Stellantis manager involved in diesel cheating case pleads guilty

A Stellantis diesel manager connected to a costly emissions cheating case involving more than 100,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and Ram 1500 pickups has admitted his role in the scandal.

Emanuele Palma pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit to a charge of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.

Although the sentencing guideline range for Palma is zero to six months in prison, court testimony indicated that the defense would recommend a time-served sentence of one day and that the government would not oppose that. The maximum possible sentence is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea agreement, filed Wednesday, said the government would dismiss any other charges and not bring additional charges if the court accepts it.

The case, which had echoes of Volkswagen’s Dieselgate cheating scandal that cost that automaker billions of dollars to resolve, led to criminal charges against the company, which pleaded guilty last year under its U.S. operating arm of FCA US LLC. The company was ordered to pay about $300 million to settle that case involving vehicles it marketed as “clean EcoDiesel.” The vehicles, according to officials, had been calibrated so that they polluted less during federal emissions testing than when they were being driven.

In addition to the criminal penalties, the company agreed in 2020 to pay $9.5 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case; and a civil settlement involving the Justice Department and consumers cost the company almost $800 million.

Palma appeared in court Wednesday, flanked by attorneys, and answered various questions from Judge Nancy Edmunds, before eventually saying “I plead guilty, your honor.”

More:Indicted FCA manager circulated press release about prior diesel emissions settlement

Palma was given the OK to once again take possession of his passport so he can travel to Italy to help his family relocate there. Palma is an Italian citizen.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 17.

Palma had been a calibration engineer working for VM Motori, a supplier of diesel engines based in Italy, before it was acquired by the company in 2013, according to court records. That was before Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged with Peugeot maker PSA Group in 2021 to form Stellantis.

Palma began working for FCA US, based in Auburn Hills north of Detroit, as a member of the company’s diesel drivability and emissions group in June 2016, but had no formal training in U.S. emissions regulations before December 2015, according to the plea agreement.

FCA was seeking certification to sell its 3-liter diesel 2014-16 Grand Cherokees and Ram 1500s, and Palma went along with a decision by the FCA certification group not to disclose certain information to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the application process, the agreement said.

Two other managers, Sergio Pasini and Gianluca Sabbioni, were also charged in the case and await trial.

Stellantis, through spokesman Eric Mayne, declined to comment on the case or say whether Palma is still employed by the company.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.