Ex-railroad official indicted for lying about hazardous material inspections in Texas
A former federal railroad official who was the sole inspector for most of North Texas has been indicted on charges that he lied about hazardous material inspections in six area cities.
A federal grand jury indicted Tremelle Sykes, 54, of Meridian, Mississippi, on Tuesday on eight counts of false statements, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. He was scheduled to make his first federal court appearance Friday.
Sykes had lived in Dallas, but he moved to Mississippi after his alleged conduct was discovered.
If convicted, Sykes faces a maximum of 40 years in prison, five years on each count.
Sykes had been employed by the Federal Railroad Administration as a hazardous materials safety inspector assigned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and northeast Texas. His job was to inspect Texas railroads and shippers for compliance with regulations pertaining to the transport of hazardous materials such as ethanol, crude oil and other toxic or poisonous substances.
On at least eight occasions, Sykes is accused of falsifying inspection reports, claiming to have conducted inspections that never occurred.
The reports filed in early 2019 covered railyard companies in Fort Worth, Dallas, Cleburne, Saginaw, Garland and Gunter, according to federal authorities.
