Shell companies millions in fines and special operation undercover in new York. No, it is not a criminal detective, this is a campaign to «sweep» vans with ice cream.
The mayor of new York bill De Blasio in a message to media said that on Wednesday during the operation of the city’s «Operation Meltdown» has stopped working 46 vans of ice-cream after it became known that they violated the traffic rules and for decades, shied away from paying fines.
While from 2009 to 2017, the merchants of ice cream sold to children and adults with cold dessert at the same time, they have accumulated 22 thousand subpoenas, and about $4.5 million fines for traffic violations. Among other violations, the ice cream vans are accused of running a red light, Parking near fire hydrants, as well as the overlap of pedestrian crossings.
Zachary W. Carter, a former United States attorney for the Eastern district of new York, said: «We all know that ice cream van’s – they’re magnets for kids. To protect this particularly vulnerable group of pedestrians, we must strictly enforce the rules of the road».
In order for the non-penalty they got away with it, the ice cream sellers have created dozens of shell companies and systematically re-registered vans in Department of motor vehicles under the names of different companies. As noted in the press release, by that time, as the financial management of the city tried to remove the debt, there was no trace of the company responsible for the offence.
The city filed suit against violators who have over $10,000 in unpaid fines. «No new Yorker can’t be above the law, especially those who try to ignore public safety and create hazardous situations for pedestrians, drivers and motorists,» said De Blasio.
