Watered-down gas

Motorists filling up at one Camarillo station immediately had problems with their cars. It turned out they had bought gas tainted with water. The station owner, who now faces charges, said it was all a mistake:

A Camarillo gasoline station owner who claimed water was inadvertently mixed with his fuel said he would plead no contest to charges he sold tainted gas to customers. Benjamin Shavit, owner of the Camarillo Car Wash and gas station, said Tuesday he decided to enter the pleas to misdemeanor charges because a judge told him selling "nonconforming gasoline" could carry jail time. "I didn’t want to risk that," said Shavit, adding he will plead no contest to selling gas tainted with water to three customers. He will be placed on two years’ probation. The county Department of Weights and Measures discovered the water-laced gasoline in Shavit’s tanks and referred the case to the district attorney’s office for prosecution. (AP)