AUBURN (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Fake license plates and doctored log books are some of the tricks a Maine trucker is accused of using to avoid paying tolls for six years.
Maine State Police said two months of investigation led them to 61-year-old Danny Olson of Turner. They arrested him in Auburn on Thursday afternoon as he drove his rig up from New Hampshire.
Police said several license plates were found in the truck that were not registered to Olson. One of the plates belonged to a man who had died. Police accused Olson of swapping the plates on his truck to stay a step ahead of the toll collectors on his long-haul trucking routes as the owner of Olson Transportation.
The bill for the unpaid tolls attributed to Olson totals more than $1,300 in Maine alone. Police said he owes thousands of dollars more in other states across the Northeast, and they are in the process of contacting authorities in those states.
Charges against Olson include theft of services, falsifying his log book, failing to retain previous log books, illegal taking and attachment of registration plates, and failure to pay tolls.
While Olson was hauled off to Androscoggin County Jail, police called in a tow truck to haul away his truck on several safety violations. Olson only spent a night behind bars before walking free after posting $2,500 bail.
