PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on criminal charges against a company that provides transit services to some Pittsburgh-area charter school students (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
A Pittsburgh-area charter school network has terminated its contract with a transit company that’s been charged with insurance fraud and other crimes by the state attorney general’s office.
Propel Schools says Wednesday it ended the contract with Three Rivers Transit and is working to provide other transportation of its students. Propel says only 55 of its 3,700 students with “specialized transportation needs” got rides from the McKeesport company.
The company and its owner, Martin Betchy, haven’t commented on allegations that some of the company’s vehicles were improperly insured and that some of its drivers had criminal records or invalid licenses and weren’t given proper background checks.
The attorney general says Propel has paid about $2.4 million to Three Rivers Transit since January 2012.
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12:40 p.m.
The state attorney general has charged a Pittsburgh-area school transit contractor with failing to properly insure some vehicles and hiring drivers with criminal records by ignoring state-mandated background checks.
Thirty-five-year-old Martin Betchy didn’t immediately return a call for comment Wednesday to his company, Three Rivers Transit, in McKeesport.
The attorney general has charged Betchy and his company with deceptive business practices, insurance fraud and other crimes.
State investigators say Betchy’s company had a $2.4 million contract to transport students with Propel Schools, which runs a network of charter schools.
Some vehicles were allegedly insured with personal policies, not commercial policies, which meant passengers got stuck paying bills if they were injured in crashes. The lack of background checks allegedly led to drivers having criminal records and, sometimes, invalid driver’s licenses.
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