Investigations

On April 26, Victor Kalinitichll, Valerjis Belovs, and Joseph Jadczak were sentenced in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Norristown, Pennsylvania, on charges related to an accident on U.S. 76 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in which one person died and five others were seriously injured when a commercial vehicle operated by Mr. Belovs drove into stopped traffic.  Mr. Kalinitichll was sentenced to 23 months incarceration, a $2,000 fine and ordered to pay $26,000 in restitution. Mr. Belovs was sentenced to 23 months incarceration and a $300 fine.  Mr. Jadczak also was sentenced to 23 months incarceration and fined $1000.

The investigation determined that the crash was a result of the fact that the tractor-trailer's brakes were extremely dangerous.  Both the driver of the tractor-trailer, Mr. Belovs, and its owner, Mr. Kalinitichll, admitted they were aware of the dangerous break condition and took no steps to fix the problem.  Mr. Belovs continued to drive the truck at Mr. Kalinitichll's direction.  The investigation further determined that the commercial vehicle displayed a valid inspection sticker despite the condition of the brakes.  The sticker was provided by Mr. Jadczak, Jr., the owner of Pratts Auto Service in Philadelphia. Mr. Jadczak admitted that he had not inspected the truck and permitted Mr. Kalinitichll to operate the vehicle with the dangerous brake condition.  In addition, the OIG analysis of Mr. Belovs' regulated driver logbooks revealed that he was driving in excess of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) maximum hours of operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the accident.

Mr. Kalinitichll and Mr. Belovs previously pled guilty to various state charges including one felony count of Homicide by Vehicle.  Additionally, Mr. Kalinitichll admitted that he solicited, received, and affixed illicit inspection stickers on commercial trucks he owned.  Likewise, Mr. Jadczak also pled guilty and admitted that he provided fraudulent commercial vehicle inspection stickers without actually performing any vehicle inspections.

The investigation was worked jointly with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania State Police with assistance from FMCSA.