FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CIV

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1998                                                                                                                                  (202) 616-2765

                                                                                                                                                                                TDD (202) 514-1888







PENNSYLVANIA CAR DEALER PAYS U.S. $80,000 TO SETTLE DISPUTE





	PHILADELPHIA -- A suburban Philadelphia used car dealership
has agreed to pay the United States $80,000 in civil penalties
and signed a consent decree pledging to halt unlawful practices
in the future in settling a suit alleging 51 violations of
federal odometer laws, the Department of Justice announced today. 
The complaint and consent decree were filed simultaneously
Thursday. 

	The John Altimari Auto Co. Inc., of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, 
and John A. Altimari, the company's president, agreed to pay the
penalty and adhere to a permanent court injunction requiring new
training, record keeping and disclosure requirements, said Frank
W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil
Division. 

	The suit was brought after an investigation by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Odometer Fraud Staff
discovered 51 instances in which the used car dealership failed
to properly prepare dealer reassignment forms for cars purchased
by Altimari and resold to car dealers in New Jersey.  The
complaint did not allege that the Altimari dealership rolled back
odometers, a federal criminal offense.

	However, the Altimari dealership left blank the odometer
reading on the required disclosure forms, an omission that makes
it easier for a car dealer buying the car to roll back the
vehicle's odometer before the car is sold to the ultimate
consumer.	

	"This settlement should send a strong signal to used car
dealers that the federal government takes odometer disclosure
laws very seriously and is working very hard to protect used car
buyers from odometer fraud," said Hunger.

	Under federal odometer disclosure laws, car dealerships are
required to report a vehicle's odometer reading, date of the
sale, and other identifying information on a disclosure form
given to the car's buyer each time the car is sold.  The law,
which carries penalties of up to $2,000 for each violation, is
designed to protect persons who might otherwise purchase a car
with an altered or reset odometer.  

	As part of the signed, 10-page comprehensive consent decree
submitted Thursday for the approval of U.S. District Judge
Eduardo Robreno of Philadelphia, the car dealership agreed to 
immediately stop violating all federal odometer laws and
regulations; provide all future car buyers with detailed
disclosure forms recording each vehicle's odometer reading; adopt
a written odometer disclosure policy and submit it for NHTSA's
approval; provide mandatory training to all of its employees on
federal odometer regulations; adopt a comprehensive records
management system; and make annual reports to NHTSA to prove
compliance with the consent decree.

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