It’s not uncommon for motorists who use Orange County’s toll lanes without a Fastrak transponder to get a bill in the mail from the toll road agency.
But $26,000?
According to the agency, a top official for the Newport Beach Fire Department, Paul Matheis, racked up more than $26,000 in
fines and penalties over a two-year period by using toll roads.
The agency sent a
letter to Matheis and the city notifying them about the fines, said the toll road agency’s spokeswoman, Lisa Telles.
Toll road violators are identified by cameras that take a
picture of the vehicle’s license plates, she said.
Matheis paid
the fines personally and the issue is resolved from the agency’s side,
said Newport Beach city spokeswoman Tara Finnigan.
However, the city is now
investigating whether Matheis was using the Chevy Tahoe in compliance
with city policy, Finnigan told the Daily Pilot.
Matheis, the Fire
Department’s Training Division chief, had been using the toll roads to
commute in his city-issued vehicle, said Telles.
— Joseph Serna
Photo: Orange County toll road. L.A. Times file