ZCZC
BFF-01
US-CRIME-TOWING
Prosecutors take aim at ‘violent’ New York towing monopoly
NEW YORK, Feb 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Prosecutors indicted 17 people and 10
companies Wednesday over a “violent monopoly” on towing services in New York
City that saw rivals’ trucks targeted in a scheme a prosecutor likened to the
1954 film “On the Waterfront.”
It was “the kind of industry-wide racket that harkens back to an earlier
era,” according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who referenced
the Marlon Brando film about mafia control of the docks.
“If you were involved in a collision between June 2015 and December 2017
and received assistance from a tow company, chances are you were an unwitting
customer of an illegal enterprise that dominated New York City’s towing
industry,” Vance said in a statement.
Daniel Steininger and his sister Karen allegedly played the central roles
in the scheme.
Steininger is accused of maintaining an “unlawful monopoly on the towing
industry in New York City through an elaborate series of schemes involving
shell companies, insurance fraud, bid rigging, and other crimes,” the
statement from Vance’s office said.
Intimidation and violence also played a role.
“Drivers damaged rival vehicles as a warning or form of retaliation, which
was called ‘blasting’ or ‘booming,'” and one driver allegedly assaulted a
bystander after a dispute with a rival.
The district attorney’s office is seeking the forfeiture of over $19
million from defendants in the case.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0822 hrs