Bus bosses jailed for fake papers

[Greg Sutherland]

BBC NEWS / MANCHESTER

19:45 GMT, Friday, 4 July 2008 20:45 UK

Bus bosses jailed for fake papers
Vincenzo Casale and David Ellis (Pic courtesy of GMP)

Two bus firm directors who lied about the hours their drivers worked
following a crash in which a 28-year-old man died have been jailed.

Martin Pilling, of Worsley, died when his cherry-picker was involved in
a crash with a bus in Rusholme, Manchester in 2006.

Vincenzo Casale and David Ellis both admitted at Manchester Crown Court
to conspiring to defraud.

The directors of UK North and GM Buses Enterprises were jailed for 15
months.

Casale, 44, of Meadowfield Close, Glossop, was also banned from being a
company director for the next 10 years and Ellis, 37, of Southfield
Close, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, was similarly banned for the next
five years.

Regulations ignored

Ernesto Casale, 45, of Moorfield Drive, Newton, who was also charged
with conspiring to create false documents had his charge put on file.

Following the fatal crash in November 2006, police arrested the driver
of the bus, 47-year-old Krzysztof Ociepa, who worked for UK North
Enterprises Ltd.

He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but the case was
dismissed by a judge.

The death - now subject to an ongoing inquest - resulted in an
investigation by the traffic watchdog which led to GM Buses and UK North
being ordered to take their entire fleet off the road over safety fears.

"This investigation has highlighted the unscrupulous working practices
of these directors. They had a total disregard for working conditions"
Sgt Alan Johnson

Cherry-picker in accident (Pic courtesy of MEN Syndication)

During the course of the investigation, officers discovered the driver
had been working for 19 days without a rest when the collision occurred.

Under UK driving regulations, drivers must take a minimum of 24 hours
rest in any two-week period.

The inquiry also revealed that 27 of the 130 drivers employed by the
firm had been in breach of their fortnightly rest. The worst case saw a
driver working a total of 31 days without a rest.

At a public inquiry held by the Traffic Commissioner in December 2006,
the directors produced false duty rosters in an attempt to discredit the
findings and to deceive the commissioner into thinking drivers had been
sticking to regulations.

Sgt Alan Johnson, of Greater Manchester Police's traffic section, said:
"This investigation has highlighted the unscrupulous working practices
of these directors.

"They had a total disregard for working conditions."