http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050703435.html?sub=AR

Relicensed Station On 'Radar Screen,' O'Malley Says

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008; B02

Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested yesterday that an automotive safety inspection station in Prince George's County will receive increased monitoring from the Maryland State Police as he defended his administration's decision to issue the facility a new license four years after its previous one was revoked for fraudulent practices.

The Washington Post reported this week that police issued a license to Hilltop Fleet Services of Capitol Heights in March despite objections from the commander who ran the inspections program. Capt. Robert F. Bambary had alleged in a memo that "strong political pressure" from the governor's office and a Prince George's senator were behind the decision.

Hilltop's license was revoked in 2004 after police found evidence that the station had issued certificates for hundreds if not thousands of inspections its mechanics did not conduct. The station's owners said they had been treated unfairly in seeking a new license and sought help from Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's), who brought the issue to the attention of O'Malley's office.

Appearing yesterday on WTOP (103.5 FM), O'Malley (D) said that his office asked Col. Terrence B. Sheridan, superintendent of the state police, to reexamine the case.

"We did in fact ask him to take a second look at it," O'Malley said. "The resolution he came up with was fair and reasonable and within the law."

Pressed by the WTOP host about the safety implications of relicensing the station, O'Malley said that "it puts them high on the radar screen" for monitoring by the police.