SOUTH PORTLAND – Three towing companies have been temporarily crossed off a list of 12 firms used by South Portland to clear vehicles from the roadway following arrests and accidents, after a police review found they “grossly overcharged” customers by thousands of dollars.

In return, Vincent Maietta, a principal of one of the companies involved, has filed a harassment complaint against the police officer who audited his company’s towing records, leading to an internal investigation that is still ongoing.

Following a May 30 license hearing, Town Clerk Susan Mooney suspended InTown Towing and S&R Towing, both subsidiaries of Arcee LLC, from answering calls from either the city or the police department for two months, until July 31. Prior to that, on April 1, Mooney suspended Maietta Towing Co. for five months, until Aug. 31. All three outfits were fined $100. Maietta was additionally ordered to refund $1,425 charged to one customer who, according to allowable fees listed in the city’s Motor Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance, should have paid no more than $190.

A review of company receipts by South Portland police Sgt. Todd Barlow found that Maietta Towing also overcharged four other customers during a 45-day period ending April 1, billing a total of $1,060 in towing and impound fees that should have cost between $75 and $195, each, based on city rates. The two wrecker services run by Arcee were found to have charged $2,740 on seven calls for service between Jan. 1 and April 11 that should have netted billing of just $890.

City rates allow tow companies to charge $65 for a daytime call, $75 at night, and $25 per day for storage. There also is a $70-per-hour add-on if a vehicle is off-road, submerged, or requires other “special handling.”

Those rate limits apply only to work initiated by police, or another municipal department, when a motorist is unable to place his or her own call for service, for reasons including arrest or incapacitation.

“Even when we provide a number to call, it’s a private transaction between the tow company and the citizen,” said Police Chief Ed Googins. “The ordinance exists to protect people who don’t have a choice, so that they don’t get gouged.”

For their part, the tow company owners say the fees they charged are in line with industry averages in the Greater Portland area. However, Scarborough’s rates are the same as South Portland’s, while Portland allows an extra $10 to $20, depending on the type of tow service required and the time of year. Cape Elizabeth does not have an ordinance regulating towing rates.

Following suspension of his two licenses, Arcee Vice President Curtis Gleason suggested South Portland has its priorities out of whack.

“It seems the city is more concerned with protecting the people committing crimes than local businesses who are only trying to clean up the aftermath,” he said.

Harassment claimed

But if Gleason was upset at Mooney’s May 30 ruling, even harder feelings resulted from the earlier April 1 hearing.

Maietta claims Barlow verbally accosted him and his brother, Robbie, who runs the wrecker services, in a profanity-laced tirade during a recess in the April 1 proceedings, and again immediately afterward. Maietta subsequently filed a protection from harassment order against Barlow in Cumberland County Unified Court. In an interview April 22, Maietta said he felt Barlow was targeting him and his family unfairly.

However, the court did not appear to see things Maietta’s way. District Court Judge Jeffrey Moskowitz dismissed Maietta’s request.

“It never bubbled to anything too important, but it went before a judge,” said City Manager Jim Gailey, on the day of the decision. “The judge sided with the city and said, no, there was no imminent threat here. Basically, it was unfounded and nothing happened.”

Maietta did not return calls made on Monday and Tuesday requesting comment. However, Googins said Monday evening that Maietta also filed a separate complaint with his department. That has resulted in an internal investigation that is due to be wrapped up “very soon,” he said.

“This is ongoing and it would be really inappropriate for me to comment at this time,” said Googins. “The only thing that is public on a police internal investigation is the results from it, any discipline, because it’s a personnel record. I know I sound like I’m avoiding your questions, but employees have certain rights and I have to make sure those are maintained for the officer that’s being accused.”

Fees disputed

The investigation into wrecker services licensed by South Portland and the resulting harassment charge against Barlow both stem from a two-vehicle accident on Broadway back on March 1.

According to Mooney’s April 2 Notice of Decision that pulled Maietta’s license, the bill given to one of the drivers involved in the incident, Alex Anastasoff, was “intentionally padded” by a Maietta employee. That was done, Mooney wrote, “in response to a claim by Mr. Anastasoff that the employee had stolen a radio out of his truck while it was in the impound yard,” maintained by Maietta on Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough. To compound matters, wrote Mooney, “another Maietta employee who runs the business office approved the overcharge despite Mr. Anastasoff’s vigorous objection.”

Although she wrote, “It does not appear that either Vinnie or Robbie Maietta was directly involved in the overcharge,” Mooney concluded, “It was intentional.”

Anastasoff complained to the city about his $1,425 bill from Maietta, resulting in a March 25 license hearing conducted by Mooney and attended by City Attorney Sally Daggett. That session was carried over to April 1 so that Barlow, at Googins’ order, could conduct an audit of receipts at Maietta’s two towing companies, Maietta Towing and Pleasant Hill Towing.

Like Arcee, Maietta maintains two separate companies, each using its own equipment. A common industry practice, this gives the parent organization two shots in the call rotation from police for wrecker services. Pleasant Hill Towing was not found to have processed any significant overcharges.

Still, with the suggestion that others charge fees similar to Maietta, Googins ordered Barlow to review records from all tow companies licensed by South Portland to respond to police calls. Although many of the 12 licensees overcharged by small amounts, only Arcee charged fees that “were significantly out of line” with the limits set by the ordinance, said Googins.

Gleason, who worked at InTown Towing for two years before buying it 18 months ago with his brother-in-law, Rin Ann, said at his hearing that he was unaware of the limits set on tow fees.

“It was just business as usual as far as the charges went,” he said. “They were the same when I worked there as they are now, or were up until this investigation.”

“When we took over, our practices were what we learned from the former owner,” said Ann. “We never knew anything different from what he had done for the 10 years he owned it.”

Ann further justified fees charged by Arcee’s two trucks by noting that South Portland’s maximum rates have not been updated since 2003. In that time, diesel fuel has jumped 138 percent, from $1.53 to $3.65 per gallon, he said.

“We’re not trying to rip anyone off, we’re just trying to pay our bills,” said Ann. “We’re just a couple of young guys starting out. If you do suspend our license, we’re going to end up closing our doors.”

However, Mooney said, “ignorance of the ordinance is not a legitimate excuse for overcharging.” While applicants for towing licenses are not expressly given copies of the relevant ordinances, the form they sign does include a promise to abide by all applicable rules, which are available online, she said.

After saying Mooney’s two-month license suspension, which only prevents Arcee from doing work for the city, was “very fair,” Gleason and Ann both made a plea for an overhaul of South Portland’s towing fees. Googins said Barlow is at work on a new draft. However, because such work is “a collateral duty,” and because South Portland fees “are not the lowest around,” Googins said there is no timeframe for a recommendation to the City Council on a new fee structure.

Meanwhile, Gleason said the police investigation, apart from saddling him with the image of “an evil tow truck driver,” has cost his company other work.

“During Sgt. Barlow’s investigation, he called around to certain insurance auto auction places and said he was investigating ‘fraudulent charges’ by our company. So, now we no longer get to tow for them,” said Gleason. “I didn’t bring that up during the hearing only because I’m afraid if I started making accusations against the police department it would make the likelihood of getting an ordinance update that much harder.”

At their Rigby Road impound yard in South Portland are the crew members from Arcee LLC, from left, driver Chris Ingham, President Rin Ann and Vice President Curtis Gleason. The company does business under two names, In-Town Towing and S&R Towing, both of which were pulled last week from the city’s vendor list for two months.
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