Man Sentenced to Prison for Transporting Fireworks in Unmarked Vehicle across state lines

Office of Inspector General

Title:	Man Sentenced to Prison for Transporting Fireworks in Unmarked Vehicle across state lines
Date:	November 08, 2004
Type:	Investigation
Summary:	In U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Joe Eduardo Gonzales Avila, of East Los Angeles, CA was sentenced to federal prison for transporting more than 28,000 pounds of explosive fireworks without warning placards from Pahrump, Nevada to Los Angeles. Avila pled guilty on August 27, 2004 to transporting hazmat without required placards, without a license, and failing to stop at a state inspection station. Avila’s co-conspirator, Horacio Anguaiano, pled guilty on October 25, 2004 to Conspiracy to Transport Explosives and is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2005. This was a joint investigation conducted by the Area E Arson Task Force and the California Highway Patrols Cargo Theft Interdiction Program, which includes DOT-OIG, the FBI, the CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the LAPD, the Downey Fire Department, and the Montebello Fire Department.