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Info: Towing complaints
April 19, 2004
Who: City Wrecker Services Commission
What: Public hearings for citizens to voice complaints and safety concerns against local towing companies
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday [before weekly City Council meeting at 7pm]
Where: City County Building downtown, Small Assembly Room
The Soviet:
A Diverse Group Dialoging to Consensus
Over a Social Issue In a Facilitated Meeting
To a Predetermined Outcome
—Phillip Worts, Detective, San Diego Police Department, "How Communist Strategies Are Used To Control Americans - Communist Oriented Policing", Rense.com, 2-7-3
Republicrats and Demopublicans be damned to Skull & Bones HELL! They and the Libertarian Party love NAFTA, WTO and 50-million drug-running criminal alien invaders. Vote for the Constitution Party, before it's too late! Why do the Russian Khazar "Jews" (Bush, Kerry, ADL.ORG) hate the Constitution and eat off Hitler's silverware under a NAZI Swatika at Yale with Victor Ashe, and libel members of the Constitution Party as "Domestic Terrorists", when Khazar "Jews" founded Communism, and Jewish historians on C-SPAN and History Channel identify Adolf "Hitler" Shicklegruber as a Jew?
The dangers of Communist Oriented Policing (COPS)
Phillip Worts, Detective
San Diego Police Department
Dialectical Materialism - A philosophy founded by Karl Marx? which forms the basis of Communist doctrine: it combines the materialistic idea of matter over mind with the Hegelian dialectic in which opposing forces are constantly being reunited at a higher level."
—Lexicon Webster Dictionary
But that definition might beg the question, "What is the Hegelian dialectic?" For modern man, the answer to that question is epic. The Hegelian dialectic has profoundly impacted the world in which you live. Georg W.F. Hegel, the nineteenth century German philosopher, turned that concept upside down by equalizing Thesis and Antithesis. All things are now relative. There is no such thing as absolute truth to be found anywhere. Instead, "truth" is found in Synthesis, a compromise of Thesis and Antithesis. This is the heart and soul of the consensus process. At about the same time that Hegel was passing from the scene, Karl Marx caught the revolutionary fever. He drew heavily from Hegel (the dialectic) and Feuerbach (materialism). Around the turn of the century there was a growing trend within this movement that a better way to change the world is not abruptly and violently at the point of a bayonet, (traditional Marxist revolution), but rather it should be done slowly and incrementally by transforming individuals and their cultural institutions. Then you can control a country as effectively as if you conquered it militarily. In fact, this method is preferred because one does not have to rebuild bombed out cities and dig all those mass graves! The home for this new wave of dialectical Marxist thinking became the emerging "science" of socio-psychology. Meanwhile, in Germany, a group of some 21 Marxist socio-psychologists gathered in Frankfurt and formed the Institute of Marxist Research. Perhaps that was a little too obvious for their opponents and they renamed it the Institute for Social Research. When Hitler rose to power, most of these men fled to America and continued their work here. At the risk of oversimplifying how the process of group dynamics works, it could be summarized as a method of belief and behavior modification, using dialectic-reasoning skills (remember, all truth is relative), in a group setting. It utilizes the inherent fear an individual person has of being alienated from the group. By use of a change agent, or "facilitator", individuals are herded toward "consensus" by compromising their position for the sake of "social harmony." This is precisely the technique with which the communists brainwashed American POWs, the only difference being they could accelerate the "unfreezing" phase with physical torture. In group dynamics the pain is not physical, it's emotional. Do not underestimate the force of emotional pain. POWs frequently described their long periods in isolation as worse than some of the most brutal physical torture. Isolation from the group is a powerful behavior modification weapon. Transformational Marxists such as Kurt Lewin refined their weapon for the new battlefield: Using group dynamics to invade the culture to affect the paradigm shift. The weapon looks like this:
- A Diverse Group ("Diversity" needed for conflict [drivers vs. cops])
- Dialoging to Consensus (Dialectic process [Disinfo Babes and Talking Heads])
- Over a Social Issue (Problem/Crisis/Issues [Driving/Travel = Crime])
- In a Facilitated Meeting (Controlled environment using facilitator/change agent [Poly Ticks and Traffic Court = predecided outcome])
- To a Predetermined Outcome (Paradigm shift ["Voluntary" Contracts = Tax Revenue])
With this background we arrive at our current application of the dialectic in our nation. I would like to now focus on the role that your local law enforcement agency has in the "re-culturing of America." Your local beat cop has a special part to play, and he doesn't even realize it. Not only has Total Quality Management (TQM) change agents restructured many of the police departments in America, they are now in a position to turn the police themselves into the facilitators of the community through a program called COPs, or Community Oriented Policing. COPs is a federally funded program administered through the U.S. Department of Justice. What is COPs? The most succinct definition I found was in a DJ brochure:
COMMUNITY POLICING WHAT IS IT? Shift in philosophy about police duties vs. community responsibilities to a team concept of TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT of the community. Reidentifying the police role as a FACILITATOR in the community." (Emphasis mine).
Translation: Transformation from a constitutionally empowered local police force performing their duty to keep the peace to that of a change agent working within the community to affect a Marxist paradigm shift. Formerly, the police administrators were accountable to the elected officials who were accountable to the voters (representative democracy). This new paradigm that Trojanowicz describes is exactly what Marxist George Lukacs termed "participatory democracy" and is nothing more than the Soviet style council. The United States Constitution was the law of the land (absolute authority) restraining government intrusion into the rights of the individual. The framers designed it to insulate the private realm (the individual) from the public realm (government). Allow me to repeat Lukacs:
"The institutions in socialist society which act as the facilitators between the public and private realms are the Soviets."
By practicing the dialectic, we are removing the only barrier between a tyrannical government and the private citizen. Your neighborhood cop is now that facilitator, the Soviet. Why a police officer?
In the role of the community ombudsman/liaison (i.e. facilitator), the community policing officer also acts as the community's link to other public agencies. The police are the only governmental agency open 24 hours a day, which makes them the ideal public agent to begin regenerating community spirit." (Trojanowicz, The meaning of "Community" in Community Policing, p4)
When Lenin was consolidating the Bolshevik revolution, he wrote how he would implement the communist bureaucracy without hardcore Marxist believers. While the elite rulers of his inner circle understood the structure he was building, Lenin said he would exploit the natural vanity and ambition of people to forward his agenda without them knowing what they were really doing. Eager to gain his favor and to enhance their political careers, they would fall all over themselves trying to promote his agenda. He called these types of people "Useful Idiots." Before you brand every police officer you see as an undercover Marxist, understand that most of them comprehend little of what they are participating in. In reality, most officers intuitively know that something is wrong in their organization, but they play the game rather than risk damaging their career. Sadly, they constitute a vast army of "useful idiots." The terms "communism", "socialism", "Marxism", "New World Order" etc., may be worn out and abandoned. The names change, because deception is one of the rules of the game. Many erroneously believe that the cold war is over and that we actually won. But the revolution is still very much alive and America is losing. The culture war is raging in our schools, our workplaces, our media and our churches. Antonio Gramsci would be very pleased if he could see just how effective his strategy has been.
"Confiscation of property of all emigrants and rebels."
—Communist Manifesto, 4th Plank
"Government control of Communications and Transportation."
—Communist Manifesto, 6th Plank
"Mr. Dodd, we operate here at the Ford Foundation under directives which emanate from the White House?We operate and control our grant-making policies?as follows: We shall use our grant-making power so as to alter life in the United States that it can be comfortably merged with the Soviet Union."
—Rowan Gaither, president of the Ford Foundation, reported by Professor Texe Marrs, PhD, USAF (retired), "AmeriRus", Power of Prophesy Radio News
"Hitler, Stalin, Mao: Mass murderers agree - gun control works!"
—T-Shirt, Infowars.com, WBCR 1470AM Alcoa, TN
"Violence does not and cannot exist by itself; it is invariably intertwined with the lie."
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn, acceptance speech for Nobel Prize
"You will be happy to learn that the former head of the KGB (the secret police of the former Soviet Union), General Yevgeni Primakov, has been hired as a consultant by the US Department of Homeland Security. Then there's General Karpov, former KGB station chief of their Washington station at their embassy and the first director of the Russian Federal Security Service. You could call this the 'Sovietization of America.' He cant get over how many ex-KGB generals and colonels still want to come over to the United States and become consultants to get on the pay corps. And Primakov is waiting for the USSA, The United Soviet States of America. It'll probably make him feel right at home."
—Al Martin, AlMartinRaw.com, Behind the Scenes in the Beltway, "Get Ready for the USSA (The United Soviet States of America)," March 17, 2003
Neoconned
Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-TX), former Libertarian Party presidential candidate (1988)
Speech in the US House of Representatives
July 10, 2003
It's important that those of us who love liberty, and resent big-brother government, to identify the philosophic supporters who have the most to say about the direction our country is going. This depends on whether the American people desire to live in a free society and reject the dangerous notion that we need a strong central government to take care of us from the cradle to the grave. Those who scheme are proud of the achievements in usurping control over foreign policy. These are the 'Neoconservatives' of recent fame ["New Conservatives"]. But can freedom and the republic survive this takeover? Here is a brief summary of the general understanding of what Neocons believe:
- They agree with Trotsky on permanent revolution, violent as well as intellectual.
- They accept the notion that the ends justify the means?that hardball politics is a moral necessity.
- They believe lying is necessary for the state to survive.
- They believe a powerful federal government is a benefit.
- They believe pertinent facts about how a society should be run should be held by the elite and withheld from those who do not have the courage to deal with it.
- Force should not be limited to the defense of our country.
Not only did Leo Strauss write favorably of Machiavelli, Michael Ledeen, a current leader of the neoconservative movement, did the same in 1999 in his book with the title, Machiavelli on Modern Leadership, and subtitled: Why Machiavelli's iron rules are as timely and important today as five centuries ago. Ledeen specifically praises: 'Creative destruction? both within our own society and abroad.' If those words don't scare you, nothing will."
"The people resemble a wild beast, which, naturally fierce and accustomed to live in the woods, has been brought up, as it were, in a prison and in servitude, and having by accident got its liberty, not being accustomed to search for its food, and not knowing where to conceal itself, easily becomes the prey of the first who seeks to incarcerate it again."
—Niccolo Machiavelli (Secretary of War for City-state of Florence, Italy, and tortured in his own city as a POW), from The Prince
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling in terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt!"
—Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, from The Gulag Archipelago, reposted: "Slaves in Their Own Fucking Country", Jerry Stratton, San Diego, California, June 22, 1997
Tow company lawyer helps make case for enforcing laws
Commissioners told many proposed suggestions already on state books
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 27, 2004
The city's Wrecker Services Commission members received arguably the best advice from the unlikeliest of sources as they met Monday to discuss potential new ordinances to cure many of the reported problems among local towing companies.
The board had several issues on the table as members debriefed from last week's public hearings, where citizens voiced complaints of suspicious practices and possibly illegal tows by some Knoxville wrecker companies.
Commission Chairman Mark Williamson proposed a slew of new regulations Monday aimed at industry oversight, including business licensing and equipment inspections.
"Part of it is our ability to offer a license to operate a tow truck and our ability to license individual drivers," Williamson explained.
That's when Michael McGovern, the attorney who has battled with the commission on behalf of several towing firms, reminded the members that such laws already exist at the state level.
"Why create another law that you're not going to enforce," McGovern asked.
And according to Williamson, if that's the case, then the existing laws may be the key to solving many of the industry's problems.
"If the laws are already on the books then great," he said. "But we still need to find the tools to enforce them."
For example, Assistant City Law Director Alyson Eberting said that state law requires tow truck operators to receive written authorization from property owners before a vehicle can be removed from a private lot.
But the law is rarely enforced, she said. Instead, wrecker companies often operate under written or verbal agreements with apartment complexes and private businesses, giving them "carte blanche" authority to patrol parking lots and tow any unauthorized vehicles, Eberting said.
The issue reminded commission members of allegations made during the recent public hearing from the mother of a University of Tennessee student. Carolyn Cole claimed drivers from Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing and Chestnut Street Garage confronted her daughter at a Fort Sanders apartment complex.
The drivers threatened to tow the student's vehicle unless she paid $95, Cole contended, and only later did she learn that the apartment management already had barred the two companies from the property.
More students, and members of the public at-large, should be made aware of their rights in such situations, Williamson said. And more effort should be made to ensure that tow truck drivers have the proper documentation, he added.
McGovern argued that the Fort Sanders incident was actually an authorized tow, and that the state law requiring authorization was unconstitutional anyway.
Williamson said: "Maybe we need to look into that more, and realize that this commission has subpoena power (to review documents and records.) Maybe we can have our own little test case."
The chairman also encouraged citizens to report any possible illegal tows to the Knoxville Police Department's Inspections Unit at 865-215-7217.
The wrecker commission is scheduled to meet again at 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 11.
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
Citizens tell wrecker panel about lies, intimidation
Pleas heard for stronger ordinances to control some
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 21, 2004
City Wrecker Services Commission members heard repeated claims Tuesday night of intimidation, lies and highway robbery by local towing companies when they opened the floor to citizens' complaints at a public hearing.
And regardless of the speaker, citizens, police officers and wrecker service owners alike ended their stories with pleas for stronger city ordinances to counter what they view as often-unethical business practices by some in the industry.
"I hope someone here will take notice today that Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing lurk in the dark and prey on people," said Carolyn Cole, after relating an alleged incident involving her daughter and two tow truck drivers last month in a dark parking lot near the University of Tennessee campus. "I hope your decision will be to hold these people accountable."
Cole contended the drivers blocked her daughter's vehicle, and threatened to tow the college student's car from her own apartment complex unless she paid $95 on sight. Only later did she learn that the apartment owners already had barred the companies from the property after several similar complaints.
"They jeopardized her safety, held her hostage and robbed her," Cole said.
Officer Phil Major, with the Knoxville Police Department's Inspections Unit, said investigators are looking into "numerous complaints" of illegal towing from the same complex.
Randy Hinton, owner of Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing and Chestnut Street Garage, sat near the back of the room listening, but he did not speak to the commission.
Hinton's firms are two of the four companies that were barred last year from holding city contracts to answer police requests for service at accident scenes after allegations of overcharging.
Owners of some of the companies that now hold city contracts complained Tuesday that many of the blacklisted firms still arrive at wreck scenes to swipe business away.
Clark Purcell, owner of Clark's Towing, said he often responds to police requests under his city contract, only to arrive and find that another wrecker has beat him to the scene.
"If you've got other wreckers showing up at the scene, you're taking bread off our table," Purcell said, adding that he doesn't have the time or manpower to "go out and guard what I should be getting anyway."
"Make an ordinance and start hitting them in the pocketbook make it hurt."
John Carnes, with Clinton Highway Wrecker Service, holds a city contract covering the Fountain City area. He said the requests are often cancelled while his drivers are en route because of the solicitations.
"If it's within a five-mile radius of Fountain City Towing, I can bet we'll get cancelled," Carnes claimed.
Fountain City Wrecker Service owner Joel Smith, whose company was also barred from the city contracts, attended but did not address the commission.
Billy Mullins, owner of Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, the fourth firm barred by the city, also attended Tuesday's hearing but did not speak.
Ending the two-hour meeting, Commission Chairman Mark Williamson said the board would "move quickly" to propose new city ordinances, including possible fines and suspensions to address the problems.
"We need to not only be responsive to the issues we have now," he said. "We need to anticipate problems we could have in the future."
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
Wronged by wreckers? Bring beefs to meeting
Towing procedures may need legislative changes
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 19, 2004
If you've ever had a bad run-in with a local towing company, now's your chance to complain.
The city Wrecker Services Commission is inviting an airing of comments at a public hearing Tuesday evening in hopes of identifying any problems connected to Knoxville's wrecker service industry that might warrant legislative reforms.
Whether it's college students with complaints about possible price gouging after having their vehicles towed from a parking lot in Fort Sanders or accident victims who were solicited by competing tow truck drivers before police could arrive at the scene of a wreck, Commission Chairman Mark Williamson says he wants to hear "from anybody who feels like they've been wronged."
"There are a wide variety of issues that need to be looked at," he said. "It may be time to sit down and look at (drafting) a new towing ordinance."
While the commission is willing to hear all comers, Williamson added that the commission is primarily interested in problems that apply to safety concerns.
"Paramount to the whole thing is the issue of safety," he explained. "Police officers get killed every day at accident scenes. Tow truck drivers get killed every day at accident scenes. Pedestrians get killed everyday. Accident scenes are hectic as it is.
"When you have two or three tow trucks show up at a scene before the police get there that's a fatality waiting to happen."
At their March meeting, commission members heard similar allegations of at-the-scene solicitations from several tow truck operators who are contracted with the city to respond to accidents at police officers' request.
The contracted firms complained of interference from the same companies that lost their city contracts last year for alleged overcharging.
Any new legislation wouldn't be the first time the city of Knoxville has attempted to control the business practices of such companies. Attorneys for several local towing firms successfully defeated a city ordinance enacted in the 1990s to set price limits.
Since then, several court cases throughout the country have upheld state and local ordinances regarding solicitation, as well as those that banned the use of police radio scanners for safety reasons.
Williamson considers the trend to be a good indicator that the city may have the legal footing to go beyond its current regulations.
"As far as somebody who leaves their car in an impound lot and doesn't go to pick it up for a month who gets clocked with $700 . There's not a whole lot I can do there," he said. "But part of our job is to hear the concerns of the community and see if we can't respond legislatively."
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
Panel's report [allegedly] clears sheriff
No conflict of interest [allegedly] exists with wrecker operator, probe [allegedly] finds
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 10, 2004
Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison's relationship with a wrecker service operator doesn't violate conflict of interest laws, but ethics rules should be strengthened and expanded to cover all county officials, a panel concluded Friday.
The three-person panel noted an "obvious personal friendship and current association" between Hutchison and Randy Hinton, president of Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing.
However, the panel said the sheriff would have to make money directly from his office's dealings with the companies for a conflict of interest to exist.
Chestnut Street Garage runs the Sheriff's Office seized-vehicle lot. Both of Hinton's companies also tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies.
Neither Hinton nor Sheriff's Office representatives returned phone messages Friday, but a posting on the Sheriff's Office Web site said Hutchison was pleased with the report.
"This states exactly what I have been saying all along - there is no conflict of interest and no business arrangement with Hinton," Hutchison wrote. "No other elected official in the state of Tennessee has had to divulge such personal affairs in a public document as I have had to do."
The panel's 20-page report is based on interviews with 14 people, including the sheriff and Hinton, as well as a review of publicly available documents. The report included copies of those documents as exhibits.
The panel did not obtain any other documentation supporting statements made by the people interviewed.
The panel recommended requiring more detailed conflict of interest disclosures from county officials and people seeking county business. Those disclosures would go beyond current practices by forcing officials and vendors to divulge relationships that could affect their business judgments, including associates, friends and relatives.
The county should adopt uniform conflict of interest policies that would apply to elected officials and employees, with enforceable penalties for violations, the report states.
"We recommend you have one across-the-board conflict of interest policy that everybody from this point on must abide by," said Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt. "It's not a policy without teeth."
The panel also recommended implementation of an independent contractor conflict of interest policy and compliance statement, which would require county vendors to answer detailed questions about any possible conflicts.
"It's going to make them say, 'No, I don't have a relationship with the sheriff,' " Holt said. "There's going to be no doubt - if they say, 'No,' they've lied to us."
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, who appointed the panel last month after the News Sentinel published a story about Hutchison and Hinton's involvement in a Sevier County real estate development, will review the proposals with the intent to present them to the Knox County Commission for approval, spokesman Mike Cohen said.
"It is our intention to pursue the recommendations," Cohen said.
The panel consisted of Holt, County Commission internal auditor Richard Walls and private attorney David Eldridge.
"We all worked hard in an effort to be fair and thorough in our examination of the questions we were asked to consider," Eldridge said.
Ragsdale asked the panel to examine the agreement between the Sheriff's Office and Chestnut Street Garage, possible business relationships between the sheriff and Hinton, whether Sheriff's Office employees improperly worked outside their public duties and the use of the City County Building's address for private business purposes.
"I believe we achieved that goal," Eldridge said. "With regard to any further questions as to the details of how our panel did its job, I would respectfully refer your readers to the report."
The findings were based on state law and the Knox County Charter, which prohibit officials from making money on public contracts for which they're responsible. The panel did not consider whether the relationship violated the Knox County Procurement Manual, which has a broader definition of conflict of interest.
The procurement manual states that a conflict of interest exists when an employee has a "relationship with an outsider that is inherently unethical or that might be implied or construed to be or make possible personal gain because of the employee's partiality toward the outsider for personal reasons or otherwise inhibit the impartiality of the employee's business judgment."
Holt said the panel relied on state and county law because members questioned whether the procurement manual's provisions could be enforced on an independent, elected official like the sheriff.
Chestnut Street Garage has operated a vehicle seizure lot for the Sheriff's Office for $2,000 a month under an unwritten agreement since 1998, records show.
The sheriff told the panel former Finance Director Kathy Hamilton approved a lease in the mid-1990s to store seized vehicles at Chestnut Street Garage, but Hamilton told them she never reviewed or approved such an agreement. Neither the Sheriff's Office nor Chestnut Street Garage produced a written contract or other documentation of the sheriff's assertion.
The panel concluded the friendship between Hutchison and Hinton developed after the agreement was negotiated. They based that finding on statements from Hutchison and Hinton indicating their friendship began two to three years ago.
Records show Hutchison paid Hinton for political advertising in 1994, and Hinton contributed money to the sheriff's subsequent re-election bids.
The panel's investigation centered on Hutchison and Hinton's real estate investments in Sevier County beginning in 2001, when the sheriff bought a lot in a subdivision between Wears Valley and Pigeon Forge.
The probe did not reveal that Hutchison and Hinton ever had a common ownership interest in any business or real estate.
In 2002, Hutchison used a company called RMCH Developers LLC to buy 48 acres of adjacent land. Hutchison told the panel that RMCH Developers consisted of him and Johnnie Conner, a Karns businesswoman, though he produced no supporting documentation. The panel did not interview Conner.
RMCH Developers bought the land from Nickey Maxey, another associate of the sheriff who receives business from the Sheriff's Office, for $1.32 million, nearly five times the going rate for Wears Valley on a per acre basis. There is no trust deed on file in Sevier County indicating how the purchase was financed.
In February, the company deeded the land to Conner for an undisclosed amount.
Deeds show Hutchison, Hinton, Conner and Maxey now own separate parcels in the roughly 65 acres of land. They are the only property holders behind the gates of the secluded development.
Four houses have been built on the land. Since Sevier County doesn't issue building permits, the panel reviewed septic-tank permits in an attempt to determine who built the houses.
Despite acknowledging unanswered questions about the building activity in the development, the panel concluded the septic-tank permits didn't establish that Hutchison and Hinton owned property together.
The panel also determined that Sheriff's Office employees performed services concerning the personal business of the sheriff and Hinton.
In-house legal adviser Carleton Bryant, executive secretary Marianne Thompson and administrative secretary Mitzi Evans notarized deeds and other documents. The report indicates the sheriff paid them, often in cash, for the work.
"The panel acknowledges the practice of using a notary at a place of business, for personal reasons, is a common occurrence," the report states.
Bryant and another legal adviser, Mike Ruble, provided legal assistance. Both lawyers told the panel they did the work on their own time in a location away from the Sheriff's Office and Hutchison said he compensated them.
Neither the sheriff nor the employees provided the panel with billing or payment documentation.
The panel did not address the sheriff's role in building Hinton's South Knox County residence. Hutchison, a licensed general contractor, has said he helped build the house free of charge.
The report does indicate that one Sheriff's Office employee, Deputy Les Mullins, did some construction work at Hinton's lakeside home. Mullins told the panel he did the work on his own time and was compensated by Hinton.
The sheriff told the panel his use of the City County Building address on his private business documents was "inadvertent."
Knox County taxpayers paid Hinton companies $37,653 in fiscal year 2003 for towing and related services, including the seizure lot. Towing and storage fees charged to residents can amount to several hundred dollars per vehicle.
The seizure lot stores vehicles and other goods seized as evidence during investigations. Also, funds obtained through auctions of seized property supplement the Sheriff's Office budget.
Knoxville officials have banned Hinton's two wrecker companies and two other towing firms from doing business with the city for five years after the companies were accused of overcharging customers in violation of their municipal contracts.
The city sued Hinton's companies, along with Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, for filing falsified documents with regulators. The companies have denied any wrongdoing.
Knox County is the state's largest local government without its own seizure lot. Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Shelby County, Hamilton County and Metropolitan Nashville all operate their own facilities.
After the News Sentinel published an article about the unwritten, no-bid arrangement in Knox County, officials agreed to put the operation up for competition.
Chestnut Street Garage was the only firm to submit a proposal, at double the cost, and the Knox County Purchasing Department is reviewing the bid.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309._ Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
Panel had questions about septic permits
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 10, 2004
A panel investigating whether a conflict of interest existed between Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison and wrecker-service operator Randy Hinton noted they didn't get satisfactory answers to all their questions.
One of the areas the panel examined to reach the conclusion that no conflict of interest existed was whether Hutchison and Hinton owned property together in a gated Sevier County development.
Records show Hinton's name and business address appear on a septic tank permit application signed by Hutchison for a building site on a lot now owned by the sheriff's wife, Jan Hutchison.
The sheriff told the panel the listing of Hinton as the owner was "a mistake and he attributed it to a clerical error." Hinton told the panel he wasn't even aware his name was on the permit.
"The fact that Sheriff Hutchison applied for a septic permit for a lot that he owns in Randy Hinton's name raises questions as to how and why this occurred that have not been satisfactorily explained," the report states.
Also not satisfactorily explained, the report states, is why a post office box address used by Hutchison for personal and campaign purposes appears as the address for a Hinton company on a deed.
The report states that Carleton Bryant, Knox County Sheriff's Office legal adviser, prepared the deed and told the panel he didn't know the post office box was associated with the sheriff.
Records also show a Hutchison company obtained a septic tank permit for property now owned by Hinton. The sheriff told the panel the listing of his company as the owner of the lot was another "mistake."
"He stated that he and Mr. Hinton were moving forward with plans to have a septic tank installed on their respective lots at the same time and that he may have sent in a check for both applications," the report states. Hinton also couldn't explain the matter.
The panel noted the error may have been made by the Sevier County Health Department staff, which did Hutchison a favor by allowing him to mail in information needed for the application. Department policy calls for applicants to appear in person.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309. Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
Panel [allegedly] finds no conflict in sheriff probe, urges expanded ethics reporting
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
April 9, 2004
A panel investigating Sheriff Tim Hutchison's real estate deals ruled today that no conflict of interest exists between him and wrecker company executive Randy Hinton.
The panel did recommend expanding conflict of interest disclosures and streamlining ethical standards in order to keep employees and office holders above the appearance of wrongdoing.
"The panel's investigation supports the conclusion that there has been a close personal relationship between Sheriff Hutchison and Mr. Hinton for at least the last two to three years," the panel wrote.
"The panel's investigation does not establish that Sheriff Hutchison and Mr. Hinton have currently, or have ever had, common ownership of any business or real estate."
The panel based its findings on state law and the Knox County Charter. The panel apparently did not use the Knox County procurement manual, which has a broader definition of conflict of interest, in reaching its conclusion.
The panel interviewed Hutchison, Hinton and several other associates and county employees for its report.
Apparently, neither Hutchison nor his employees provided any documentation to supplement their interviews.
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale's office released the report today.
The inquiry, done by a three-member panel, centered on Hutchison's relationship with Hinton, owner of Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing.
Ragsdale appointed the panel after the News Sentinel published a story detailing Hutchison and Hinton's involvement in a gated Sevier County real-estate development.
Hutchison, Hinton and two other associates of the sheriff own the roughly 65 acres of property behind the gates.
Records show a Hutchison company obtained a septic-tank permit for property now owned by a Hinton company. Hinton also obtained a septic-tank permit for a lot now owned by Hutchison's wife, Jan.
Hutchison has said publicly that both his family and the Hintons own houses inside the Trace 200 subdivision.
Sheriff's Office employees performed some of the administrative tasks associated with acquiring the property, including the preparation of a deed for a Hinton company. Hutchison has said his employees did the work on their own time and were compensated for it.
Hutchison, a licensed general contractor, has repeatedly denied that he has personal business dealings with Hinton, though he has acknowledged that he helped build Hinton's lakefront home free of charge.
Records show Chestnut Street Garage has operated the Sheriff's Office seizure lot for $2,000 a month since 1998. County officials have been unable to find a contract governing the arrangement.
Both of Hinton's companies tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies. Hutchison has said he and Hinton, a longtime political contributor to the sheriff, are friends.
Knox County Finance Department officials persuaded Hutchison to put the seizure lot business up for competition after the News Sentinel published a story about the no-bid, unwritten arrangement.
The newspaper began looking into the county's towing business after city of Knoxville officials banned Hinton's towing firms and two others from municipal contracts.
City officials have accused the wrecker services of overcharging customers. The firms have denied any wrongdoing.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
Sheriff helped build house for tow boss
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 18, 2004
Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison announced Thursday on the Sheriff's Office Web site that he helped build a lakefront house free of charge for the businessman who operates the Sheriff's Office seizure lot.
The posting came after News Sentinel reporters requested an interview regarding his role in building the Crab Orchard stone house in South Knox County for wrecker company executive Randy Hinton.
Earlier in the day, three construction inspectors in two county departments had told the newspaper they had met with Hutchison, a licensed general contractor, at the building site on separate occasions in 2002 and 2003. The inspections occurred during regular business hours on weekdays.
Whether Hinton, a longtime campaign contributor to Hutchison, and the sheriff have a relationship that violates county procurement policies is the focus of a conflict of interest probe initiated last week by Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale.
Hinton's Chestnut Street Garage operates the seizure lot for the Sheriff's Office under a no-bid, unwritten agreement. Hinton maintained he had no conflict of interest with any county official in a routine affidavit submitted to the Knox County Purchasing Department in late February.
Hutchison has maintained in recent public appearances that his relationship with Hinton does not constitute a conflict of interest .
"I don't have any personal business dealings with the Hintons," Hutchison said Sunday on WBIR Channel 10's "Inside Tennessee."
Thursday's posting on the department Web site states:
"As Sheriff Hutchison has repeatedly stated to responsible broadcast media, he and Hinton are personal friends. The Sheriff notes that Hinton sought his advice and input on a number of occasions while Hinton was building his house, and the Sheriff was 'more than happy to assist my friend. I've assisted many people in building their houses, and just like Randy, never sent them a bill.'"
As allowed by state law for property owners, Hinton obtained the permits for construction of the house at 3714 Maloney Rd. and listed himself as the contractor on a notice of completion filed with the Knox County Register of Deeds office. The house, which belongs to Kimberly and Randy Hinton, is valued at $227,300 for tax purposes.
Ragsdale has set no limits on what areas the three-person panel conducting the inquiry should explore. Roy Braden Jr., the county's chief building official, said Thursday he turned over documents regarding the Maloney Road house to the panel.
Braden said he talked to Hutchison about the house's construction during an inspection on July 30, 2003. They spoke, he said, for a few minutes during the nearly two-hour inspection.
"To me, Tim (Hutchison) was doing Randy Hinton a favor by helping him build his house," Braden said.
A Knox County Health Department inspector, however, left a site visit under the impression that Hutchison was the general contractor for the project.
Neil Hall, a septic system inspector, said he talked to Hutchison about the septic system installation during an April 15, 2003, inspection.
"I thought he was the contractor," Hall said. "I talked to him for a few minutes. I was under the impression he was building the house for a friend of his."
John Violette, another Health Department inspector, said he had met with Hutchison and Hinton at the building site seven months earlier.
Though he couldn't recall particulars of the conversation, Violette said he came away thinking that Hutchison was involved in the construction.
"Something must have happened in the conversation that led me to believe that ? he was involved in the house-building part of it," Violette said. "I don't know if he was helping a friend or lending his expertise or what."
Hinton did not return a phone message left at his office Thursday afternoon.
The Knox County procurement manual states that a conflict of interest exists when an employee has a "relationship with an outsider that is inherently unethical or that might be implied or construed to be or make possible personal gain because of the employee's partiality toward the outsider for personal reasons or otherwise inhibit the impartiality of the employee's business judgment."
Hinton receives $2,000 per month from the Sheriff's Office to run the county seizure lot at Chestnut Street Garage. Knox County officials have been unable to find a contract governing the arrangement, which records show has been in effect since 1998.
Both of Hinton's companies tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies. Towing and storage fees charged to citizens can amount to several hundred dollars for each vehicle.
Knox County Finance Department officials persuaded Hutchison to put the seizure lot business up for competition, and proposals from interested firms are due on Monday.
Also due on Monday is the report of the conflict of interest panel. Purchasing Director Hugh Holt, Knox County Commission Internal Auditor Richard Walls and private lawyer David Eldridge are conducting the probe.
If the panel rules there is a conflict of interest, Hinton could be banned from holding county contracts for a year.
Ragsdale named the panel after the News Sentinel published a story detailing Hutchison and Hinton's involvement in a gated Sevier County real estate development.
Hutchison, Hinton and two other associates of the sheriff own the roughly 65 acres of property behind the gates.
Records show a Hutchison company obtained a septic-tank permit for property now owned by a Hinton company. Hinton also obtained a septic-tank permit for a lot now owned by Hutchison's wife, Jan.
Hutchison has said publicly that both his family and the Hintons own houses inside the Trace 200 subdivision.
Sheriff's Office employees performed some of the administrative tasks associated with acquiring the property, including the preparation of a deed for a Hinton company.
Hutchison has said his employees did the work on their own time and were compensated for it.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309. Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
TIMELINE
- 3-29-2001 - Tim and Jan Hutchison buy lot 38.
- 8-31-2001 - The Hutchisons apply for a septic-tank permit for lot 38.
- 9-20-2001 - Tim Hutchison applies for septic-tank permit for lot 37.
- 9-21-2001 - Hutchison applies for septic-tank permit for lot 37, site 2.
- 10-1-2001 - Hutchison obtains septic-tank permits for lots 37 and 38.
- 10-13-2001 - Hutchison buys lot 37.
- 12-1-2001 - Hutchison deeds lot 37 to Jan Hutchison.
- 1-29-2002 - Randy Hinton applies for a septic-tank permit for lot 40, site 1; Tim Hutchison obtains septic-tank permit for lot 37, site 2.
- 1-30-2002 - Hinton obtains a septic-tank permit for lot 40, site 1.
- 6-3-2002 - RMCH Developers LLC buys lots 39 and 40, plus 41.5 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the lots.
- 6-10-2002 - RMCH Developers files articles of organization with the Secretary of State's office.
- 10-30-2002 - Carleton Bryant reserves the business name "Smoky Trace" with the Secretary of State's Office.
- 11-6-2002 - Hutchison registers "smokytracecabins.com" as an Internet domain name.
- 11-22-2002 - Smoky Trace Cabins applies for septic-tank permits for lots 39 and 40; HTJ Properties applies for septic-tank permit for lot 26.
- 1-6-2003 - HTJ Properties obtains septic-tank permit for lot 40.
- 1-13-2003 - HTJ Properties obtains septic-tank permit for lot 39.
- 3-10-2003 - HTJ Construction obtains septic-tank permit for lot 26.
- 9-24-2003 - KRH Properties buys lot 26.
- 2-4-2003 - RMCH Developers deeds lots 39 and 40 to Jan Hutchison, and the 41.5-acre tract to Johnnie Conner.
- 2-12-2003 - The Hutchisons sell 1 acre of lot 37 to Conner.
Sources: Sevier County property records; Sevier County Health Department; Tennessee Secretary of State's office; Network Solutions.
There They Go Again
posted by Media Relations
Knox County Sheriff's Office
Website by Planning and Development
865.215.2461
3/18/2004
In yet another scandalous expose, the Knoxville News Sentinel is preparing a story alleging that Sheriff Tim Hutchison helped Mr. Randy Hinton with the construction of his house. Reporter Scott Barker has spent countless hours researching this elusive story and has now uncovered information that previously was known only to the hundreds of people who are either friends of Hinton or the Sheriff, or who worked on the house.
As Sheriff Hutchison has repeatedly stated to responsible broadcast media, he and Hinton are personal friends. The Sheriff notes that Hinton sought his advice and input on a number of occasions while Hinton was building his house, and the Sheriff was "more than happy to assist my friend. I've assisted many people in building their houses, and just like Randy, never sent them a bill. I'm proud to be a licensed general contractor and I'm equally proud to be the Sheriff. My record clearly speaks for itself- my interest in contracting has never and will never interfere with my duties as Sheriff."
The Sheriff's Office has learned that News Sentinel reporters Scott Barker and Laura Ayo subjected Chief Building Inspector Roy Braden to an hour long interrogation. The News Sentinel has been attempting to establish that a conflict of interest exists between Knox County and Hinton, owner of Chestnut Street Garage. Knox County utilizes a seizure lot maintained by Chestnut Street Garage, under an agreement that has been in place since 1995. All financial arrangements of Knox County, including this one, are audited annually. During every annual audit since 1995, the auditors have not identified this as a problem.
This story is apparently part of a continuing effort by the News Sentinel to prove a business relationship between Hinton and the Sheriff, a relationship that simply does not exist. The newspaper has gone to great extremes in pursuit of this story, including publishing photographs of the Sheriff's cabin in the mountains, along with a full color map describing how to get there. The Sheriff, a thirty-year law enforcement veteran, was disturbed that the News Sentinel would jeopardize his safety and the safety of his family in their efforts to criticize him.
City sues 3 towing outfits
Mayor delivers papers alleging false billing
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 5, 2003
Mayor Victor Ashe hand-delivered a pair of lawsuits Thursday alleging three wrecker companies violated the Tennessee False Claims Act by submitting false documents to the city to conceal a pattern of overcharging customers.
The lawyer for the companies dismissed the mayor's unprecedented act as a publicity stunt and said he looked forward to the court challenge.
Flanked by Deputy Law Director Debra Poplin and city lawyer Alyson Eberting, Ashe strode up to the Knox County Chancery Court counter at 3:16 p.m.
"We've got a lawsuit for you," Ashe said as he handed a bundle of documents to clerk Dottie Davison.
"Actually," Eberting interjected, "we have two."
One lawsuit accuses Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing and Chestnut Street Garage of filing fraudulent invoices with the city for towing jobs done at the request of police officers, and for breach of contract. Randy A. Hinton controls both companies.
The second lawsuit, against Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, run by Billy A. Mullins Jr., contains the same allegations.
A spot review of documents by the Knoxville Wrecker Commission determined all three companies filed false invoices in June. City officials say a fourth company, Fountain City Wrecker Service, also overcharged customers but wasn't sued because it didn't supply false documents.
The companies tow vehicles for the city under contracts that give them monopolies on calls from police in certain zones of the city. In exchange for the guaranteed work, the companies agreed to lower rates on the calls. The contracts don't cover privately arranged towing jobs.
The lawsuits allege the companies overcharged customers while submitting invoices to the city indicating they'd charged the contracted amount. The companies haven't submitted any invoices since July, and on Oct. 28 they told the city they would drop the pacts effective Dec. 27. The city has put the contracts back out for bid, but the four companies won't be allowed to vie for the work.
Under the False Claims Act, the companies face civil penalties of $2,500 to $10,000 for each violation, and could be forced to pay treble damages.
"Arguably, each false document per tow could be a (separate) claim," Eberting said, adding that city officials don't yet know when the alleged overcharging began or how many invoices could be incorrect. The city also wants the companies to reimburse taxpayers for expenses, legal fees and court costs.
The lawyer representing the towing companies, Michael McGovern, welcomed the opportunity to go before a chancellor.
"We've finally got a place to have a fair forum," he said.
After a brief look at the lawsuits, McGovern said the Tennessee False Claims Act doesn't apply to this situation.
McGovern has said the wrecker companies didn't overcharge customers or submit false documents. He's also attacked the contracts as being ambiguous and contradictory.
Ashe, who leaves office Dec. 20, said Thursday was the first time in his 16 years in office he'd filed lawsuits in person.
"I did it to highlight the inequities, and, really, predatory practices, carried out by the wrecker firms on innocent citizens for overcharging," Ashe said.
McGovern scoffed at Ashe's participation in a routine legal filing as a political ploy.
"I think this is largely grandstanding by the city," McGovern said. "That's unfair to the towing industry and misleading to the city of Knoxville."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
City to sue wrecker companies today
By Knoxville News-Sentinel staff
December 4, 2003
The city of Knoxville said today it will file lawsuits against wrecker companies alleging they violated Tennessee's False Claims Act and breach of contract claims.
City Staff Attorney Alyson Eberting is preparing the suits.
Mayor Victor Ashe and Deputy City Law Director Debbie Poplin will hold a news availability this afternoon to discuss the action at the Chancery Court Clerk and Masters office.
Four Knoxville firms — Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage — were barred Monday from bidding for the new city wrecker service contracts.
City officials blacklisted the companies from such contracts for the next five years after accusations that the businesses overcharged customers by as much as three times for initial towing jobs, as well as storage fees, under exclusive contracts to tow vehicles when requested by police.
Michael McGovern, the wrecker services' attorney, continues to argue that his clients did not violate the terms of their contracts, but the companies did run an advertisement in Wednesday's News Sentinel offering to review possible invoice errors and refund any overcharges plus 5 percent interest from the date of payment if mistakes are found.
"The city would recommend that citizens pursue every avenue to recover their lost costs," said Alyson Eberting, in response to the ad. "We cannot collect that money for individuals at this time."
Eberting added that individuals also should consult their own lawyers about appropriate legal action.
The advertisement also specifies that because of "numerous exceptions" to the city contracts, a request for the review of an invoice will not automatically qualify for a refund.
Such overcharges do not include illegally parked vehicles that were towed from private parking lots.
Meanwhile, the city held a pre-bid conference Wednesday for potential bidders on the new three-year contracts, each of which will apply to one of eight geographical areas.
Bids must be returned by Dec. 10 and the new contracts are expected to take affect on Dec. 29.
In a Wednesday letter to city officials, McGovern proposed several legal revisions to the contracts to correct the ambiguities and conflicts that he contends are the real cause for the contested charges of his clients.
Despite his clients' repeated pleas, McGovern said the city has done nothing to correct the flawed contracts' language for some 20 years, adding that he represents several other Knoxville towing companies that are now interested in the new bids.
However, when asked why his accused clients last agreed to the flawed terms in 2001, McGovern said the towers' much-publicized problems began because the city changed the contracts' "unwritten understanding."
"There has been an understanding of how the contracts would be executed," he argued. "The city started changing the way they administered the terms of the contracts midstream."
For instance, McGovern said that police officers began requesting that some cars be towed to the city impound lot rather than traditionally sending them to the firm's own lots, which substantially lessened profits.
Citizens urged to pursue wreckers' settlement offer
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 4, 2003
While city attorneys continue to research the possibility of a class-action lawsuit against local towing companies for allegedly overcharging customers, they say citizens should feel free to follow through on the companies' own advertised refund offer.
Four Knoxville firms - Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage - were barred Monday from bidding for the new city wrecker service contracts.
City officials blacklisted the companies from such contracts for the next five years after accusations that the businesses overcharged customers by as much as three times for initial towing jobs, as well as storage fees, under exclusive contracts to tow vehicles when requested by police.
Michael McGovern, the wrecker services' attorney, continues to argue that his clients did not violate the terms of their contracts, but the companies did run an advertisement in Wednesday's News Sentinel offering to review possible invoice errors and refund any overcharges plus 5 percent interest from the date of payment, if mistakes are found.
"The city would recommend that citizens pursue every avenue to recover their lost costs," said city attorney Alyson Eberting, in response to the ad. "We cannot collect that money for individuals at this time."
Eberting added that individuals also should consult their own lawyers about appropriate legal action.
The advertisement also specifies that because of "numerous exceptions" to the city contracts, a request for the review of an invoice will not automatically qualify for a refund.
Such overcharges do not include illegally parked vehicles that were towed from private parking lots.
But the city Law Department is reviewing whether the companies violated the Tennessee False Claims Act by submitting falsified invoices to the city Wrecker Services Commission. And officials also are looking for ways to help citizens and insurance companies file a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the state Consumer Protection Act.
Meanwhile, the city held a pre-bid conference Wednesday for potential bidders on the new three-year contracts, each of which will apply to one of eight geographical areas.
Bids must be returned by Dec. 10 and the new contracts are expected to take affect on Dec. 29.
In a Wednesday letter to city officials, McGovern proposed several legal revisions to the contracts to correct the ambiguities and conflicts that he contends are the real cause for the contested charges of his clients.
Despite his clients' repeated pleas, McGovern said the city has done nothing to correct the flawed contracts' language for some 20 years, adding that he represents several other Knoxville towing companies that are now interested in the new bids.
However, when asked why his accused clients last agreed to the flawed terms in 2001, McGovern said the towers' much-publicized problems began because the city changed the contracts' "unwritten understanding."
"There has been an understanding of how the contracts would be executed," he argued. "The city started changing the way they administered the terms of the contracts midstream."
For instance, McGovern said that police officers began requesting that some cars be towed to the city impound lot rather than traditionally sending them to the firm's own lots, which substantially lessened profits.
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
Wreckers go tow-to-tow
City-contracted firms complain blacklisted ones stealing their business
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 16, 2004
The city Wrecker Services Commission heard complaints Monday from recently city-contracted towing firms that say they're getting beat to the scene by the same companies that lost their contracts with the city for allegedly overcharging.
Randy Hinton, owner of Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing and Chestnut Street Garage, and Joel Smith, president of Fountain City Wrecker Service, snickered at the specific claims against their businesses during the meeting.
Both declined to respond to the allegations afterward.
Commission Chairman Mark Williamson described their attendance, along with Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service owner Billy Mullins and their attorney Mike McGovern, as an attempt to simply "intimidate and aggravate."
"Frankly, I see it as these guys who had contracts and lost them are still very upset about it. They're trying to be a thorn in the side of everyone involved," Williamson said. "If they were serious about doing something and feel like they've been wronged, then they need to file a lawsuit and get on with it."
Five new companies were awarded city contracts in December after city of Knoxville officials alleged that the Fountain City, Cedar Bluff, Chestnut Street and Sutherland Avenue firms overcharged customers during contracted work.
The city also filed a lawsuit against all but Fountain City Wrecker for submitting false documents. The companies have denied any wrongdoing.
"Running wrecks" has been a common practice for years in the wrecker service industry, as tow drivers use police radio scanners to get a heads-up on car accidents so they can beat their competition to the scene.
The longstanding tactic has raised new questions, however, in light of numerous complaints against the blacklisted companies for allegedly soliciting business away from their replacements at police-requested calls for service.
The contracts set guaranteed prices for work in assigned geographic areas. But they don't cover privately arranged jobs.
"We're all having the same problem," said Rick Carnes, owner of Clinton Highway Services, one of the new contracted companies. "The contracts were taken away because they were doing the wrong thing and they're still doing the wrong thing."
Wrecker commission members scheduled a public hearing for April 5 to hear complaints regarding solicitation and other issues. Meanwhile, the city-contracted firms have been asked to document any such incidents.
Knoxville police officer Phil Major said that officers would soon begin distributing copies of a "Motorists Bill of Rights" at accidents to inform drivers of the price limits offered for towing and storage under city contracts, as opposed to any privately arranged services.
He added that officers also are being trained how to better control access at crash scenes.
Additionally, Williamson said the wrecker commission would focus on what steps could be taken at the legislative level to prohibit at-the-scene solicitations for safety reasons.
"I can assure you," he said, "we will move on this as quickly as possible."
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
Hutchison land deals raise conflict questions
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 7, 2004
Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison is involved in a Sevier County real estate development with a businessman who operates the impound lot for the Sheriff's Office.
Questions about Hutchison and wrecker company executive Randy Hinton's connections to the development prompted Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale on Friday to call for a probe into whether a conflict of interest exists.
The 65-acre gated development is draped across three rugged ridges in the rear portion of the Trace 200 subdivision between Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley.
Four houses have been built behind the gates on property owned by Hutchison and his wife, Jan Hutchison. They have deeded one of them to a Karns businesswoman.
At least five companies and a half-dozen people have engaged in a series of land transactions and house-building activity in the development over the past three years, according to real estate deeds, permit applications, state and county business documents and other public records.
Hutchison, who makes more than $104,000 a year as sheriff and operates a construction business, has identified himself as a general partner in a limited liability company that bought 48 acres of land in and around Trace 200 for $1.32 million in 2002. The company, RMCH Developers LLC, got rid of its holdings last month for an undisclosed amount.
Three other companies with connections to Hutchison have performed various activities in the development.
Sheriff's Office employees did some of the administrative tasks associated with acquiring the property.
Hinton, president of Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing, obtained a permit for a building site now owned by Jan Hutchison. A longtime political contributor to the sheriff, Hinton also may have bought a lot in the gated development through a company he and his wife have used to buy land in Knox County.
Records show the Sheriff's Office has been paying Hinton's Chestnut Street Garage $24,000 per year since 1998 to operate an impound lot for seized, abandoned and wrecked vehicles. Officials in the Knox County finance and law director's offices have been unable to find a written contract governing the arrangement.
Both of Hinton's companies tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies.
As part of a routine process to update vendor information, Hinton maintained he has no conflict of interest with any county official in an affidavit submitted to the Knox County Purchasing Department two weeks ago.
He didn't return phone messages left Friday at both his wrecker companies.
Hutchison did not agree to answer questions arising from the land deals.
"This is the Sheriff's response to any questions you may have and he expects you to print it," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Martha Dooley wrote in a statement faxed Friday to the News Sentinel. The statement said:
"I'm sorry you're behind, but the Knoxville Journal had a picture of the family cabin and the property almost two years ago. I hope this answers any questions you have about my personal affairs."
On Friday, Ragsdale said his office would review documents to determine whether a conflict of interest exists.
"We will investigate it," Ragsdale said.
Behind the gates
Hutchison owns a 3,288-square-foot house with soaring gables on a ridge overlooking a steep gap locals call the Narrows near Wears Valley. For property tax purposes, it's valued at $209,700.
The Hutchisons began assembling their property in Trace 200 in 2001 by purchasing two lots totaling 13.5 acres for $52,800.
Mike Ruble, a Sheriff's Office in-house legal adviser, prepared some of the property deeds for those lots. Ruble did not return a phone message on Friday.
RMCH Developers started buying property in the development the next year, even before the company technically existed. The company paid $1.32 million to Nickey Maxey, a South Carolina-based businessman and former Tennessee Highway Patrol officer, for two lots in Trace 200 and an adjacent undeveloped 41.5-acre tract.
When RMCH Developers filed its articles of organization a week later, Carleton "Butch" Bryant IV, also a Sheriff's Office in-house legal adviser, was named the company's organizer and registered agent. Bryant did not return a phone message on Friday.
The articles didn't contain the identities of RMCH Developers' members. However, Hutchison later described himself as a "general partner" when the firm deeded the property last month to his wife and Johnnie Conner, a Karns businesswoman and vice president of the Knox County Library System board of trustees.
Another company, KRH Properties, entered the development six months ago when it paid $35,000 for one lot next to property then owned by RMCH Developers.
Though the deed doesn't reveal the identities of the principals in KRH Properties, Hinton and his wife, Kimberly, did business as KRH Properties two months later when they bought land in Knox County.
On the Sevier County deed, KRH Properties' address is listed as a post office box Hutchison used as his campaign mailing address during the last two elections. The deed for the Hintons' Knox County transaction, however, has a different post office box listed for the company.
In addition to the Hutchisons' house, there is a 4,882-square-foot house featuring a kidney-shaped pool on property now belonging to Conner. Before the Hutchisons subdivided the 6.5-acre plot, the house and grounds were valued at $329,100 for tax purposes.
The other two houses are on property RMCH Developers deeded to Jan Hutchison on Feb. 4. Hinton had obtained a septic-tank permit for a 1,200-square-foot cabin on the property, while a Hutchison company took out the septic-tank permit for another building site on the same lot.
Maxey, who in the early 1990s held a controversial no-bid contract with the Sheriff's Office to operate jailhouse payphones, owns a lot that also appears to be behind the gates. Maxey also owns 12 other lots in the subdivision and two adjacent parcels. A message left at his Hilton Head, S.C., office wasn't returned Friday.
More construction appears to be in the works. Hutchison or Hutchison companies have obtained septic-tank permits for at least three other building sites, including one on the lot now owned by KRH Properties.
A roadbed has been cut along the hardwood-crowned ridge that makes up the bulk of the 41.5-acre tract adjacent to Trace 200, and earth-moving equipment was parked on the roadbed on a recent afternoon.
RMCH Developers transferred the tract on Feb. 4 to Conner, who also owns about 78 acres of undeveloped commercial property in West Knox County with Hutchison.
Reached by phone on Friday, Conner wouldn't say what, if anything, she planned to do with her Sevier County property.
She also faxed a response:
"You contacted me regarding a statement about property I own in Sevier County. This is property that I purchased with a like-kind exchange from sale of property I owned on Oak Ridge Highway to Knox County Government for a park in Karns."
Since the area is inside the Pigeon Forge urban growth boundary, the Pigeon Forge Planning Commission would have to approve subdividing the tract. No subdivision plans had been submitted as of late last month.
While documents don't reveal what is planned for the development, Bryant reserved the name "Smoky Trace" with state officials for business use. A Hutchison company, HTJ Properties, then used the name "Smoky Trace Cabins" when applying for permits for two lots in the subdivision.
Hutchison also secured "smokytracecabins.com" as an Internet domain name, but the site isn't up and running.
Under scrutiny
Questions about the sheriff and Hinton's involvement in Trace 200 follow city of Knoxville sanctions against Hinton's wrecker companies.
Late last year, Knoxville officials barred Hinton's companies and two other towing firms from holding municipal contracts for five years because, they claim, the wrecker services overcharged customers.
The city has sued Hinton's companies along with Sutherland Avenue Wrecker service, accusing them of submitting false documents to regulators. The fourth barred company, Fountain City Wrecker Service, wasn't sued.
The lawyer for the four companies has denied the allegations.
Knox County taxpayers paid Hinton companies $37,653 in fiscal year 2003 for towing and related services, including the impound lot.
The impound lot stores vehicles and other goods seized as evidence during investigations. Also, funds obtained through auctions of seized property supplement the Sheriff's Office budget.
Last week the Knox County Purchasing Department solicited proposals for a private contractor to run an impound lot. The county is also trying to work out a deal to share a facility with the city.
Not all county purchases, including those made by the Sheriff's Office, must go through the Purchasing Department.
But Ragsdale said he is determined to follow every rule and regulation in place when they do.
"If they come through us, we're going to follow the rules this time and every time," he said.
If officials determine a conflict of interest exists because of the Trace 200 dealings, they could bar Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing from holding county contracts for one year, Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt said.
The Knox County procurement manual states that a conflict of interest exists when an employee "has a direct or indirect interest in or relationship with an outsider that is inherently unethical or that might be implied or construed to be or make possible personal gain because of the employee's partiality toward the outsider for personal reasons or otherwise inhibit the impartiality of the employee's business judgment."
Penalties for violating its conflict of interest provisions range from verbal warnings to termination of employment.
However, officials said the Purchasing Department couldn't force independent officeholders like the sheriff to comply with its regulations.
Ragsdale said he hoped every official would follow the county's purchasing guidelines on every transaction.
"I can't dictate or mandate that," Ragsdale said. "I can only encourage that."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309. Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
SHERIFF: WON'T TAKE CITY UP ON OFFER OF FREE IMPOUND LOT
Sheriff bills taxpayers an extra $50,000 for tow truckering
Reporter: Jim Ragonese
WBIR TV
3/24/2004
In an interview with Action 10 News on Tuesday, Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison said the city of Knoxville's offer of a free impound lot isn't feasible, despite the fact that the city's offer could save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
Currently, Knox County's impound lot is operated by Chestnut Street Garage, which has provided the service and space for the past nine years via an unwritten $24,000-a-year contract with the Sheriff's Department.
Chestnut Street Garage is owned by Randy Hinton. The relationship between Hinton and Hutchison has been called into question in recent weeks after it was revealed that the two men both own property in a Sevier County land development project.
Additionally, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on Friday that Sheriff Hutchison, who is a licensed contractor, has provided contracting services to Hinton at no cost.
Hutchison says he's helped many people in building their houses and has never been paid. He has also said that the Knoxville newspaper has a "vendetta" against him.
In response to these issues, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale convened a three-person panel to investigate Sheriff Hutchison's relationship with Hinton for possible ethical conflicts.
The panel was due to deliver its findings on Monday, but after the newest allegations of impropriety, the investigators have now asked for more time, saying a report will be released on April 9th.
Also in response to the questions surrounding the private business relationships between Hutchison and Hinton, Ragsdale called for other companies to bid on the impound contract currently held by Chestnut Street Garage, via a standard government bidding process.
According to the Knox County Sheriff's Office website, Hinton's bid is the only one that has been received, and he wants to double his current charges to $48,000 per year.
In his statement posted Monday night on the Sheriff's Department website, Hutchison offered his view on Hinton's bid, stating that, "This simply confirms what we knew all along - Chestnut Street has provided Knox County with an essential service for a price that is well below market rates, and they've done it for years."
Speaking to Action 10 News by phone on Monday night, Knox County Public Information Officer Mike Cohen said it's important to have written contracts and a competitive bidding process.
"When the county is spending the public's money, it has a
responsibility to make sure the money is spent fairly and
properly," explained Cohen. "Government is the law and we can't be above it. We have to set the standard."
Cohen also noted that Knox County is considering Knoxville's offer to use its impound lot at no cost.
But today, Sheriff Hutchison said that the County can't use the city's lot, citing concerns with space and liability issues.
"I'm not gonna release that liability to any other agency or department. I'm responsible for those (vehicles). Regardless of how they treat it, or how they watched it, if something's missing, I'm still responsible," explained Hutchison.
The Sheriff says that, despite Hinton's newly doubled fees, he plans to continue using Chestnut Street Garage. Hutchison says he'll make up the cost difference between the current contract and the new bid price using his Department's drug fund money.
KNOX SHERIFF HELPED TOW EXECUTIVE BUILD HOUSE
Reporter: Associated Press Copyright
WBIR TV
3/20/2004
Knox County's sheriff is admitting he gave free construction advice to an executive who runs an impound lot for the department.
A panel is investigating possible conflict of interest involving Sheriff Tim Hutchison.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports today that three construction inspectors say they met with Hutchison at a building site owned by Randy Hinton. Hinton runs an impound lot and another company that tows vehicles at the request of sheriff's deputies.
The sheriff is a licensed general contractor. Hutchison says he's helped many people in building their houses and never been paid.
The investigative panel could rule that Hinton should be barred for a year from holding county contracts.
Panel on sheriff extends deadline
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 20, 2004
A panel looking into whether a conflict of interest exists between Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison and a county contractor will not report its findings until April 9.
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale said in a press release Friday that the three people on the panel requested the extension in order to do a "fair and thorough" job and to fulfill their other commitments.
The inquiry centers on Hutchison's relationship with Randy Hinton, owner of Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing. Hutchison, a licensed general contractor, has repeatedly denied that he has personal business dealings with Hinton, though he acknowledged Thursday on the Sheriff's Office Web site that he helped build Hinton's lakefront home free of charge.
Records show Chestnut Street Garage has operated the Sheriff's Office seizure lot for $2,000 a month since 1998. County officials have been unable to find a contract governing the arrangement.
Both of Hinton's companies tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies. Hutchison has said he and Hinton, a longtime political contributor to the sheriff, are friends.
Ragsdale had asked the conflict-of-interest panel to submit a report on Monday. That's the same day proposals are due from companies interested in operating the Sheriff's Office seizure lot.
Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt, who is a member of the panel, said delaying the report wouldn't cause a similar delay in considering the proposals.
"We're not canceling," Holt said. "We are going ahead with that."
Knox County Finance Department officials persuaded Hutchison to put the seizure lot business up for competition after the News Sentinel published a story about the no-bid, unwritten arrangement.
The newspaper began looking into the county's towing business after city of Knoxville officials banned Hinton's towing firms and two others from municipal contracts.
City officials have accused the wrecker services of overcharging customers. The firms have denied any wrongdoing.
The county's request for proposals calls for a 450-vehicle seizure lot, plus a three-bay facility for the storage of vehicles kept for investigations.
If a company other than Chestnut Street Garage gets the contract, the new contractor would have to pay Chestnut Street about $30,000 as reimbursement for expenses already incurred for the existing inventory, Holt said.
If the investigative panel determines a conflict of interest exists, Holt said, Hinton's companies could be barred from county contracts for one year. Hinton maintained in an affidavit submitted to the county last month that he doesn't have a conflict of interest with any county official.
Ragsdale appointed the panel after the News Sentinel published a story detailing Hutchison and Hinton's involvement in a gated Sevier County real-estate development.
Hutchison, Hinton and two other associates of the sheriff own the roughly 65 acres of property behind the gates.
Records show a Hutchison company obtained a septic-tank permit for property now owned by a Hinton company. Hinton also obtained a septic-tank permit for a lot now owned by Hutchison's wife, Jan.
Hutchison has said publicly that both his family and the Hintons own houses inside the Trace 200 subdivision.
Sheriff's Office employees performed some of the administrative tasks associated with acquiring the property, including the preparation of a deed for a Hinton company. Hutchison has said his employees did the work on their own time and were compensated for it.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309. Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
SHERIFF: WON'T TAKE CITY UP ON OFFER OF FREE IMPOUND LOT
Reporter: Jim Ragonese
WBIR TV
3/24/2004
In an interview with Action 10 News on Tuesday, Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison said the city of Knoxville's offer of a free impound lot isn't feasible, despite the fact that the city's offer could save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
Currently, Knox County's impound lot is operated by Chestnut Street Garage, which has provided the service and space for the past nine years via an unwritten $24,000-a-year contract with the Sheriff's Department.
Chestnut Street Garage is owned by Randy Hinton. The relationship between Hinton and Hutchison has been called into question in recent weeks after it was revealed that the two men both own property in a Sevier County land development project.
Additionally, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on Friday that Sheriff Hutchison, who is a licensed contractor, has provided contracting services to Hinton at no cost.
Hutchison says he's helped many people in building their houses and has never been paid. He has also said that the Knoxville newspaper has a "vendetta" against him.
In response to these issues, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale convened a three-person panel to investigate Sheriff Hutchison's relationship with Hinton for possible ethical conflicts.
The panel was due to deliver its findings on Monday, but after the newest allegations of impropriety, the investigators have now asked for more time, saying a report will be released on April 9th.
Also in response to the questions surrounding the private business relationships between Hutchison and Hinton, Ragsdale called for other companies to bid on the impound contract currently held by Chestnut Street Garage, via a standard government bidding process.
According to the Knox County Sheriff's Office website, Hinton's bid is the only one that has been received, and he wants to double his current charges to $48,000 per year.
In his statement posted Monday night on the Sheriff's Department website, Hutchison offered his view on Hinton's bid, stating that, "This simply confirms what we knew all along - Chestnut Street has provided Knox County with an essential service for a price that is well below market rates, and they've done it for years."
Speaking to Action 10 News by phone on Monday night, Knox County Public Information Officer Mike Cohen said it's important to have written contracts and a competitive bidding process.
"When the county is spending the public's money, it has a
responsibility to make sure the money is spent fairly and
properly," explained Cohen. "Government is the law and we can't be above it. We have to set the standard."
Cohen also noted that Knox County is considering Knoxville's offer to use its impound lot at no cost.
But today, Sheriff Hutchison said that the County can't use the city's lot, citing concerns with space and liability issues.
"I'm not gonna release that liability to any other agency or department. I'm responsible for those (vehicles). Regardless of how they treat it, or how they watched it, if something's missing, I'm still responsible," explained Hutchison.
The Sheriff says that, despite Hinton's newly doubled fees, he plans to continue using Chestnut Street Garage. Hutchison says he'll make up the cost difference between the current contract and the new bid price using his Department's drug fund money.
RELATED STORIES FROM WBIR.COM:
Sheriff Accuses Knoxville News Sentinel of "Vendetta"
Knoxville Sues Hinton-owned Tow Company for Overcharging
SHERIFF ACCUSES NEWS SENTINEL OF ''VENDETTA''
Reporter: Jim Ragonese
WBIR TV
3/10/2004
In an interview with Action 10 News today, Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison defended himself against allegations of ethical impropriety.
At issue is a private business relationship between Hutchison and Randy Hinton, owner of a local car impound lot. Hinton's lot is the recipient of a no-bid, $2,000-a- month contract with the Knox County Sheriff's Department.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported in its Sunday edition that Hutchison and Hinton are both investors in a 65-acre land development project located between Wears Valley and Pigeon Forge in Sevier County.
According to Hutchison, the issue isn't his dealings with Hinton, but rather the News Sentinel's coverage.
"Everyone is reacting to a story by the Knoxville News Sentinel," says Hutchison. "But everyone knows that they have a personal and political vendetta against me. It's been going on for thirteen-plus years."
Hutchison says the News Sentinel didn't uncover any wrongdoing.
"They never did say that I had done anything unethical or wrong. They just implied it and wanted the reader to leave with the impression and the headlines and bylines that something's wrong and I need to be investigated."
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale reacted swiftly to the allegations raised by the News Sentinel's reporting and on Monday named three individuals to a panel that will investigate the matter.
Named to the investigative panel were:
- Richard Walls, internal auditor for Knox County Commission.
- Hugh Holt, Knox County purchasing director.
- David Eldridge, a prominent local attorney in private practice.
Ragsdale has directed that the probe be completed within two weeks. If any wrongdoing is uncovered, Hinton's company could lose its contract with the Sheriff's Department.
Hutchison says that he has no problem with any inquiry into the matter.
"I welcome any investigation from Mr. Ragsdale or anyone else. I haven't done anything wrong and neither has anyone else around here," says Hutchison.
CITY FILES LAWSUIT OVER TOWING CHARGES
Reporter: Jim Ragonese
WBIR TV
12/8/2003
Some towing companies accused of overcharging people for a tow in Knoxville now face legal action.
The City of Knoxville filed a class action suit late Thursday afternoon against three different Knoxville wrecker services.
The city says if your car was towed in the City of Knoxville, there is a good chance you paid too much for that service. The law department says recent audits show repeated overcharges by some of the companies under contract to tow cars for the city.
The city's lawsuit says it is time for those towing companies to be responsible for their actions.
Cedar Bluff Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, and Chestnut Street Garage are all named in the lawsuits. They all agreed to set rates to tow cars for the city.
City attorneys who filed the suits say the companies all broke the agreements and overcharged either car owners or their insurance companies.
Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe said the courts need to stop that practice.
The city also claims the receipts turned in by the wrecker companies show they charged one price, but their investigations show the companies actually charged significantly higher prices.
In the lawsuits the city says that violated the False Claims Act.
Michael McGovern, the attorney for the towing companies disagrees.
McGovern said, "The claim that they've made under the False Claims Act, it's a relatively new law. I haven't had a chance to look at the complaint, but what I know about the law is, it appears it is not even applicable in this situation."
Both sides believe the courts can settle this argument.
This case only seeks damages for the city. The mayor says if individuals or insurance companies believe they have been overcharged, they may want to hire an attorney.
No specific amount was specified in the lawsuit. If the False Claim Act applies to this case, it could bring up to $10,000 per case. The city says it is still investigating to figure just how many cases exist.
Panel to examine Hutchison's possible conflict of interest
Ragsdale gives team two weeks 'to look at all the questions'
By SCOTT BARKER AND LAURA AYO
barkers@knews.com, ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 9, 2004
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale named a three-person panel Monday to investigate a possible conflict of interest involving Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison and the operator of the Sheriff's Office impound lot.
Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt, Knox County Commission Internal Auditor Richard Walls and former Knox County Election Commission Chairman David Eldridge have two weeks to determine whether a conflict of interest exists.
"The public needs to be assured that money is being properly spent," Ragsdale wrote in a press release late Monday afternoon. "If it is, people's names need to be cleared. If it is not, then we need to take whatever action is needed to restore integrity to the process."
Ragsdale called for the probe on Friday after learning about the sheriff's involvement in a Sevier County real estate development.
Officials say they can't force independent officeholders such as the sheriff to follow procurement rules.
However, the Purchasing Department can bar Hinton's companies from holding county contracts for one year if they determine a conflict of interest exists.
Public records show Hutchison and Randy Hinton, owner of Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Towing, are involved in a 65-acre gated development between Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley.
Hinton obtained a septic-tank permit for a building site on a lot in the development now owned by Jan Hutchison, Hutchison's wife. A Hutchison company took out a septic-tank permit for another building site on the same lot.
Also, KRH Properties - a name under which Hinton and his wife, Kimberly, have done business in Knox County - bought another lot in the gated area.
Ragsdale spokesman Mike Cohen said the panel would look into all aspects of the development activities.
"I don't know that we've set any parameters. Certainly they'll look at stuff like if county employees are going to work outside their duties. It may be we need some sort of system in place," Cohen said.
Sheriff's Office staff prepared many of the deeds used to buy land in the development. For example, in-house legal adviser Carleton "Butch" Bryant IV drew up a deed for KRH Properties.
Ragsdale wrote in the release that a number of people, including county commissioners, have called for an investigation into whether a conflict of interest exists.
"We're basically going to get this committee to look at all the questions being raised. We're not asking them to launch a gargantuan probe into how government works," Cohen said.
Cohen said the committee's makeup - the purchasing director, County Commission's internal auditor and a Knoxville lawyer not affiliated with county government - is balanced enough to provide a fair inquiry.
Law Director Mike Moyers will assist the panel, but he isn't a full member because of his duties as the sheriff's lawyer in official matters, Cohen said.
"Moyers will certainly be involved," Cohen said. "Given that he represents the sheriff, we needed to have an attorney on there who doesn't have a connection to Knox County government."
Records show the Sheriff's Office has been paying Hinton's Chestnut Street Garage $24,000 per year since 1998 to operate an impound lot for seized, abandoned and wrecked vehicles. Officials in the Knox County finance and law director's offices have been unable to find a written contract governing the arrangement. Hinton is a longtime political contributor to the sheriff.
Both of Hinton's companies tow county-owned vehicles under a contract and private vehicles at the request of deputies.
Knox County taxpayers paid Hinton companies $37,653 in fiscal year 2003 for towing and related services, including the impound lot.
The impound lot stores vehicles and other goods seized as evidence during investigations. Also, funds obtained through auctions of seized property supplement the Sheriff's Office budget.
The Knox County procurement manual states that a conflict of interest exists when an employee "has a direct or indirect interest in or relationship with an outsider that is inherently unethical or that might be implied or construed to be or make possible personal gain because of the employee's partiality toward the outsider for personal reasons or otherwise inhibit the impartiality of the employee's business judgment."
Ragsdale's office persuaded Hutchison to go along with issuing a request for proposals to run the impound lot after the News Sentinel reported the unwritten arrangement between the Sheriff's Office and Hinton's Chestnut Street Garage.
County officials are also considering sharing a facility with the city of Knoxville.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309. Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
The panel
March 9, 2004
David Eldridge
- Managing partner in Eldridge & Blakney PC
- Licensed attorney since 1987, working with the law firm of Ritchie, Fels & Dillard PC from 1988 until leaving in September to start new firm
- Knox County Election Commission member from 1998 to 2003
- President-elect of the Knoxville Bar Association
Hugh Holt
- Knox County purchasing director since 1998
- Knox County employee since 1989, holding positions of auditor/inventory analyst, materials control supervisor, assistant purchasing agent, purchasing agent and purchasing director
- Certified public purchasing buyer and certified professional procurement officer through the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing
Richard Walls
- Knox County Commission's internal auditor since 2001
- Licensed certified public accountant
- Former corporate controller of the Electro-Mechanical Corp. in Bristol, Va.; worked for Joseph Decosimo Co., which audited government entities
Sheriff alleges he has done nothing illegal
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
March 9, 2004
Sheriff Tim Hutchison said Monday he has done nothing illegal or unethical in his involvement with businessman Randy Hinton in a Sevier County real estate development.
"Am I partners in business with anybody who does business with the county? Absolutely not," he told members of the West Knox Republican Club at the Copper Cellar on Kingston Pike.
The four-term sheriff didn't agree to an interview with a reporter, but spent a few minutes at the end of his speech addressing the issues behind the county's probe into a possible conflict of interest.
Hutchison acknowledged he and Hinton, a businessman who operates the impound lot for the Sheriff's Office, have built houses in a gated development near Wears Valley.
With the exception of one of the sheriff's lots, Hutchison and Hinton bought their property from Nickey Maxey, a South Carolina businessman who once held a controversial no-bid payphone contract with the Sheriff's Office.
Hutchison said the News Sentinel's coverage of his real estate dealings in Sevier County is a "vendetta" that has nothing to do with his job performance.
"It's a personal attack on me," he said.
Hutchison said his primary objection, as the head of a law enforcement agency, was that the News Sentinel printed a map to his Sevier County house.
"I certainly don't appreciate the paper doing that," he said.
The four-term sheriff also said there is nothing wrong with using his employees to prepare and notarize documents for his private land transactions. Many of his employees work second jobs, he said, which is fine with him "if it doesn't conflict with the Sheriff's Office or the county."
Hutchison, a licensed general contractor, said that he, too, is entitled to have business interests outside his official duties.
"What I do out there is really my business," he said.
New bidders sought for city wrecker contracts
Companies accused of overcharging ineligible
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 2, 2003
The city of Knoxville has requested bids for new wrecker service contracts, but four companies accused of overcharging customers won't be allowed to compete.
City officials said Monday it will be five years before they will be eligible to vie for municipal contracts.
The request for bids went out late Wednesday, just before the holiday weekend. The contracts will give winning bidders exclusive rights in various areas of the city to tow city vehicles and private vehicles when requested by police.
Potential bidders for the three-year contracts aren't limited to Knoxville companies, and all bids must be returned by 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage won't be among the respondents.
"These firms have knowingly and willfully violated the city contracts. They have earned this penalty," Mayor Victor Ashe said.
The Knoxville Law Department sent letters to the companies on Monday telling them they're not eligible to compete for the contracts, which are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in business annually.
Citing provisions of the existing contracts, Alyson Eberting of the Knoxville Law Department wrote to the companies that, "you will not be eligible to participate in subsequent City towing and wrecker service contracts for the next five (5) years."
A city officials' review of records showed the companies overcharged customers by as much as three times for initial towing jobs. The records also show they overcharged on storage fees. Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service and Fountain City Wrecker Service submitted false or altered documents to the city, officials say, while Fountain City Wrecker Service didn't turn in documents at all.
The companies have denied wrongdoing. Their lawyer, Michael McGovern, couldn't be reached for comment late Monday.
McGovern has said many of the incidents cited by the city actually fell outside the scope of the contracts, allowing the companies to charge the market rate. He also said rising fuel and insurance costs make the work unprofitable for the firms.
The companies gave up their contracts in October, after the Knoxville Wrecker Commission scheduled public hearings into the matter. They will stay on the job until the new contractors take over on Dec. 29.
The city is divided into eight geographic areas for the purposes of the contracts. Contracts for seven of the areas will be up for bids. Only the contract for South Knoxville won't be up for grabs. The contractor for South Knoxville, Floyd's Wrecker Service, hasn't overcharged customers, according to the city's review.
City officials will hold a pre-bid conference for interested companies on Wednesday. Ashe, who leaves office in three weeks, said he would call a special session of City Council to consider the new contracts before his successor, Bill Haslam, is inaugurated on Dec. 20.
"The easiest thing for me to do is nothing," Ashe said. "If the mayor's not willing to step forward and take the lead role, then who is?"
Ashe said the Law Department is reviewing whether the companies violated the Tennessee False Claims Act by submitting false documents. Officials are also looking for ways to help citizens and insurance companies file a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Council approves new tow contracts
7-0 vote doesn't include any companies accused of overcharging public
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 19, 2003
Meeting in special session for the final time in the Mayor Victor Ashe era, the Knoxville City Council on Thursday approved new contracts with four wrecker services.
Ashe hailed the 7-0 vote as a boon to consumers in the wake of alleged overcharging under the current contracts, though the lawyer for four companies accused of gouging customers warned taxpayers would wind up paying more in the future.
Jim's Wrecker Service, Lowe's Garage & Towing, Clinton Highway Wrecker Service and G & S Towing will begin towing vehicles for the city Dec. 28.
The companies join Floyd's Wrecker Service - the only holder of an existing contract untainted by allegations of overcharging - as the city's towing contractors.
"The consumer in this city is better off because of what this council has done today," Ashe said.
One contract is still pending. A background check showed the lot operated by Clark's Towing isn't properly zoned, police said. Alyson Eberting, a lawyer for the city, said her office is reviewing whether the company can substitute another lot while going through the rezoning process.
"If they rezone it, I'm fine," owner Clark Percell said.
Eberting said City Council could consider the contract with Clark's Towing as early as Tuesday. Percell said he's spent about $45,000 on new trucks and lot improvements, which would be wasted if the agreement falls through.
The contracts cover towing jobs made at the request and direction of police or other city employees. They don't regulate privately arranged towing jobs.
Under the terms of the agreements, the firms charge rates lower than market value in exchange for guaranteed work in various sectors of the city.
A spot check by the Knoxville Wrecker Commission showed four companies currently under contract with the city - Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Chestnut Street Garage, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service and Fountain City Wrecker Service - overcharged customers while doing contract work.
The city has sued Cedar Bluff, Chestnut Street and Sutherland Avenue for allegedly filing false documents. The firms have denied any wrongdoing.
The lawyer for the four companies accused of overcharging, Michael McGovern, said the consumers aren't coming out as well as promised under the new arrangements. He noted that contract prices for towing privately owned vehicles are higher, for the most part, under the new pacts. Also, he said, the city will pay an estimated $100,000 more for towing city-owned vehicles.
Ashe dismissed those concerns, saying McGovern's clients "are not good sources."
Though representatives of the four outgoing companies attended the council meeting, they declined to comment on how the controversy has affected their business.
At least one new contractor said his business received a boost in the number of calls for service since his competitors' problems surfaced in recent weeks.
"It's been a positive for us," said Rick Carnes, owner of Clinton Highway Wrecker Service. "We've picked up some commercial accounts and some individuals."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Council wrecker vote today
By LAURA AYO AND SCOTT BARKER
ayol@knews.com and barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 18, 2003
Five bidders pass inspection; one fails and another service trying to meet requirements
Inspectors cleared five contenders for the city's new wrecker-service contracts on Wednesday, but their findings left one firm scrambling to meet eligibility requirements and another one out of the running altogether.
The Knoxville City Council is meeting today to vote on the contracts, which were put out to bid in the wake of accusations of overcharging by current contract holders.
City Purchasing Director J.F. Workman said late Wednesday he will recommend Jim's Garage and Wrecker Service, Lowe's Garage and Towing Service, Clinton Highway Wrecker Service, Floyd's Wrecker Service and G & S Towing for six of eight service areas. G & S will be recommended for two of the zones.
Workman also will recommend Clark's Towing, a contender for the seventh zone, if last-minute inspections indicate the company meets zoning requirements.
Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said Clark's Western Avenue lot was improperly zoned to receive a contract. But owner Clark Percell told inspectors he has a properly zoned lot off Lovell Road he could use.
DeBusk said inspectors were looking at the facility late Wednesday.
"This is ridiculous," Percell fumed. "I've been at the same location for a year. And I've never had a problem."
Inspectors disqualified Conner Towing because co-owner Christopher Michael Conner is a convicted felon, DeBusk said.
Court records show Conner, 28, has convictions for assault, burglary, theft of property, vandalism, driving on a suspended license, reckless endangerment, public intoxication and resisting arrest. Conner accumulated the charges in the mid-1990s.
The records also show he's facing two aggravated assault charges, stemming from separate incidents, that are pending before a Knox County grand jury.
Kimberly Conner, his wife and co-owner of the towing company, told authorities her husband used his tow truck to run her vehicle off Berry Road on Jan. 14, one complaint states. On March 2, according to the second complaint, she said Conner punched her and cut her with a kitchen knife.
On Wednesday, however, Kimberly Conner defended her husband, saying his convictions were for offenses committed nearly a decade ago.
"He's not been convicted of anything," she said of the pending charges.
Kimberly Conner said her husband is listed as a co-owner only because they are married and that the company's assets are in her name. She complained that city officials should have notified her of any eligibility problems before she spent about $3,000 getting ready to take on the city's contract.
Several firms still are trying to obtain enough trucks to meet the city's requirements. Workman said the council can award the contracts today to those companies, contingent on their having enough vehicles by Dec. 28, the date the contracts start.
The city barred four current towing contractors - Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Chestnut Street Garage, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service - from bidding on the new pacts. All but Fountain City have been sued by the city.
Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341. Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Owner of wrecker service says low bids are unrealistic
By LAURA AYO, ayol@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 15, 2003
A Knoxville wrecker-service veteran challenged city officials to look beyond low bids for city towing contracts as a way to assure fairness to the public and integrity to the industry.
After the low bids for contracts were announced last week, Clinton Highway Wrecker Service owner Rick Carnes expressed concern that some of the bids were unrealistically low.
"We are operating a high-maintenance business," said Carnes, who said he's the vice president of Tennessee Towing and Recovery Professionals. "The cost of doing business is astronomical compared to what we were doing 15 years ago."
Carnes said he's concerned some of the low bidders, particularly companies fairly new to the towing industry, won't be able to fulfill the contracts' requirements with the low fees they've proposed.
"They have no clue what they're really bidding on," he said.
Six companies - Clark's Towing, Clinton Highway Wrecker Service, Conner Towing, G & S Towing, Jim's Garage and Wrecker Service, and Lowe's Garage and Towing - are contenders for contracts to provide wrecker services to seven of the eight service zones in the city.
Wrecker inspectors expect to complete their inspections of those companies, their facilities and vehicles by Wednesday, according to Knoxville Police Department officer Phil Major.
"One of the considerations as far as what is looked at is experience," Major said.
And City Purchasing Director J.F. Workman said the whole point of the inspection process is to determine whether the low bidders can handle the terms of the contracts.
In addition to having to man their lots 24 hours a day every day of the year, the companies have to meet lot size, lighting, zoning, licensing, storage and minimum vehicle requirements.
"We're trying to make a decision whether they can do the contract," Workman said. "If they can handle the contract, have the equipment and are licensed, they will be given the contract. That's just one of those things we have to do."
City Councilman Mark Brown said he'll have no concerns "whatsoever" about awarding the contracts to the low bidders if they pass the inspection process.
"Just because you're new doesn't mean you can't be effective and provide quality service," Brown said.
A co-owner of newcomer Conner Towing agreed.
"We're ready to roll," said Kimberly Conner. "It's not like we don't know what we're getting into."
Conner said her company may be new and smaller than others, but it has provided wrecker services successfully for various companies since their inception about two years ago.
"The bigger companies need to give us a chance," she said. "They started out small somewhere."
G & S Towing owner Shea Lebow, 24, said he cut his teeth in the towing industry working for his father when he was younger and opening his own business in the past few years.
"I've got no problem meeting the requirements because I keep my equipment in good condition," Lebow said. "I have highly trained people, and most of my trucks are paid for. ... Everybody's problem is my age."
He said his bids were realistic and the same that Chestnut Street Garage, which has been around for decades, submitted in 2001.
Chestnut Street is one of four companies the city recently accused of overcharging on towing jobs performed on behalf of the city. The companies, which also include Cedar Bluff 24 Hour Towing, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, are prohibited from bidding on city contracts for the next five years. The companies have denied wrongdoing.
"What I bid is what I charge the general public anyway," Lebow said.
He said if he gets a city contract and "can't hack it," then the city has the right to cancel his contract.
"Give us a chance," he said.
Clark's Towing submitted the lowest bids on two zones, but after considering the size of his business and the demands of handling both contracts, owner Clark Percell said he withdrew his company from consideration from one of those contracts.
"I didn't bite off what I couldn't chew," he said.
But like Carnes, Percell agreed some of the newer companies "don't have a clue what they're in for."
While Percell has operated his own towing business only for about five years, he said he's worked in the industry for 23 years and has seen insurance costs rise and other changes - some good and some bad.
Attorney Michael McGovern, who represents the ineligible companies and whose father previously operated Cedar Bluff 24 Hour Towing, also has argued in recent weeks that dramatic increases in insurance and fuel costs have forced companies to raise their rates.
Percell described his bids as being neither high, nor low.
"You have to bid where you can make a profit," he said.
Mark Williamson, chairman of the Knoxville Wrecker Commission, agreed wrecker companies have to - and should - charge enough to recover their fixed operating costs and make a profit.
"You have to have confidence your bidders know what they're doing," he said.
Williamson pointed out the low bidders submitted bids generally in the same price range.
"That confirms each others' calculations of what it takes to make money," he said.
But he also said what one person says is reasonable differs from what another person says is reasonable.
"It's hard to compare company to company," he said. "Even among the old-line towing companies you can't make generalizations about what one company may need to be profitable. You have to look at each individual company's structure."
Williamson said the "due diligence period" is one the city would go through when awarding any contract.
"This is the process we go through, and the city is not obligated to take the apparent low bidder," he said. "It's obligated to take the most responsible low bidder."
The city is tentatively expected to vote on the contracts at a special city council meeting Dec. 18. The current contracts expire at midnight Dec. 27.
Laura Ayo may be reached at 865-342-6341.
AUDIT SHOWS OVER CHARGES BY TOWING COMPANIES
Reporter: Jim Ragonese
WBIR TV
11/24/2003
The amounts some Knoxville towing companies charge could be criminal. The city's law department is now looking through towing records after the wrecker service commission says it found massive over billings by towing companies with city contracts.
The Wrecker Service Commission says with four of five companies under city contract every single invoice audited had problems.
The Wrecker Service Commission says Sutherland Avenue Wrecker service, Cedar Bluff towing, Chestnut Street garage, and Fountain City Wrecker service all overcharged people, and their insurance companies for towing.
The commission believes that shows a pattern of intentional overcharging.
Towing company lawyer Michael McGovern said, "Nobody has been deceived. Nobody has been defrauded with the charges that they've been presented with."
Based on several invoices submitted by the towing companies, the wrecker service isn't convinced.
One Cedar Bluff towing invoice shows a $39 charge. That's the agreed upon rate in the contract for this company on city or police authorized tows.
But the invoice that went to either the car owner or the insurance company, for the same tow, shows a total charge of $578.
Wrecker Service Commission's Mark Williamson said, "They have turned in to the city documentation that was just simply false."
The attorney for the towing companies says the tow truck driver may have started an invoice like that, thinking the tow fell under the terms of the city contract.
If it didn't, he says the company would have later added the appropriate charges for a non contract tow.
The Wrecker Service Commission maintains all those invoices audited fall under the contract rate. If no criminal charges come from this investigation, they may never have to settle the argument. This is because all four towing companies accused of overcharging gave notice that they quit their contracts.
This means that by the end of December the city has to find people capable to tow all cars involved in accidents or illegal parking in Knoxville.
Tow payback urged
Council OKs resolution asking wrecker operators to reimburse for overcharges
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 26, 2003
The Knoxville City Council weighed in on the wrecker controversy Tuesday, voting to ask four tow truck operators to reimburse customers for any overcharges.
The panel voted 7-0, with two abstentions, in a resolution demanding that Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage pay back money, with interest, to people and insurance companies allegedly overcharged under terms of municipal contracts.
"They've made excuses for it, but the fact is, a contract is a contract," Mayor Victor Ashe said.
The resolution does not compel the companies to comply.
The four companies signed contracts in 2001 to provide towing services on calls generated by city officials, usually by police, in designated geographic areas. In exchange for the exclusive contracts, the companies agreed to charge less than the market rate for those calls. The contracts don't apply to towing jobs arranged by individuals or by private companies.
The companies gave up the contracts, effective in late December, on Oct. 28, after the Knoxville Wrecker Commission scheduled hearings on the matter.
"They knew the rules, and I think they willingly overcharged citizens in this community," Wrecker Commission Chairman Mark Williamson told council members.
Williamson said two companies submitted altered invoices, while another apparently maintains two sets of books.
"Use any term you want," Williamson said, "but fraud is fraud."
Noting that records showed the four companies overcharged in every incident reviewed, Williamson said the firms "engaged in collusion to set prices and overcharge citizens."
Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing and Chestnut Street Garage share the same owner.
The firms' lawyer, Michael McGovern, denied his clients did anything wrong. He called the contracts "confusing and ambiguous," and said many calls that appear to fall under the contracts actually don't.
For example, he said, a car that is towed outside the city limits isn't covered by the contract. McGovern also said the companies tow city vehicles for free, which he estimated cost the firms a combined $100,000 per year.
Still, he said, the companies plan to place an advertisement soon in the News Sentinel inviting people who think they've been overcharged to contact them for possible refunds.
"The towing companies have no objections to providing refunds in cases where it might be appropriate," McGovern said.
Councilmen Rob Frost and Mark Brown grilled McGovern about the contracts. Frost questioned why the companies worked under the agreements for two years before deciding the terms were inadequate.
"The more and more I've found out about this, the more reprehensible I've found it," Frost said.
Frost, Brown and council members Joe Hultquist, Barbara Pelot, Ed Shouse, Larry Cox and Vice Mayor Jack Sharp voted in favor of the resolution. Nick Pavlis and Steve Hall abstained.
Brown said the council's Audit Committee, a panel with subpoena powers that he chairs, would review the matter further at a Dec. 4 workshop.
After the meeting, McGovern denied the companies conspired to overcharge customers, noting that the firms charged different amounts on the invoices cited by the city.
"If there was collusion they would have been charging the same price," he reasoned.
Ashe has ordered the Law Department to explore ways to file a class-action lawsuit to recover any overcharges and to compile evidence to turn over to prosecutors for a possible criminal investigation. Law Director Michael Kelley said the administration hasn't determined whether to bar the companies from bidding on future contracts.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Ashe scolds wrecker services; seeks refunds for customers
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 25, 2003
Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe will ask City Council today to seek refunds from wrecker companies found to have overcharged customers.
The panel is to consider a resolution that also formally condemns four companies with city contracts at a special session prior to the council's regularly scheduled meeting.
Ashe called the meeting after the city Wrecker Commission found overfilling by Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage.
"With the findings of overcharging by four wrecker companies by the city's Wrecker Commission, I think that those companies should immediately begin a program to refund any overcharges to the qualifying citizens of Knoxville," Ashe said in a statement.
According to records released by the city, the wrecker services overcharged insurance companies on calls requested by police.
City contracts give the companies monopolies on police-generated calls in various sectors of the city. In exchange for the monopolies, the companies signed contracts agreeing to charge lower rates. The regulated prices don't apply to privately arranged towing jobs.
"These overcharges hit innocent citizens, and to the degree that these charges are paid for by insurance companies, it may cause an increase in insurance premiums," Ashe said.
"This documented overcharging is reprehensible and predatory, so I am asking City Council to adopt this resolution that calls for immediate restitution of the charges."
Michael McGovern, who represents the four wrecker services, has maintained the companies did nothing wrong.
He could not be reached Monday night for comment regarding Ashe's proposed resolution.
Floyd's Wrecker Service is the only towing company with a city contractor that was found not to have overcharged.
"Floyd's Wrecker Service should be applauded for following the terms of the contract when conducting their business," Ashe said.
Late last week, Ashe asked the city law department to research whether the alleged overcharges constitute criminal violations and turn any evidence over to prosecutors for investigation.
In the meantime, he wants the companies to pay up.
"The best Christmas gift they could give," Ashe said, "is to refund these overcharges."
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309
Ashe asking council to seek refunds on towing charges
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 24, 2003
Mayor Victor Ashe will ask City Council on Tuesday to pass a resolution seeking refunds from wrecker companies that overcharged for towing services.
The special council meeting comes after the city Wrecker Commission found overbilling by Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage.
The wrecker services overcharged insurance companies on calls requested by police.
"With the findings of overcharging by four wrecker companies by the city's Wrecker Commission, I think that those companies should immediately begin a program to refund any overcharges to the qualifying citizens of Knoxville," Ashe said in a statement.
"These overcharges hit innocent citizens, and to the degree that these charges are paid for by insurance companies, it may cause an increase in insurance companies.
"This documented overcharging is represhensible and predatory, so I am asking City Council to adopt this resolution that calls for immediate restitution of the ... charges."
Floyd's Wrecker Service is the only towing company that was found not to have overcharged.
"Floyd's Wrecker Service should be applauded for following the terms of the contract when conducting their business," Ashe said.
Michael McGovern, who represents the four wrecker services, has maintained the companies did nothing wrong.
He could not be reached Monday night for comment regarding Ashe's proposed resolution.
Wrecker fees rile mayor
Ashe tells law director to look into class-action suit against towing companies
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 22, 2003
An angry Mayor Victor Ashe on Friday ordered city lawyers to look into ways to initiate a class-action lawsuit against four towing companies accused of overcharging customers.
A city review of billing records and police reports led the Knoxville Wrecker Commission to allege that Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Fountain City Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage overcharged insurance companies on calls requested by police.
The four companies are under contract to tow wrecked and abandoned vehicles at a low, negotiated price in exchange for exclusive rights to work in various sectors of the city.
Ashe denounced the four companies' billing practices as "predatory" and vowed to help correct past wrongs during his final weeks in office.
"First of all, I think these overcharges, to the degree they've been discovered, are outrageous and reprehensible and certainly represent fraud on the consumer," Ashe said.
Ashe ordered Law Director Michael Kelley to find out if the city can file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the people and insurance companies who paid more for towing services than allowed under the contracts. He also wants Kelley to determine whether to bar the companies from doing business with the city in the future.
"We need to not only prevent this in the future, but the city needs to take an active role to protect citizens against these predatory practices. I hope to have an answer back before Thanksgiving, and we'll proceed on the basis of that information," Ashe said.
The lawyer for the companies, Michael McGovern, wasn't available for comment Friday afternoon. A woman who answered the phone in his office said he had left for the day and wouldn't return until Monday.
McGovern has consistently maintained the wrecker companies did nothing wrong. He has said the contract prices were too low in light of rising fuel and insurance costs and complained that the Wrecker Commission has been unresponsive to the companies' concerns.
The Wrecker Commission leveled its charges after a spot check found the four companies supplied incorrect or incomplete billing information in 18 of 18 randomly selected incidents.
Records show the companies submitted manifests to the city claiming to have charged the lower rates mandated by the contracts. But they submitted invoices to insurance companies for up to 16 times the amounts reported to the city.
On Oct. 28 the four companies gave the city 60 days' notice that they would terminate their contracts, meaning they'll still be on the job until after Christmas.
A fifth company, Floyd's Wrecker Service, has complied with all the terms of its contract, city officials said, and will keep its contract in effect.
Representatives of insurance companies were guarded in their reaction to the controversy and to Ashe's call for legal action.
Doug Honig, spokesman for Ohio-based Progressive Insurance Co., said his company has helped with the city's probe and will continue providing information when asked.
Records show Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing charged Progressive $95 for towing a 1991 Honda Accord on June 6 but submitted documents to the city indicating the charge was $39, the amount stipulated by the contract. Cedar Bluff also failed to report other charges that boosted the total bill sent to Progressive to $578.85.
Honig declined to comment on the possibility of joining a class-action lawsuit, saying, "I'd have to speak to our in-house counsel."
Honig said the company, which has more than 650 independent agents and 150 employees in Tennessee, has run into similar situations in other cities.
In another instance, records released by the city show Chestnut Street Garage charged State Farm Insurance Companies the proper amount - $75 - for towing a 1990 Ford Aerostar van on June 7. However, the bill sent to State Farm totaled $380.90, including costs not disclosed to city officials.
Dustin Miller, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance Companies, said it's difficult to gauge the effect such overcharging has on premium rates.
"If claims costs are lower, it's a major factor in the rate-setting process," Miller said.
The city only regulates prices on calls originated by police officers and other city employees. Privately arranged towing jobs aren't regulated.
Kelley said the city regulates the pricing to prevent gouging in instances when city employees have to make arrangements for towing without a vehicle owners' consent, as when the owner has been taken to the hospital or arrested.
Also, since the companies are assigned specific geographic areas, the arrangement prevents more than one company from responding to crashes.
"Part of what led to this is that police officers would have to referee disputes between wrecker companies at wreck scenes rather than working the wreck," Kelley said. "It helps control an otherwise chaotic situation."
Kelley also said officials might take a look at adopting a stronger ordinance to govern future contracts.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Only 1 wrecker firm has county contract
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 22, 2003
While the Knoxville Police Department must follow low-priced contracts when calling for wreckers, it's unclear whether the Knox County Sheriff's Office does.
Knox County government has a contract with Floyd's Wrecker Service, which is the only city-contracted firm not implicated in Knoxville's towing scandal. If county employees call Floyd's Wrecker Service, the company is bound by contract to charge customers $25 - plus mileage if over five miles - for towing cars, trucks and minivans.
Like the city's contracts, the negotiated price is lower than the market rate.
But county departments are free to call on other companies, officials say.
"It's not mandatory that a department use those contracts. They're there for their convenience," Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt said Friday. Still, he added, "It's hard to beat $25."
Though the Sheriff's Office routinely calls towing companies to remove vehicles from wreck sites and crime scenes, county officials don't monitor whether taxpayers benefit from the contracted price.
Holt said the Sheriff's Office uses the Chestnut Street Garage, one of four companies accused of violating city contracts, for at least some towing jobs.
Sheriff Tim Hutchison didn't return calls Friday seeking information about his towing policy; neither did Chief Deputy Dwight Van de Vate nor spokeswoman Martha Dooley.
If the Sheriff's Office has formal agreements with towing companies, the person who handles county contracts isn't aware of it.
"To my knowledge, they don't have a separate contract," said Knox County Purchasing Agent Mike Reeves.
Reeves said the Sheriff's Office is free to use a higher-priced service. Since public money isn't used to pay for towing private vehicles, county departments aren't in danger of exceeding the limit of $10,000 per vendor per year for non-contract services.
County officials said they might audit towing records, but point out that the city didn't find any indication of wrongdoing in its review of Floyd's Wrecker Service manifests.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
City eyes billings by wreckers
DA will launch probe if warranted; tow firms deny any wrongdoing
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 21, 2003
City officials are reviewing towing records for possible criminal violations after the Knoxville Wrecker Commission alleged that four companies charged too much for towing services.
Insurance companies for motorists stranded in Knoxville paid up to 16 times the amount towing companies claimed on documents submitted to the city, according to records released Thursday.
The records - including crash reports, invoices and manifests - outline a pattern of overcharging that city officials estimate has cost insurance companies thousands of dollars over the past year.
"There was a deliberate effort to deceive the city and the wrecker commission," Chairman Mark Williamson said.
Knoxville Law Director Michael Kelley said the report could become a basis for criminal charges.
"In three of the four cases, there is evidence of fraudulent billing," Kelley said. "We'll be looking at it to see if there's evidence sufficient to turn over to the attorney general for investigation."
Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols said he would launch a criminal probe if presented with evidence of a violation of state law.
The lawyer for the four companies - Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Chestnut Street Garage and Fountain City Wrecker Service - has denied any wrongdoing by his clients.
"There was no fraud because the city doesn't pay these bills," Michael McGovern said.
The city's review covered the five companies that have contracts to tow vehicles at the direction of police and other city officials. Only Floyd's Wrecker Service hasn't been implicated in the matter.
The four firms under suspicion gave the city 60-day notices on Oct. 28 that they would give up the lucrative contracts. The city tapped the companies for some 5,000 calls between Jan. 1 and the end of October.
The city's contracts with the wrecker services only regulate prices charged for tows requested by city employees. In exchange for the exclusive contracts, the companies tow city vehicles for free. Each company is assigned a geographic sector of the city.
Police typically will call one of the companies when the owner of a wrecked car is injured or when they come across an abandoned vehicle, Kelley said.
The contracts do not cover towing jobs done at the request of private citizens.
Citizens and insurance companies may call the Knoxville Police Department Inspections Unit at 215-7217 to report suspicious bills, officials said.
All 18 incidents - picked at random by city officials - contained instances of overcharging by the companies.
The records show Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing charged insurance companies more than twice the contracted price for initial towing. In addition to charging more than allowed for towing, Chestnut Street Garage charged $20 per day for storage instead of the $13 maximum charge allowed by the city.
In one case, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service told city officials it charged $25 for towing a 2001 Pontiac Sunbird on June 27. However, an invoice sent to Verastar of Knoxville, the Sunbird owner's insurance company, lists a towing charge of $150, a storage fee of $240 and a tax bill of $22.50. The total came to $412.20.
Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing reported charging $39 to tow a 1991 Honda Accord on June 6 but sent Progressive Insurance Co. a bill for $578.85. The bill included a towing charge of $95, an unspecified charge of $25, a storage fee of $420 and taxes totaling $38.85.
Melissa Peters, internal auditor to Knoxville City Council, conducted the review for the wrecker commission. She said the invoices indicate that Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service keeps two sets of books and that Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff Wrecker Service altered their bills.
McGovern, the towing companies' lawyer, said the city's review was incomplete and its sample too small. He maintained the bills reviewed by the city could contain honest mistakes made by employees or were the result of jobs that fell outside the parameters of the contracts.
McGovern said the contracts locked the companies into prices that were too low in light of rising insurance and fuel costs.
Williamson said the firms should have honored their contracts or asked for revisions.
"If they wanted to seek an adjustment to that contract, why didn't they come to commission and request one?" Williamson said.
McGovern countered that the companies have found the commission to be unresponsive and that asking to renegotiate would have been pointless. He said the companies wanted out of the pacts regardless of the city's investigation.
By voluntarily withdrawing, the companies might be allowed to bid on future contracts, though Kelley said city officials could wind up barring them from bidding.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
Towing Invoice samples
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 21, 2003
- Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service
6/27 - 2001 Pontiac Sunbird
City invoice $25
Insurance invoice (tow only)$150
Total charges*$412.20
- Cedar Bluff Wrecker Service
6/6 - 1991 Honda Accord
City invoice$39
Insurance invoice (tow only) $95
Total charges$578.85
- Chestnut Street Garage
6/11 - 1994 Lincoln Continental
City invoice$75
Insurance invoice (tow only) $95
Total charges$355
- Fountain City Wrecker Service
6/12 - 1996 Ford Taurus
City invoice $0**
Insurance invoice (tow only) $175
Total charges$371.65
*Total charges could include storage, delivery to other facilities, road service, taxes and "other charges." Every invoice submitted to the city matched the bid rate for towing, but none of them listed the other charges. City officials say every company overcharged for storage.
**Fountain City Wrecker Service did not submit an invoice to the city as required by the contract. The maximum towing charge for this incident under the contract is $35.
Source: City of Knoxville
Wrecker charges inflated, city finds
Firms ended contracts after probe began into 'rampant' price gouging
By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
November 20, 2003
Allegations of "rampant" overcharging by Knoxville tow-truck services have been leveled by the city's Wrecker Services Commission after it found four of the five companies under city contract had charged illegally inflated fees.
The companies, however, scrubbed their contracts with the city last month, before the five-member wrecker commission's Tuesday hearing confirmed the price gouging.
Legal questions still surround whether the four businesses will be allowed to compete when the city rebids the contracts in December.
An attorney for the companies argues that the contracts were flawed and outdated and should be reviewed.
Fountain City Wrecker Service, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service, Chestnut Street Garage and Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing all gave 60-day notices Oct. 28.
The contracts weren't due to expire until 2004.
The cancellations came immediately after the wrecker commission scheduled formal hearings, which were held Tuesday.
Mark Williamson, Wrecker Commission chairman, said the board investigated allegations of overcharges for three months. While their contracts set price caps of $25 to $75 per tow, depending on the company, the companies charged $125 on average to consumers or their insurance companies, according to a review of the invoices.
"Out of the (invoices) we sampled, every single one resulted in overcharging," Williamson said. "Given that the error rate was 100 percent, I've got to believe that it was rampant."
The five contracted firms answer hundreds of calls for service each month from the city. From January through the end of October, the companies had towed approximately 5,000 vehicles at the city's request.
The commission randomly reviewed four to five invoices from June for each contract. With the exception of Fountain City Wrecker, the other three firms apparently doctored the manifests given to the commission, he said. The discrepancies were not discovered until the panel independently reviewed towing invoices from insurance companies.
"The documentation they sent us indicated compliance," Williamson said.
Fountain City Wrecker, which held contracts for the city's North and Northwest zones, submitted no manifests for June or July as required by the contracts.
Floyd's Wrecker Service in South Knoxville, the smallest of the five firms, was the only business found to be in compliance with the contract.
The review also found overcharging for impound rates, which according to the contracts cannot exceed $13 per day and cannot be charged within the first 48 hours.
Additionally, the commission found inconsistent tax charges on impoundments, other charges added to the initial tows and, in the case of Sutherland Avenue Wrecker, separate manifests that indicated two sets of books.
But the commission's findings did not "go to the heart of the issue," said Michael McGovern, attorney for the four tow services.
"The heart of the issue is the inadequacy of the rates in the contracts," he said.
"Dramatic" increases in insurance and fuel costs have forced the companies to raise their rates - problems that the wrecker commission has been unresponsive to, McGovern said.
"I don't think there's been rampant overcharging," he said. "There's been some mistakes made, and there's been some misinterpretations of the contracts."
McGovern argued that the overcharged rates are still "commercially reasonable" as compared to typical towing fees charged in the county.
Knox County, however, has no similar oversight or contracts with any tow services.
With the contracts now set to expire Dec. 27, Williamson said he expects new contracts to be bid and awarded by then.
Currently, the agreements stipulate that overcharging or other violations could prohibit a tow service from bidding on future contracts for five years.
Whether the companies in question will be allowed to submit new bids is under review, said city attorney Alyson Eberting.
"The city is still looking into what further steps we will take in this matter," she said.
McGovern, whose father, Ben McGovern, founded Cedar Bluff Towing and later sold the business, said he assumes his clients would attempt to re-bid and negotiate an improved rate.
Williamson said such problems could eventually force the city to consider buying its own tow trucks to end its reliance on contract work.
"This is a huge business, and there's a lot of money at stake," he said. "You can see how there could be a lot of abuses."
Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.
KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL SURVEY RESULTS:
Have you had your car towed and felt you were being overcharged by the wrecker service?
READER COMMENTS:
Choice 1 - "I phoned Chapman Highway Wrecker Service for a tow from West Knoxville to Chapman Highway. They told me they are 'not allowed to tow from that area, since that area is run by Cedar Bluff Towing/Wrecker'. I called CBT and waited 3 hours at night in the freezing cold on Pellissippi Parkway Interstate I-240 (named by Tennessee legislature as "Carl Koella Memorial Highway" in honor of convicted hit-and-run killer Senator Carl Koella). CBT said it was late because it was busy doing nonconsentual towing in downtown Knoxville, which is more profitable than consentual towing. During the tow CBT did $150 damage to my car. Previously, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker confessed to me that CBT and its co-owner Ben McGovern set all towing prices and areas for all tow trucking companies in Knox County."
--John Lee, geocities.com/towcrime,
November 25, 2003, 5:40 AM
Choice 1 -
"My husband and several friends used to work for both Cedar Bluff and Sutherland. And yeah, it happens. Insurance companies get ripped by towing companies. Not just in Knoxville either! Nobody stops to think who's actually paying the"
November 22, 2003, 10:49 AM
Choice 1 -
"Once on campus, a wrecker operator gave me one price if I paid in cash immediately, OR a higher price if I wrote a check or paid with VISA. I paid with VISA so the slimeball couldn't pocket the dough."
November 21, 2003, 3:32 PM
Choice 1 -
"You could have written this story anytime in the last 15 years (maybe more), and it would have been just as accurate. This has been a racket for a long time.."
November 21, 2003, 11:39 AM
Choice 2 -
"BETWEEN INSURANCE,FUEL COSTS & TOWING CITY VEHICLES FOR FREE I FEEL ITS A GOOD DEAL LET CITY PAY FOR TOWING IM SURE PRICES WOULD BE CHEAPER"
November 21, 2003, 10:52 AM
Choice 2 -
"If you can do it any better and or cheaper and still make positive revenue I guess you need to start your own towing company. JD"
November 21, 2003, 5:38 AM
Choice 1 -
"sutherland ave wrecker sux balls!"
November 21, 2003, 4:17 AM
Choice 2 -
"Wrecker Compaines are not gouging people they are simply charging enough money to cover all their expenses like fuel, inusrance, cost of truck, and paying employees."
November 20, 2003, 10:18 PM
Choice 2 -
"Why pick on wrecker companies, what about gouging by doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, and the list goes on!!!!!"
November 20, 2003, 9:56 PM
Choice 2 - November 20, 2003, 9:16 PM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff Towing made me stand in the pouring rain while they robbed me. I went into a restaurant across the street to get change to pay for parking and by the time I came out, they had me hooked up. It was so ridiculous, the restaurant"
November 20, 2003, 8:55 PM
Choice 2 -
"cedar bluff wrecker was great to me"
November 20, 2003, 8:32 PM
Choice 2 -
"I just want to say what a great job cedar bluff towing di when i was stranded with my 3 kids and it was nothing but a fair price with great service. Thanks again Cedar Bluff"
November 20, 2003, 7:44 PM
Choice 2 -
"No price gouging, by Cedar Bluff price was reasonable for amount of time spent while KPD worked my accident"
November 20, 2003, 7:43 PM
Choice 2 -
"I found Cedar Bluff to be polite and reasonable when I needed help."
November 20, 2003, 7:34 PM
Choice 2 -
"Anyone who thinks that they can park uptown for free day or night needs to be towed and charged $90+. Don't expect anything for free and you don't have to worry about being gouged."
November 20, 2003, 7:00 PM
Choice 2 -
"Ftn City towed my car from Ftn City to Maryville and only charged me 60.00, which i thought was reasonable."
November 20, 2003, 5:45 PM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar bluff charged me $75 for a 3 mile. Clinton Hwy seems honest."
November 20, 2003, 5:17 PM
Choice 1 -
"My car was stolen. When it was found I had to pay a ridiculous tow and storage fee. Robbed twice!"
November 20, 2003, 5:12 PM
Choice 1 -
"Charged $60 to have my car towed less than 1 mile."
November 20, 2003, 4:49 PM
Choice 2 -
"please keep this conf. but i was the former manager of cedar bluff before roadone sold the company to randy hinton please contact me at rogle@knology.net i signed the last contract for cedar bluff in 2002."
November 20, 2003, 3:24 PM
Choice 1 -
"Who cares, there are queers getting married and we are talking about towing. HELP."
November 20, 2003, 3:23 PM
Choice 1 -
"Charged 90 dollars for tow and 22 dollars a day starting onthe day of tow."
November 20, 2003, 3:04 PM
Choice 1 -
"It was very unfair because they had not properly posted "no parking" signs in the correct place, they told me it was in a certain location, but the company had placed the sign behind a trashcan out of view of me and any other person wanting"
November 20, 2003, 3:03 PM
Choice 2 -
"I guess it would depend on why you are being towed. If parked illegal and come out to your car and its gone no matter what you were charged your going to think it was to expensive. My Scenario was a little different, my wife and 6 kids were"
November 20, 2003, 2:51 PM
Choice 1 -
"It is unbelievable how bad the towing services are and how much they overcharge. They are honestly some of the most unfriendly people I have ever encountered. Especially Sutherland Ave towing and Cedar Bluff."
November 20, 2003, 1:39 PM
Choice 1 -
"$90 at UT"
November 20, 2003, 12:53 PM
Choice 1 -
"it is a scam"
November 20, 2003, 12:46 PM
Choice 1 -
"I was charged $75.00 for a tow and it took them over two hours to get to me, and I had two small children!!!!"
November 20, 2003, 12:20 PM
Choice 1 -
"None of them should be allowed to ever have another contract with the city."
November 20, 2003, 12:11 PM
Choice 1 -
"99.9% of all wrecker services are nothing short of thieves!"
November 20, 2003, 12:08 PM
Choice 1 -
"I can tell you that if Floyd's was found in compliance they must have doctored their records. When they towed my car after an accident, my insurance company begged me to get my personal belongings out of the totaled car as soon as possible"
November 20, 2003, 12:00 PM
Choice 1 -
"I was charged $125.00 plus $20.00 storage fee from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm by CLARK'S TOWING from Home Federal Bank"
November 20, 2003, 11:58 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff also does damage to private property while they gouge."
November 20, 2003, 11:55 AM
Choice 2 -
"Why don't you verify all of your facts before you blow things way out of proportion. Talk to other wrecker commissioners besides Williamson. Get all the facts!!"
November 20, 2003, 11:46 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff towing was about to tow my car away for being parked illegally at Wendy's on Cumberland Ave,while I was inside nightclub. Driver told me I could give him $60.00 bucks now to let my car down, or $125.00 later,if he had to tow it"
November 20, 2003, 11:07 AM
Choice 2 -
"HAY! Dat gotta HEMI?!?"
November 20, 2003, 10:20 AM
Choice 1 -
"cedar bluff stated when questioned why the bill was so high for a tow charge of $247.00 for a 5 mile tow, their response was that the insurance company was paying for the tow and not the customer. that is what they get from the insurance"
November 20, 2003, 10:13 AM
Choice 1 -
"All of them have a serious reputation for gouging and unethical conduct. Where are the criminal charges? Not in Knoxville..."
November 20, 2003, 10:08 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff"
November 20, 2003, 10:03 AM
Choice 1 -
"$250.00 - towed less than 10 miles by Cedar Bluff Towing."
November 20, 2003, 10:02 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff runs a racket. They're vultures. One night they parked in my private parking lot looking for cars to tow next door. I called Floyd's (a fair towing service) and asked if they would tow a tow truck. Alas, they would not. I"
November 20, 2003, 9:55 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff Towing is the worst. Nasty rednecks stalking vehicles to tow."
November 20, 2003, 9:29 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff took advantage of me during a time when I needed help."
November 20, 2003, 9:27 AM
Choice 2 -
"Floyds, the smallest of the companies but the only one in compliance, should be given an exclusive contract. Reward companies that play by the rules!"
November 20, 2003, 9:18 AM
Choice 1 -
"Cedar Bluff Wrecker Service"
November 20, 2003, 9:13 AM
Choice 2 -
"Ftn City Wrecker Service towed our car and was very reasonable, and efficient. I would use them again."
November 20, 2003, 8:58 AM
Choice 1 -
"Yes from the Worlds Fair Park. They way overcharged and I had to get a ride to Pellissipi Parkway. It was $90 in 1996"
November 20, 2003, 8:54 AM
Choice 1 -
"My Corvette broke down less the 4 miles from my house.I was charged over $80.00 to load it up and take it home."
November 20, 2003, 8:49 AM
Choice 1 -
"Good Heavens yes."
November 20, 2003, 8:33 AM
Choice 2 -
"I recently had my truch wenched out of a ditch and was charged $45. That was about what I expected it to cost. When you factor in travel time and all the other expenses incurred by the wrecker company, the charge was fairly reasonable."
November 20, 2003, 8:23 AM
Choice 1 -
"I was out of state."
November 20, 2003, 8:07 AM
Choice 1 -
"From UT area in my child's parking lot. Sutherland did it"
November 20, 2003, 7:46 AM
Choice 1 -
"The "fleecing" of UT students has been going on for years! I had an experience with Cedar Bluff towing service as a student in the early 90's and I was charged a rate similar to that quoted in the article!"
November 20, 2003, 7:39 AM
TOWING WARS: Ex-towing contractor tries to muscle in
Unauthorized wrecker turns up at crash site soliciting business
By SCOTT BARKER, barkers@knews.com
Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 30, 2003
The first day a new batch of wrecker services began towing vehicles for the Knoxville Police Department, one of the new contractors got into a dispute with a former contractor's driver who showed up at a crash scene to solicit business.
According to Knoxville police officer Phil Major, the confrontation occurred after a three-car collision Sunday at the intersection of Merchant Drive and Central Avenue Pike.
Rick Carnes, owner of Clinton Highway Wrecker Service, showed up at the scene shortly after 7 p.m. to find two trucks belonging to Fountain City Wrecker Service already there.
According to Carnes, the driver of one of the Fountain City Wrecker Service trucks had asked the driver of one of the damaged vehicles for business. However, Clinton Highway Wrecker Service had replaced Fountain City Wrecker Service at midnight as the contractor for the area.
"It got a little heated. There were a few words exchanged between the driver and myself. I told him we weren't going to sit back and let this happen," Carnes said.
A call to Fountain City Wrecker Service seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
Carnes said the Fountain City Wrecker Service driver hauled one vehicle a short distance away and repaired a damaged tire. The motorist then drove away.
A second vehicle wasn't damaged enough to need towing, Major said, but Carnes' company hauled the third vehicle, which allegedly caused the crash, to the city's impound lot. Its driver had fled the scene.
Major said police officers are supposed to control access to crash scenes and prevent business solicitation while sorting out what happened. Officers may cite anyone, including tow truck drivers, Major said, who doesn't follow an officer's orders at a crash scene.
"It's going to be left up to the officer. He's going to have to make a determination about who should be there and who shouldn't be there," Major said.
Carnes agreed, saying it could take police issuing citations to stop the practice of showing up at wrecks to solicit business.
"If (police) do their job, we won't have to argue on the scene," Carnes said.
Carnes noted that city contracts stipulate that only contracted firms can enter a wreck scene area unless called by one of the people involved in the collision.
Five new companies are working wrecks for Knoxville police after city officials alleged four firms, including Fountain City Wrecker, overcharged customers in violation of their contracts. The contracts, which set a guaranteed price for work in assigned geographic areas, only apply to calls made by police. They don't cover privately arranged jobs.
The city alleges Fountain City Wrecker Service, Cedar Bluff 24-Hour Towing, Sutherland Avenue Wrecker Service and Chestnut Street Garage charged customers more than allowed under the contracts. The city sued all but Fountain City Wrecker for submitting false documents. The companies have denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS TOW TRUCK CONTRACTS
Reporter: Marc Stewart
WBIR TV
12/29/2003
A battle is brewing between the Knoxville companies that tow wrecked cars, and it may end up costing the consumers.
The city of Knoxville has contracts with towing companies to help clear accident scenes. Recently the city terminated some of those agreements after allegations some of the companies were bilking drivers.
Four towing companies lost their contracts with the city after a spot inspection revealed they were overcharging drivers whose cars need to be towe4d.
Now four new companies have taken over, but there are charges at least one of the old companies is still responding to accident scenes, trying to take the business.
John Carnes' company Clinton Highway Wrecker won the contract with the city.
Carnes says one of his competitors still isn't playing by the rules. The company made a complaint with Knoxville Police on Sunday against Fountain City Wrecker.
That company recently lost its city contract.
Carnes claims the company showed up to an accident scene, even though it wasn't called.
Companies can learn of an accident by listening to a police scanner. Under city code, only wreckers that have been called by the police department can show-up to a scene.
Officers will soon be reminding the companies of the rules.
The city awards bids to wrecker companies to protect consumers. If a non-approved wrecker tows your car, that company can charge you whatever it wants.
Knoxville Police Officer Phil Major said, "people involved in a traffic accident are shaken up, going to be taken advantage of."
It is up to each individual officer to decide if an unauthorized wrecker must leave the scene of an accident.
According to the police department, if a wrecker doesn't leave an accident scene after an officer makes a request the tow truck driver can be cited for failing to obey an order. However, this has not happened yet.
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