VAN NUYS : Smog-Check Station Owner Is Arrested

State agents arrested the owner of a Van Nuys automotive repair shop Tuesday morning on charges of illegally providing smog certificates for vehicles that could not pass the state air pollution test, authorities said.

Jose Luis Torres, 29, of Anaheim was taken into custody at Valley Smog, 6030 Kester Ave., by investigators with the state Bureau of Automotive Repair.

Authorities said Torres illegally passed cars by “clean piping,” or using a second car to fool the computerized smog-test machine.

“What they do is have a vehicle they know will pass and they punch in the number of a dirty car,” said MaryAnne Newberry, an information officer with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

Torres, who is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, is charged with 12 felony counts, including perjury, filing false documents and forging registration documents.

After receiving a complaint from a citizen concerning his vehicle, investigators conducted a surveillance operation on March 22, and Torres was observed illegally passing two cars, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Leonard J. Shaffer, who filed a criminal complaint against Torres last week.

All three of the cars were more than 10 years old.

Ray Ortiz, the lead investigator in Torres’ case, said the bureau is stepping up enforcement efforts against fraudulent smog-check stations.

“We’re trying to get the message out that this does not have to be done,” he said. “For the shops that are not really testing cars, the message is that we are going to shut them down.”

Meanwhile, a nearby smog center with a similar name received more than a dozen phone calls from worried customers, the shop’s co-owner said.

“All day, people have been calling us saying, ‘Are you open tomorrow? We heard you got busted,’ ” said Bill Marano, co-owner of Valley Smog and Repair Center, 14329 Victory Blvd. “Another thing is that we do a lot of advertising around here. This confusion could really hurt us.”