelli willfully transported a HRCQ of cobalt 60 between San Juan and Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, via a commercial highway without conducting the required pre-trip inspection. Specifically, a Fraticelli employee, Eduardo Fraticelli Alvarado, completed, signed, and submitted Combined Motor Carrier Identification Reports and Hazmat Permit Application Forms to FMCSA in 2011, 2013, and 2015, certifying knowledge of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations.

 

Despite knowledge of the required inspections for transporting radioactive material, Fraticelli willfully transported the HRCQ of cobalt 60 without conducting the required pre-trip inspections on at least four separate occasions between December 2011 and March 2014.

 

DOT-OIG worked this investigation with FMCSA.