How would you like to invest in a fuel-additive that helps cars get better mileage? If so, don't give your money to Bennie Robert Moore. Moore's phantom "Eco-Energizer" additive business has bilked hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. DNRonline.com reports that a Virgina court has ordered "Bob" Moore to repay $200k– out of a $450k "investment"– to local businessman David Garber. Moore was also given a ten-year suspended jail sentence. "He is a businessman and he’s starting from scratch," Moore's lawyer Andrew Harding said. "He’ll start a business up again, and when he does he will try to pay [Garber] back." Strangely, both Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Louis Nagy and Harding claimed they knew nothing of any charges against Moore in other jurisdictions. A quick web search reveals that the Georgia Attorney General served Legal Notice by way of Subpoena on EcoEnergizer in January. Not to mention ecosucks.realcheapgas.com, where the site's author leaves no words minced about Mr. Moore's authenticity. "Stay away from Eco If you REALLY feel the need to throw away $500…contact me. Give me your money and I'll be GREATLY APPRECIATIVE of it…but you'll recieve nothing more than my gratitude. That's a HELL of a lot more than EcoEnergizer has ever given anyone!!!"

California cops have been seizing automobiles driven by [alleged] drug buyers or johns and forcing them to pay $200 to $2k impound fees to get them back. Now, they have to stop (the cities involved that is). FOX40 News reports that the California State Supreme Court has ruled that the municipalities were overstepping their legal bounds. By impounding the cars, the cities were exceeding the penalties imposed by state and federal laws; only the state can dole out penalties for drug or prostitution- related offenses. The ruling doesn't affect similar laws that allow police to seize cars participating in street racing or "sideshows." Chicago, Miami and other U.S. cities may have to follow suit– or face being subject to one.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that California State Assembly members are given up to $500 per month to lease the car of their choice, plus all the gas they can guzzle, unlimited maintenance and free insurance coverage. The really sweet part of the deal: the state covers any damage to the vehicle (and other liabilities) no matter who is behind the wheel. The state paid over $2K to fix a state-funded car being driven to school by an assemblywoman's teen-aged daughter who rear-ended a truck. Even accidents caused while violating traffic codes are covered. When an assemblyman failed to yield and drove his Tahoe into an intersection while talking on his cell phone, the state shelled out almost $12K to cover the damages. The California Senate has different rules– its members are personally liable for damages to their state-owned vehicles if they're being used for personal business or driven by family members.

The New York Post says police are investigating the link between car dealer loan fraud at Universal Auto World in Lawrence, L.I. and the murder of 27-year-old salesman Collin Thomas outside the showroom. According to a civil forfeiture lawsuit, Universal employees paid "straw purchasers" (co-conspirators with a good credit history) to sign loan documents for more than $1.3m worth of luxury vehicles, which were then transferred to customers who didn't want their names to appear on the loan papers. Police say car salesmen Dexter Bostic and Robert Ellis, who stand accused of firing upon officers, were involved with the scam. Bostic worked as a car salesman at nearby Five Towns Mitsubishi, which once employed the slain salesman. Ellis, who lived with Bostic, also may have once worked at Five Towns. 

Drivers in Newport News, VA will be monitored by red light cameras as soon as next year– maybe. The snag? Money. The Daily Press reports that installing red light cameras at 18 intersections will cost the city around $882k. Just to recoup the initial investment, Newport News would need to snag 17,640 red-light runners at $50 a pop. Assistant Police Chief Dawn Barber puts a finer point on it: "And these are not tickets, but convictions.” City Manager Randy Hildebrandt gets the drift. "It won't be a money maker. I don't think we will be able to afford to have the equipment on all 18 intersections." 

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Sergio Giron is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, a member of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang (a.k.a. MS-13) and a convicted felon. Having served a 346-day sentence for assault with a deadly weapon after shooting a gang defector (charges since dropped), Giron awaits deportation hearings. To pay for an immigration lawyer, Giron’s fellow gang members began stealing cars and chopping them for parts. The admission illustrates the direct link between car theft and organized crime and, as this report from The Boston Globe points out, international terrorism. It's high time the states stepped-up their cooperation with federal authorities in this area.

The San Jose Mercury news reports that the California legislature has pulled over Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the good intention-paved road to Hell. If that sounds confusing, that's because it is. The headline: Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield accused the Governator of rigging state contracts to favor GM products. The story behind the story: federal laws forced the state to buy alternative-fuel vehicles; only "flex-fuel" Chevrolet Impalas and Silverado pickups met the contract requirements. (So Kalifornia bought 1,138 of 'em.) The story behind the story that's behind the story: there's no place to fuel these vehicles with E85, save a privately owned station in San Diego (that the state doesn't use). When confronted with the facts, Florez wanted to know why the State didn't apply for a waiver that would have allowed them to buy "real" green machines. The man who OK'ed the contract had a simple reply: "Demand creates supply." Who knew?

"We now know — beyond any doubt — that minority drivers are targeted for humiliating, degrading roadside searches even though there is no evidence that they have broken any laws." That's how Harvey M. Grossman, Legal Director of the Illinois ACLU interprets recent stats prepared by the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety for the Illinois Department of Transportation. According to the report, in 2006, Illinois police officers asked 0.68% of white drivers for consent to search their car during traffic stops, compared to 2.04% of minority drivers. The ACLU wants to redress this balance by eliminating ALL consent searches (i.e. a police request for a search despite a lack of probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity). "State police forces in California and New Jersey have ended the practice of conducting consent searches," Grossman said. "The Illinois General Assembly should examine this data and move quickly to bar the practice in our state."

The Smart Automotive Group [website "under construction," no relation to the SMART city car] got more than a slap-on-the-wrist for sending out "promotions" on behalf of Georgia car dealers. The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) whacked owners Michael and Ben Burst $1,660,320 each for violating the Fair Business Practices Act. Specifically, the Louisiana agency arranged ads that claimed ordinary sales were "liquidations" or "Georgia's only reprocessed vehicle event," told consumers they'd won cars they hadn't, misrepresented the monthly payments and the number of cars available for sale and claimed customers were preapproved for loans when they weren't. And this is AFTER they told the OCA they were no longer doing business in the state. Nice how the dealerships can shuffle off the blame to the advertising company, when they approved the ad copy and benefited from its mischaracterization. 

The Orange County Register reports that dozens of investigators from the Orange police and the county DA’s office raided a local Nissan dealership on Monday. According to the report, Douglas Nissan stands accused of using stolen pay stubs, driver licenses and social security numbers to secure car loans. “There may have been thousands of fraudulent loans processed with the stolen identities of thousands of unsuspecting people," the Chief prosecutor explained at a press conference held in front of the dealership. "The vast majority of the victims were Hispanic." And behind him… it was business as usual. Even as officers carted away hundreds of boxes of lease documents, dealer jackets and loan applications, customers continued shopping. “The only thing going on here is a big sale," claimed a manager. Talk about dedication.

It’s hard to argue against a law enforcement device that automatically scans license plates, checks the police data banks for infractions (stolen vehicle, traffic violations, etc.) and immediately informs the officer of any outstanding warrants or “issues.” According to the cop showing the $22k roof-mounted system to Newsday reporter Michael Frazier, the “Plate Hunter” reduces an entire day’s [theoretical] checking to 30 seconds. The New York Civil Liberties Union makes the case against using these electronic number plate readers to create a proposed “Ring of Steel” inside Manhattan. "From our perspective, police should be in the business of investigating crimes, not tracking law-abiding citizens," said Christopher Dunn, the group's associate legal director.

Help me out. Once again, Parisian youths have “celebrated” Bastille Day by taking to the streets and burning cars. According Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the vandals topped last year’s one night total by 12 vehicles, destroying some 266 whips. Other than all the socio-economic politico-religious motivations for this orgy of criminal property damage, I don’t understand what this report means by “detonators.” Apparently, the French authorities attempted to forestall the conflagrations created during these “routine riots” by banning the sales, storage and use of “detonators.” Something’s been lost in translation. 

Speaking of Paris Hilton, Chicago is cracking down on the 25k drivers motoring around the windy city on a revoked or suspended license. The Chicago Sun Times reports that the police will now impound the miscreants’ cars. While the Times points out that Chicago probably doesn’t have the storage capacity for the expected influx, we’re more interested in the fact that “Vehicle impoundment has become the city's catch-all penalty for 13 offenses ranging from drunken driving, fly-dumping and prostitution to loud radio playing, drag racing, and drug and curfew violations.” Not to mention the new $1000 “administrative fee” needed to reclaim an impounded automobile. Hey, I thought judges set criminal penalties…