Unauthorized Tow Trucks Pull Fast One on City

In a growing problem that costs the city thousands of dollars a year in lost fees, so-called bandit tow truck operators who lack city permits roam the streets in search of accident victims in distress.

Frequently arriving at accident scenes first, they talk unsuspecting drivers into using their services, directing them to auto body shops, physicians and lawyers that offer the bandit operators kickbacks for the new business.

“They are money-hungry criminals,” said Det. Dan Carson, who coordinates the Los Angeles Police Department’s supervision of the 20 companies designated for police to call on when assistance is needed for such things as accidents or impounding cars.

The city’s Police Commission regulates the towing business, which includes about 175 permitted companies, and decides which 20 will be designated as so-called official police garages to be called on for help. Carson said the city receives 7% of the gross annual income from the official police garages. At accident scenes, police call one of these companies or people involved can pick their own.

No one knows the exact number of bandits in the city, although police garage operators estimate there could be hundreds. Steve Smith, manager of S & W Wilshire Tow, said his drivers encounter bandits three or four days a week.

The companies operating without permits are becoming increasingly aggressive at stealing business from legitimate operators, according to officials at the city’s police garages.

“These guys know all the tricks,” said Ken Spiker Jr., executive director of the Official Police Garage Assn. “The bandits know how to beat the system.”

Race for Customers Poses Dangers

The law prohibits tow truck drivers other than those at the official police garages from using police scanners to find business. It also prohibits them from soliciting business at an accident scene if they are not summoned.

The bandit operators monitor police scanners, then drive at high--and often dangerous--speeds to get to accidents before the police and the authorized tow truck operators do, officials said. And the race for customers can get rough, often resulting in disputes when several tow operators converge on the scene, they said.

Last month, tow truck driver Thaddeus Bonner, 45, of Pacoima, was arrested on suspicion of beating to death David Bass, 37, also a tow truck driver in Pacoima. At least one of the drivers did not have a Police Commission permit, authorities said. Police are looking into the possibility that the dispute was over a customer.

If that proves true, it would not surprise many people in the industry.

In 1991, a bandit tow operator rushing to the scene of an accident in southwest Los Angeles smashed into a car, killing a 13-year-old boy.

Authorities at the official police garages said they have been running into the bandit trucks for years, especially preying on accident victims in the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles and South-Central Los Angeles, areas with an abundance of body shops.

Operators who fail to meet the towing permit requirements for Los Angeles often get away with doing business in the city by claiming addresses in such cities as Burbank, Glendale and Culver City, LAPD Det. Dan DeBellis said.

“They use some phantom address,” he said, “yet they’re really running business from their truck somewhere in L.A.”

Unauthorized Work Proves Lucrative

Carlton Johnson has been towing cars for 16 years, eight at S & W Wilshire Tow, the garage designated for the LAPD’s Wilshire Division. He said the “bird-doggers”--the nickname many official tow operators use for the bandits--are around “all day long, around the clock.”

Wearing a jacket with an “Official Police Garage” patch on the sleeve, Johnson drove down what he calls “Bird Dog Alley,” a strip of auto body shops on Pico Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard, listening to a police scanner. He carries an identification card with his fingerprint on it that is issued by the Police Commission.

Responding to a police call for towing at an accident site, Johnson said he once came across a particularly angry bandit tow truck driver who yelled at him for taking the customer.

But most of the time the bandits beat him to the scene, and end up with the customer. “There goes my money driving down the street,” Johnson said.

The bandits often use “runners” who drive their cars to an accident site, persuade the victims to accept their services and then use a cell phone to summon the tow operator, officials said.

“It’s a problem because, when an individual is involved in an accident, many times they are in a crisis situation,” said Gary Minzer, president of the Official Police Garage Assn. “Many people in that state aren’t rational and don’t consider if [the tow operator is] legitimate or not.”

Often, by the time the police arrive, the bandit operator has persuaded the victim to grant written permission to take the car. Once that happens, there is little the police can do because the victim has essentially signed a contract, Minzer said.

These unauthorized operations have proved lucrative, officials said.

“A single tow with some accident victims can give them quite a bit of money,” said Robert Sommers, vice president of Howard Sommers Towing Inc., which handles the towing for the LAPD’s West Valley Division. “It could mean probably a few thousand dollars to the driver.”

The operator usually gets a cash kickback for any business they direct to auto body shops, attorneys and physicians with whom they deal, Carson said.

The auto body shops, in turn, often charge more for their services, resulting in larger claims to insurance companies. “It’s actually a big insurance scam,” Carson said.

Towing costs Los Angeles about $12 million a year, according to city records. About $7 million is recovered by collecting a vehicle release fee, a parking tax and 7% of the gross income of the official police garages, Carson said. A bandit tow truck driver stealing a customer means a loss of city revenue.

Arrest Efforts Have Little Effect

The police have had little success cracking down on the bandit operators, primarily because only Carson and eight other detectives are assigned to enforce laws related to tow operators along with several other duties.

“What we do in enforcement doesn’t even put a dent in what they do,” Carson said. “We’re somewhat helpless.”

The police sting operations have had little effect because word quickly spreads that they’re on the street, he said.

Police officers often let bandits go because their primary duty is handling the accident scene, Carson said, adding that often all the police can do is cite the unauthorized operators for a misdemeanor. The most common penalty for those convicted is a fine and probation, said LAPD Lt. Ronald Marbrey.

Police advise drivers to be wary of tow truck operators who offer their services.

“No matter how nice they are, no matter how accommodating they are, the bottom line is they want your money,” DeBellis said.

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Tips on Towing

Police advise any driver involved in an accident to be cautious if a tow truck driver arrives at the scene without being called and offers to help. Other suggestions include:

* Drivers should carry the phone numbers of the official police garages in their area.

* A driver involved in an accident should either call a tow operator the driver is familiar with and has dealt with previously, or contact an official police garage.

* If a tow truck driver stops and offers help, be certain the truck displays a Police Commission number, usually a five-digit number indicating police have done a background check on the truck and its driver.

* If the tow truck driver is unwilling to take the car to a destination the owner requests, it is a good indication the operator is trying to steer business to an auto body shop that is paying a kickback.

* A driver who encounters a bandit tow truck should report it to the Police Commission at (213) 485-2102.