Front Burner - Tow truck wars: Police allege fraud, arson and murder

Episode Date: May 28, 2020

York Regional Police announced an enormous bust taking down alleged organized crime rings in Southern Ontario’s tow truck industry this week. Police say that for the last three years, rival companies have used violence and intimidation to carve out turf, alleging they caused and staged collisions, worked with auto repair shops and rental companies to carry out fraud, set fires, and even killed in cold blood. Four people are dead and the investigation is ongoing. And police say that's just scratching the surface. CBC senior reporter John Lancaster has been covering this story. Today, we sort through the violent wreckage of the ‘Tow Truck Turf Wars’.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi there, I'm Pia Chattopadhyay. Organized crime does not always come in the form that we expect. Its members do not always wear colours or have origins that are several decades old.

Organized crime begins with an opportunity to make money and a level of greed that leads to criminality and violence. That's a York regional police spokesperson in southern Ontario speaking at a blockbuster press conference on Tuesday about an enormous organized crime bust from a seemingly unlikely source. The toying industry and its lack of regulations have bred exactly that environment. You see, police say that during the last three years, rival tow truck companies have used violence and intimidation to carve out turf in southern Ontario. Police allege they caused and staged collisions, worked with auto repair shops and rental companies to carry out fraud, set fires,

and even killed in cold blood. It is a true wild west show out there. Police seized guns, drugs, and cash, and the investigation is ongoing. But what we know for sure is at least 30 tow trucks have been burned, 20 people have been arrested. Another four are dead. And police say that's just scratching the surface. CBC senior reporter John Lancaster has been covering this story. Today, we'll sort through the violent wreckage of the tow truck turf wars. This is Front Burner. Hey, John.

Hello. So I got to say, this story seems completely bizarro. So let's just go through it. I actually want to start with the latest developments. What did police reveal earlier this week on Tuesday? Sure. Well, we knew something was up. Certainly a lot of these shootings and some of

the arsons had been in the news. There is certainly no doubt that a fire in a law office in York Region is the work of an arsonist. Three trucks were set on fire in Hamilton. One of the owners believes it's over territory. You eliminate the truck, a truck off the road, that's one less truck that's going to take money off the road. But what we didn't realize is just how allegedly, of course, But what we didn't realize is just how allegedly, of course, complex and widespread the issues and the GTA for control of not just the towing industry, but all sorts of other related alleged crimes involved here. As the tow companies' networks grew, they built allegiances and established hierarchies. These actions victimized innocent drivers, insurance companies, and ultimately all of us through increased insurance rates.

It's a really, really wide investigation and I think what police found startled a lot of people. I mean, 20 arrests across southern Ontario, seizing guns and machine guns. Handguns, rifles, shotguns, large capacity drums, magazines, brass knuckles, a silencer and tasers kilos of marijuana methamphetamines five kilograms of the deadly drug fentanyl worth 900 000 on the street 1.5 kilograms of of cocaine with a street value of 150 000 this was a really wide net they cast. And boy, did they allegedly, again, pull up a lot in this. We have also seized over a half million dollars in currency. And of course, as you say, John, none of this has yet been proven in court. These are the allegations that police say these people are involved in. You know, when you're talking about

guns, drugs, cash, arrests, like the next thing I wouldn't say is, hey, tow truck industry, because like most of us at one time or another have needed the help of a tow truck and a tow truck driver. But what is it about this industry, John, that helped it become a hotbed for organized crime in Southern Ontario? Well, it's a multi-million dollar industry. And as the police said yesterday, when you have that much money flying around, it's just ripe for corruption. Every aspect of this industry has an opportunity to make more than you normally would. We're moving vehicles around where vehicle owners can't find their vehicle and have to pay additional storage fees associated to that. Billing insurance companies for damage that did not occur,

causing additional damage in the storage lot. And what police and other tow truck company owners will tell you is that it's a wild west out there. There is so little, almost no provincial regulation. In fact, for the past year, CAA, some of the insurance companies, Provincial Towing Association of Ontario, police, they've all been working with the government and saying, hey, listen, we've got a major problem out there. We need provincial-wide legislation like other provinces do. We need to improve enforcement.

Right now, it's a municipal patchwork of licensing. John Henderson, I am the coordinator of the Fair Towing Task Force. The lack of simple regulation, it's opened up the industry to unscrupulous operators. They don't run proper equipment. They aren't licensed properly. They're not trained. You know, these GTA highways are so busy. And the OPP, in many cases, I wouldn't say are contributing to the problem. But a lot of tow truck companies say, you know, the OPP, and in fairness to them, when a crash happens, they want to get these highways reopened. I mean, we've all seen 12 lane highways running across Toronto. So they have this policy where it's whoever arrives

first on a crash scene, that is a tow truck, they get that business. And of course, the bigger the crash, the bigger the money is going to be. And we've seen, you know, tow trucks video of tow trucks racing to scenes cutting each other off. And in some cases, last week, there was a video posted on a 400 series highway of these two giant heavy wreckers. These are like $600,000 vehicles. And they were like grinding each other, swerving into each other in an effort to cut each other off to get to that business first. And in some cases, we've even heard of some of these towing companies using what they call blockers. So they'll have these people actively out driving

on highways. And when they get word of a crash, in some cases, they use like apps like Waze or Toronto Transit Commission radios. They listen in on those to find out where the traffic problems are. And they'll have these people in, you know, regular cars that don't look like tow trucks actually out there. And if they see a rival tow company heading towards a scene, you know that they'll stop in front of them, they'll block them, they'll do anything they can to get their guy there first. So fair to say, John, that the busy network of highways in the greater Toronto area, the GTA, the 400 series of highways, kind of make conditions in this part of the country almost, I don't know, perfect for this kind of

criminal activity. Fair to say? If you listen to police and if you listen to the legitimate tow companies, they'll say absolutely. It's so relaxed with enforcement and licensing that literally I can hand you the set of keys to a tow truck and say, off you go, go look for business. I could actually pass you keys to a small wrecker and say, go pick up a vehicle on the 401. There's no mandatory training for tow truck drivers. It's just, again, it's just that wild west that whoever gets there first, and seemingly they'll do anything to get there first. I spoke to one tow truck company operator who actually does have a contract with the police service. And he said even his own drivers would arrive in these scenes

to find these other individuals, tow operators there. And there was an incredible level of intimidation to the point where these tow truck drivers who were supposed to be there to do this work left fearing for their safety. We were called to a job for one of our fleet customers because there was just no protection or no option there for them. And we've instructed our drivers not to get involved with anything that makes them feel unsafe.

And so, John, whenever there's a turf war, there are kind of kingpins or major players. What have you heard about who the major players allegedly are involved in this turf war? Sure. Well, police are still working on this, and they've identified four separate alleged criminal organizations going at each other, this cutthroat turf in control of this industry. But yesterday, police said one of the major operators they're alleging was behind all this is the owner of Paramount Towing. He's a 35-year-old guy. His name is Alexander Vinogradzki, And he's accused of running a criminal organization, recruiting for a criminal organization, and essentially being the leader of this one group, anyway, allegedly. So Vinogradzki, his territory was the 400 series highways, so 400 and 404 from Major McKenzie's south to the 401. So apart from those charges, he's also facing allegations of conspiracy to commit arson, mischief.

And one of the most lucrative crimes police allege is this widespread fraud that this organization was involved in. So tell me about the fraud, because how were the rival tow truck companies, you know, allegedly ripping people off? What was the process? How was the job pulled off? Not only were they fighting for control of accident scenes and getting there first,

but according to police, they soon realized there was a much more lucrative side to this alleged conspiracy. And that was essentially when they would get these vehicles back to the body shops, there's allegations that they would smash them even more, thereby increasing the value of the repairs. They were also, which I think a lot of people found startling, was that they were actually staging accidents or causing accidents. And these were people, the drivers, the so-called victims in these cases, would essentially be working for this alleged criminal organization. They identify vehicles that will have a higher payout for repairs that are done. And then they will actually stage a collision.

They'll actually have cars run into one another, sometimes in the impound yard itself, sometimes on streets or in parking lots throughout the GTA. What they would do is, allegedly, they were working with physiotherapists, chiropractors, and drumming up massive insurance claims, really inflating the value of not only the repairs, but the so-called injuries some of these people allegedly suffered. So police say they were making actually millions of dollars in that regard. That became the most lucrative form of this operation. And it's interesting, Pia, the reason it was called Project Platinum was because police say many of the tow trucks, some of these individuals were driving, were not these typical tow trucks that

you might see you know with the big arms and hooks in the back there's actually pictures of members of this organization parked outside a bar north of Toronto and these were all really expensive pickup trucks low-key hooks in the back they were tricked out. Some of them were hummers. Another organization was actually using a Cadillac Escalade with a low-key hook on the back. So not only were the vehicles they were using the so-called platinum packages of these vehicles, but the vehicles they were smashing and damaging were also really high-end vehicles. Yeah, and just the Project Platinum is the name, the police project, they called it Project Platinum, yeah? Yeah, exactly.

And it's hard to, you're painting this very good mental imagery for me of like blinged out tow trucks, which is like just, again, it's just like kind of mind-boggling when I think of this, John. And then the other thing, I think you said that there are charges of arson.

How is that used as an intimidation tactic? Well, it started off as vehicle arsons. We know 30 tow trucks that were set on fire ostensibly to prevent those people from being able to compete against the other individuals. This criminal organization orchestrated and executed an arson for profit at a local vehicle storage compound in the city of Vaughan. Each party benefited from the burning of three large transport trucks that were stored at this location. But it certainly escalated even to property damage. At one point, insurance companies seemed to be getting quite suspicious of this alleged organized crime group,

to the point where they actually hired a law firm in Vaughan, north of Toronto, to start looking into this. And it appears that the criminal organization allegedly got wind of this. that the criminal organization allegedly got wind of this. So some of the charges they're facing are accusations that they went to this law firm in Vaughan, smashed in through the main glass door that entered into this law firm, poured many litres of gasoline in there and torched it. We see the passenger get out of the vehicle, trunk pops open and right away unloads three full cans of gasoline.

Constable Andy Paddenton shows footage captured around 1.30 a.m. on January 7th. I can tell you the suspect is very lucky he didn't get caught on fire along with everything else. I'm sure he burned off some eyebrows in this. So if you know someone who came home on around that time without eyebrows, that could be our suspect. This is dangerous stuff for sure, John. The fight over territory got so bad that people were killed. People allegedly killed. People have died. Tell me about the circumstances around those deaths. Sure. I mean, four of the charges

involved against those 20 individuals, four of them are actually charged with first degree murder. Against those 20 individuals, four of them are actually charged with first-degree murder. And police have been working on that. One of the crimes was particularly ruthless. December 24th, 2018, Christmas Eve, 9.45, in a very quiet neighborhood north of Toronto. A man was walking to his vehicle, and he's about to get into it, was walking to his vehicle and he's about to get into it and a dark colored suv pulls up beside it and fires a whack of bullets at him he tries to run for his life and collapses the home where he collapsed on the sidewalk it was just such a contrast because they had these big inflatable snowmen up and Santa Claus.

You look at this crime scene and the displays are all toppled over beside a large pool of blood. And, you know, to think that on Christmas Eve at 945, there's so many people may have been home with family and friends celebrating the evening. You know, these gunshots, a series of gunshots just ripped through that neighborhood. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. And so what happens now, right?

Police come out earlier this week. They have a press conference. So what happens now, right? Police come out earlier this week, they have a press conference, they make all these announcements about what they allege to believe is happening out there, people will have to go to court and all those things, but where does the investigation that is ongoing go from here? Well, it's still got a long way to go. I mean, at least they might call this, they hope anyway, the beginning of the end, but certainly not the end.

They've seized an awful lot of alleged evidence, you know, apart from the machine guns, the handguns. They took 11 tow trucks, but they also seized a lot of computers and what police described as documentation that is leading them down another path. And don't forget, they announced yesterday that it was four separate criminal organizations. So it looks like they have a lot of work to do still. And they're quite confident that these computer files and documents that they've seized during these raids will lead them down a new path. In fact, York Regional Police yesterday said they expect to make, you know, another 30 plus arrests in the coming days and weeks. Continue to unravel this incredibly unusual spree of crimes, arsons, murders and shooting. With the accused facing charges and their assets

seized, we expect the extreme level of violence we have seen in our community to diminish. In addition, a significant amount of evidence has been uncovered that we are confident will lead to the successful prosecution of the individuals operated within the supporting criminal organization. It seems like they still have a lot of work to do and a lot of evidence to help them with that. You know, John, I have to say, this all makes me, well, quite nervous, frankly. Next time I'm on a 400 series highway in Southern Ontario, and, you know, my vehicle breaks down, and I need to call a tow truck, or I see a tow truck screaming by me, like, do I need

to be worried? No, I don't think so. I mean, I talked to the owner of another tow truck company yesterday, and he says, you know, I hope these arrests really bring us back to the, you know, the old normal pre-three years ago when all this violence started breaking out. The arrests will help with the violence. I'm pretty sure it's this very tiny group of operators that escalated or elevated the violence part. You know, the vast majority of tow truck companies are law-abiding. It's seen that these individuals are an anomaly. This isn't the normal in the GTA towing industry.

But there are certain things you can do. For instance, if you're not on a major highway or if you are injured, this is a serious injury. In cases like that, police will come in and they will vet who's going to tow your car. Or say you're a CAA member. You have every right to pick who you want to tow your car. It appears the biggest problems can arise if you are on one of those 400 series highways. It's not a serious crash and the opp

just wants to get traffic moving again that's where you may have less choice that it is the first person who comes up um but of course you can tell that tow truck driver if they want to tell you listen i'm taking you to this body shop i know of, you can say no thanks. Take the car to my mechanic, take it to my driveway. You don't have to do what they tell you. They can tow your car, but they can't take it wherever they want. You still have a lot of say in what happens to that vehicle. John, thanks so much for peeling back the curtain on this. A very important and disturbing story that I don't think a lot of people actually know about.

So thanks for doing that for us. My pleasure. Before we go, some news on another big story in our country. On Wednesday, the B.C. Supreme Court threw a serious barrier in Meng Wanzhou's bid to avoid deportation. The Huawei chief financial officer was charged with fraud in the United States for allegedly misleading banks into a possible violation of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. into a possible violation of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. The ruling determined that what Meng is accused of doing would be considered a crime if it occurred in Canada. The extradition hearings against her can now proceed,

but there could still be years worth of legal wrangling before a final decision is made. That's all for today. I'm Pia Chattopadhyay. Thank you for listening to FrontBurner. We'll talk again tomorrow. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.