Stellantis unit official pleads guilty to felony in U.S. diesel emissions probe

WASHINGTON — A Fiat Chrysler auto engineer charged with making misstatements to U.S. regulators about diesel engines’ emission control systems pleaded guilty to a felony, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The Justice Department said the guilty plea by Emanuele Palma accompanies the earlier conviction of Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, for defrauding the EPA and customers.

Palma, who was charged in 2019, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act. Sentencing is set for Oct. 17.

Stellantis declined to comment.

Under a plea agreement, Palma, who is in the process of relocating from Michigan to Italy, is not expected to spend any time in custody.

“Senior auto officials at FCA U.S., including Mr. Palma, conspired to circumvent pollution standards and obtain EPA certifications for hundreds of thousands of SUVs and pickup trucks under false pretenses,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement.

FCA U.S. LLC agreed in June 2022 to pay about $300 million in criminal penalties arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles in its U.S. lineup.

FCA U.S. previously paid a $311 million civil penalty and over $183 million in compensation to over 63,000 people as part of a class-action diesel lawsuit.