Good story by Dan Nakaso in Monday’s Star-Advertiser describing recent complaints about potentially illegal charges by a towing company under contract to the city.
What isn’t made clear is that the city has had numerous complaints over a period of years but has been stuck with the company, Stoneridge Recoveries LLC, because of several overlapping bid protests and a lawsuit over contracts dating back to about 2002 that prevented rebidding of the towing contract.
A 2006 story by KGMB reported:
In four letters to the city, Honolulu Police Chief Boise Correa asked the city to terminate Stoneridge’s contract for default. The chief cites numerous complaints from motorists, contract breaches and allegations of thefts from vehicles as just some of the reasons why.
But the city couldn’t do anything to get rid of Stoneridge despite the ongoing complaints. According to information provided to the City Council last year, the pending legal matters “effectively preclude the City from soliciting new contracts while this mailer is unresolved.”
But that now seems likely to change.
Last month, the Supreme Court declined an appeal by Stoneridge of an Intermediate Court of Appeals decision that went against the company.
The ICA decision, issued in December 2009, ruled against Stoneridge on all matters. The decision also provides a concise summary of the long-standing dispute.
Business registration list Deyton Stone and Trenton Silva as officers Stoneridge Recoveries.
Stone’s other companies are Stone’s Leasing Co., Silverstone Leasing Co., Stone’s Towing & Recovery, Inc., and Stone Holdings, Inc.
Silva is listed as part of JGTT, LLC, which appears to be a Silva family company. Georgette Silva is president of Pineridge Farms, described in an Advertiser story a couple of years ago as the state’s largest construction trucking company, and an officer of West Oahu Aggregate Co. and several other limited liability companies.
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Well done as usual, Ian.
Rule #1 in any investigation is “Follow the money.” That’s especially true in the case of towing companies, which are an *all cash* business and a veritable gold mine for persons of, shall we say, nefarious character.
Reported income vs. actual income? Heh.
Back in the day I was aquainted with a person who had not one but two towing contracts for major metropolitan areas in Southern California. He had quite the collection of very expensive cars, homes, yachts, and other toys and exotic travel trips, mostly paid for in cash, with the requisite games to hide true ownership.
And when a business is all cash, it certainly makes it extemely easy to “influence” officials.
I always loved the line from The Godfather where he says “One lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than 100 men with guns.”
So can owners of towing companies.
Follow the money.
So it’s a racket. What a surprise! Just about everything in Hawaii seems to be a racket when you look a little closer. Parking. Towing. The cops. Government jobs. Ad infinitum.