Henderson man is charged with clean air violations

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | 9:44 a.m.

A Henderson man who manufactured and sold custom-built motorcycles that allegedly did not have required air pollution equipment has been charged with violating the Clean Air Act and with advising his customers to lie to state and federal investigators.

Tory Mathew Stone, 42, who owns and operates All World Cycles Inc. in Anaheim, Calif., and Henderson, was named in a 13-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on May 4. The indictment was unsealed Monday when Stone appeared in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., to plead not guilty to the charges.

Federal officials say representatives from the California Air Resources Board visited Stone's shop about a year ago and told him to stop selling motorcycles without air pollution control equipment. He was also allegedly told that that he also needed to obtain certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The indictment alleges Stone continued to sell the motorcycles, and that he advised his customers to provide false information to investigators.

Stone also is charged with 11 counts of "structuring" monetary transactions to avoid federal requirements that cash transactions of $10,000 or more be reported to bank authorities.

Stone's trial has been set for Aug. 2. If Stone is convicted of all 13 charges, he faces a maximum possible sentence of 112 years in federal prison.