![\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/bottleneck\/images\/2008\/08\/29\/toll.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/bottleneck\/images\/2008\/08\/29\/toll.jpg\" "\\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/bottleneck\/images\/2008\/08\/29\/toll.jpg\\"")
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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.<\/p>\n
But $26,000?<\/p>\n
According to the agency, a top official for the Newport Beach Fire Department, Paul Matheis, racked up more than $26,000 in
\nfines and penalties over a two-year period by using toll roads.<\/p>\n
The agency sent a
\nletter to Matheis and the city\u00a0 notifying them about the fines, said the toll road agency’s spokeswoman, Lisa Telles.<\/p>\n
Toll road violators are identified by cameras that take a
\npicture of the vehicle\u2019s license plates, she said.
<\/br>
\n
<\/br>
\nMatheis paid
\nthe fines personally and the issue is resolved from the agency\u2019s side,
\nsaid Newport Beach city spokeswoman Tara Finnigan.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
However, the city is now
\ninvestigating whether Matheis was using the Chevy Tahoe in compliance
\nwith city policy, Finnigan told the Daily Pilot.<\/p>\n
Matheis, the Fire
\nDepartment\u2019s Training Division chief, had been using the toll roads to
\ncommute in his city-issued vehicle, said Telles.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n