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Tow Truck Murder

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Darts

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Jan 15, 2017
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Two minors (17 and 15) have turned themselves in to police. One or both teens have been charged with 1st degree murder and attempted murder (a second man was shot but survived).
 
whynot888

whynot888

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Nov 30, 2007
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Darts said:
Not sure if this is related to the "tow truck war".
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I would not be suprised if it was. My friend started tow trucking a few years ago, last year someone stuck a warning letter on his windsheild stating if you plan on operating in this district your subject to pay 20% of every sale or there will be severe consequnces. He ended up changing careers and took the threat seriously since they know where he lives and fear for his family saftey.
 
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Big Rig

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May 6, 2009
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Never buy a truck, esp a tow truck. Fools think they are making a way up in life. They are business fools. I see it all the time . You are on the bottom of the totem pole. Sad :blue:
 
canada-man

canada-man

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Jun 16, 2007
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Toronto, Ontario
canadianmale.wordpress.com
Police announce arrests after probe into organized crime and violence in tow truck industry

Several organized crime groups working in the towing industry have been using violence and property damage as a way to grab control and territory within the industry in southern Ontario, York Regional Police said Tuesday, while announcing multiple arrests.

In a news release, police said that investigators from York police, Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto police and the Canada Revenue Agency had launched a joint forces investigation dubbed Project Platinum in response to murders, attempted murders, assaults, arsons, threats and property damage in the region.

Police said the Greater Toronto Area has been a staging ground for violence in recent months, with rival tow truck companies fighting over profits from the towing of vehicles and alleged frauds after the initial tow.

Investigators allege that Paramount Towing, which is owned and operated by Alexander Vinogradsky, along with other rival towing companies, have been defrauding insurance companies with vehicles involved in collisions and staged collisions.

Police announced 20 arrests in total, with Vinogradsky facing charges of participating in a criminal organization, alongside a host of other charges. Also mentioned in documents released Tuesday is Mohamad El-Zahawi, 38, who was previously charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 33-year-old Soheil Rafipour, who was shot and killed in Richmond Hill, Ont., in December 2018. Police say both El-Zahawi and Rafipour had ties to the tow truck industry.

Police also allege in the release that towing companies partnered with auto repair shops and car and truck rental companies to carry out their frauds.

York Regional Police Supt. Mike Slack said Tuesday that organized crime like this begins with an opportunity to make money, and a level of greed that leads to criminal behaviour and violence.

"The towing industry and its lack of regulations have bred exactly that environment," he said in a video posted by police.

"Over time, unscrupulous companies and the people working for them have found ways to inflate costs, and victimize consumers."

Slack alleged that a combination of fraudulent billing, repairs and physiotherapy claims earned people connected to the probe millions in "illicit income."

"When these profits were not enough, they staged collisions, using drivers they recruited. They deliberately caused collisions on roadways and in parking lots across the GTA," he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tow-truck-industry-organized-crime-arrests-1.5583626
 
D

Darts

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2017
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Now you know why your auto insurance premiums are so high. No, I won't mention Brampton (too sensitive).
 
P

Phil C. McNasty

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Dec 27, 2010
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Its sickening what depths some people will go to just to make a few extra bucks

https://www.cp24.com/news/hundreds-...ation-into-towing-industry-turf-war-1.4954851

Hundreds of charges laid, including first-degree murder, following investigation into towing industry turf war

Police have arrested 20 people and laid hundreds of charges in connection with a long-simmering turf war for control of the Greater Toronto towing industry that they say has resulted in “murders, attempted murders, assaults and arsons.”

York Regional Police say that a joint-forces investigation, dubbed Project Platinum, was launched in February to probe some of the violence.

They say that investigators, in turn, identified “several organized crime groups” working within the towing industry who were fraudulently inflating costs and, in at least 10 cases, even “deliberately causing collisions” to increase profits.

They say that the groups netted millions of dollars in illicit profits but as the money increased so did the “demand for territory and with that the need to control that territory through violence.”

Police ultimately identified more than 150 different acts of violence that the groups are believed to be responsible for, though they say that many offences likely went unreported, meaning that the real number may be even higher.

“We allege that the competition for control of the tow market has resulted in murders, attempted murders, shootings, assaults, arsons, threats and property damage,” Superintendent Mike Slack said in a video announcing the arrests.

Slack said that police believe the truck companies collaborated with auto repair shops, physiotherapy clinics and car and truck rental companies to “grossly inflate” bills with each group getting a cut of the proceeds.

He said that insurance companies had in turn banded together to fight the fraud, at one point hiring Carr law firm in Vaughan “to act on false claims until it too became the targets of violence, threats and extortion.”

Slack said that as a result of the investigation police have laid hundreds of charges, including two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of tow truck driver Soheil Rafipour outside his Richmond Hill home in December, 2018 as well as charges of attempt to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to an incident at the offices of Carr law firm.

He said that charges were also laid in connection with the orchestration of an arson on March 29 that resulted in the burning of three large transport trucks at a vehicle storage yard in Vaughan.

“We are in the process of dismantling four distinct criminal organizations through these arrests and those to come,” Slack said. “With the accused facing charges and their assets seized we expect the extreme level of violence we have seen in our community to diminish.”

Large cache of weapons seized

Some of the charges announced on Tuesday were laid back in March but many of them were laid on May 20 after police executed search warrants at 21 different locations in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Hamilton, Oakville, Toronto, Aurora and East Gwillimbury.

During the execution of those search warrants police seized a large cache of weapons, including 16 handguns, 13 shotguns, nine rifles, one machine gun, one air pistol converted to a .22 calibre pistol, one sawed-off shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

They also seized five kilograms of fentanyl, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, 1.25 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 1.5 kilograms of cannabis and more than $500,000 in cash.

Slack said that he expects the arrested to result in a “diminishing level of violence” across the GTA in the “short term” but he warned that regulatory changes need to be made to the towing industry in order for there to be “a lasting effect.”

“Every aspect of this industry has an opportunity to make additional money, more than you normally would in payouts from insurance companies,” he said. “It starts with the tow, that inflated tow bill that is associated with that. Then there are inflated storage costs or moving vehicles around so that owners can’t find their vehicle and have to pay additional storage fees. Then there is the billing associated to damage, billing insurance companies for damage that did not occur or causing additional damage in the storage lot and billing that additional damage.”

Slack said that police are hopeful that there will be bail conditions placed on many of the accused parties that “will prevent them from continuing to do business,” though he conceded that it has been “difficult” to get the courts to impose those conditions
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