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.
