Jul 20, 2007 12:22 pm US/Central
Minn. Man Accused Of Posing As Trucking Inspector
Minneapolis (AP) ―
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The State Patrol said another truck carrying a sticker from Hertzog was involved in an October accident that killed Darrell Blackwell, a 65-year-old MnDOT worker from Fairfax, who was riding a tractor when he was struck in Nicollet County. (File)
Authorities say a Winsted man posed as a certified commercial vehicle inspector for nearly two years and issued fake inspection stickers for as many as 1,800 trucks, including two involved in fatal crashes.
Bert Hertzog, 52, was charged this month in Wright County District Court with felony counts of theft by swindle and aggravated forgery.
"For the true story, you'll have to wait awhile," Hertzog said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 14.
He had been decertified in June 2005 for falsifying documents, after state officials learned he did not have a repair facility or mobile repair vehicle required to do Minnesota Department of Transportation inspections, said State Patrol Investigator Lt. Tom Nelson.
Six days after he was decertified, Hertzog asked Herald Journal Sign and Graphics in Winsted to print inspection stickers.
"He was a local guy and we had no reason to suspect anything," said manager Troy Feltmann. "We'd make him a proof, he'd pick it up and say he was taking it down to the Department of Transportation to make sure the proof didn't need to be lighter or darker. He seemed on the up and up."
Hertzog often ordered 80 stickers at once, but he ordered 500 in January, Feltmann said. Feltmann said Hertzog returned last month and told him, "Get rid of your files. If anyone asks, you don't know who I am."
A few days later, a state trooper visited Feltmann's office.
Meanwhile, dozens of truck owners have told officials that Hertzog completed inspections quickly and charged only $35 to $85, Nelson said. The minimum charge for an inspection is $35.
"A company that had 21 vehicles inspected by him called (Thursday) and said they had no idea he was decertified," he said.
Investigators say Hertzog placed a phony sticker on a semitrailer truck that struck a minivan near Eyota in March, causing a woman who was seven months pregnant to lose her fetus. The truck had defective brakes, but the State Patrol did not fault the truck driver in the accident, Nelson said.
The State Patrol said another truck carrying a sticker from Hertzog was involved in an October accident that killed Darrell Blackwell, a 65-year-old MnDOT worker from Fairfax, who was riding a tractor when he was struck in Nicollet County.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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