A truck driver from Maryland has been sentenced to prison for breaking environmental protection laws. He confessed to intentionally dumping 5,342 gallons of diesel fuel in different areas of Anne Arundel County in an attempt to boost his earnings.
On November 6, 2024, Larry A. Gross, aged 46, admitted his guilt for two counts of unlawfully releasing diesel fuel, as stated by Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown.
Gross has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, and he will also serve five years of supervised probation. Additionally, he has been directed to pay a $10,000 fine.
“Illegally dumping thousands of gallons of diesel fuel is an irresponsible act that jeopardizes public health. Toxins from this fuel can harm our waterways, contaminate our soil, and endanger our health,” said Attorney General Brown. “Our Office will take action against truck drivers who risk Marylanders’ safety in order to make a profit. Trucker drivers who handle fuel must comply with Maryland’s laws and dispose of it properly.”
Gross ran H&M Truckin, LLC and worked as a contract employee for fuel distributor M Pittman Enterprises (MPE).
On October 3, 2023, Gross operated an MPE tanker and picked up a load of 7,500 gallons of diesel from a fuel terminal in Baltimore City, Maryland, according to officials.
In the early hours of October 4, Gross successfully transported 2,159 gallons of diesel to a fuel depot located in Elkridge, Maryland.
“Like other tanker truck drivers, Mr. Gross was paid by the number of pickup fuel loads and not the number of deliveries. Tanker trucks cannot carry both diesel fuel and gasoline at the same time. If a tanker truck driver, like Mr. Gross, has leftover diesel fuel in the tanker after a delivery, it has to be completely emptied before it can be filled with gasoline, and vice versa. Mr. Gross proceeded to illegally discharge the remaining 5,342 gallons of diesel fuel,” Brown said.
“On October 4, 2023, at approximately 2:01 a.m., Mr. Gross dumped diesel fuel on the shoulder of Route 10 in Brooklyn Park, Anne Arundel County. Less than an hour later, at approximately 2:56 a.m., Mr. Gross stopped the truck in the 500 block of Digiulian Boulevard, Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, and illegally dumped more diesel fuel. Dash camera video from the truck shows diesel fuel running down the back toward the front of the truck. The discharged diesel fuel was then captured at 3:01 a.m. on surveillance video flowing down the roadway,” said Brown. “Soon thereafter, at approximately 3:13 a.m., Mr. Gross returned to the shoulder of Route 10 in Brooklyn Park and discharged even more diesel fuel. At approximately 3:43 a.m., Mr. Gross— whose truck was now empty due to his illegal discharge of over five thousand gallons of diesel fuel—returned to the Motiva fuel terminal in Baltimore City and loaded 8,200 gallons of gasoline onto his truck.”
According to officials, the analysis of soil samples revealed the presence of pollutants, such as petroleum-based hydrocarbons and diesel range organics.
