An aggressive new tow company has drawn the attention of Broward County officials, who suspect it of skirting a county law that forbids using “spotters” to find illegally parked cars.
Since it was opened in February, Towbusters has yanked 350 cars parked on weekend nights near jammed nightclubs in Fort Lauderdale and Oakland Park, police logs show.
And the logs show that one caller — Starlight Lot Watch — has initiated all 350 of Towbusters’ tows from nine lots.
County law forbids tow companies from paying property owners or a third party to tip them off to improperly parked cars.
Consumer officials said they suspect that Starlight improperly works as a spotter for Towbusters, but cannot take action because Starlight claims to work on behalf of property owners — often for free.
Towbusters’ main driver, Floyd Fountain of Margate, who is in the process of buying the company, said his operation is legal.
“I know my rules and regs inside and out,” Fountain said. “I’ve never paid (Starlight). I never will pay him. As long as it’s that way, there’s nothing they can say.”
That arrangement is “a loophole you can drive a tow truck through,” said former County Commissioner Nicki Grossman, who sponsored the 1991 law banning paid spotters and toughening tow regulations.
“Referring towing jobs is obscene. This is really what we tried to avoid in that ordinance,” Grossman said.
People can have illegally parked vehicles towed from their property, as long it is clearly marked with tow-away signs. The county regulates tow companies and can fine violators as much as $500 or revoke their licenses.
Grossman sponsored the law after persistent complaints from people whose cars were towed from private lots in parking-poor areas such as those near beaches and nightclubs.
Some tow firms would pay property owners to create tow-away zones, then post hard-to-see signs and position spotters to summon wreckers when the cars came, county officials said.
That sounds familiar to Bob Koppel of Plantation.
In June, he parked in a tow zone at a strip center at 4140 N. Federal Highway, beside the Roxy nightclub. He said he did not see the no-parking signs.
Koppel and his fiancee, feeling underdressed at the club, left moments later to find Towbusters hooking his Acura. It cost $73 and a $10 taxi ride to get it back. The county got him a refund because Towbusters made a paperwork error, but Koppel said he still felt preyed upon.
“We were gone no more than five minutes. He had to be watching,” Koppel said. “He pretty much helped himself to my car. It was very disgusting.”
One recent Friday night, Towbusters trucks cruised and parked along the strip of clubs on Federal Highway north of Oakland Park Boulevard.
Across from 4140 N. Federal Highway, a man in a red Subaru, Steve Scheiber, watched as six cars were parked in the lot by Roxy patrons. Then he talked on a hand-held radio.
Up came Towbusters’ two 1993 flatbeds. Within 40 minutes, they had hauled all six cars to the company warehouse a mile away in Oakland Park.
“They are like buzzards,” county consumer investigator Mitch Gross said during an interview in July. Gross died of a heart attack in late July.
Not so, said Fountain, 27, who said he can tow two cars in five minutes. Property owners engage him at no charge to keep lots free of parkers ducking nightclub valet fees.
“I’m not out to cut-throat,” Fountain said. “People say it’s sneaky. It’s business. It’s just seeing the opportunity and taking advantage of it. It’s not my fault there’s not enough parking down there.”
Fountain said the spotters who call him work for Starlight, a separate firm owned by Scheiber, the Subaru driver.
Just who or what Starlight is remains unclear.
The firm is not incorporated in Florida. Towbusters’ six biggest customers said they dealt only with Fountain, never Starlight, and have never paid Scheiber.
Scheiber, 26, of Tamarac, said he is paid only by some property owners to clean and guard parking lots. He said he keeps out partiers who litter and create a risk of accidents and thefts.
Scheiber said he works for free for some property owners, such as the ones who contract with Towbusters, in return for good references he could show to potential customers.
“I’m going broke,” Scheiber said.
County consumer officials are skeptical and suspect he works for Fountain, tow section chief Steve Kidd said.
Towbusters’ founders, sheriff’s Deputy Paul Liccardo and his wife, Deborah, said Fountain’s honest operation and client list were the main reasons they are in the process of selling to Fountain.
“I know the law pretty well. I think Floyd’s the only one in the county who tows legally,” said Liccardo, who works in Tamarac.
Fountain and Scheiber began working the nightclub strip in 1991 for Daly’s Towing, then for Westway Towing. Fountain said he left both jobs after disputes with the owners.
Fountain said he called Scheiber again after meeting the Liccardos, who had started Towbusters as an investment.
Liccardo said he and his wife were selling out to Fountain because the Sheriff’s Office investigated whether deputies steered tows to Towbusters. Liccardo denied it. Sheriff’s Office spokesmen declined to comment.
Several Towbusters clients said Fountain’s wreckers solved a parking madhouse.
George’s Diner at 2011 E. Oakland Park Blvd., near Crocco’s nightclub, called on Towbusters after co-owner Michael Angelakos stopped by one night to find his lot jammed and his diner empty.
Towbusters has since hauled 102 cars from the diner’s parking lot, even after it was sold and closed on July 15.
“They did a good job,” Angelakos said.
Debby Gold of Coral Springs disagrees.
Her 1993 Volvo 850 was towed from George’s when her son Daryl, 17, went to teen night at Crocco’s. When Gold got the car home, she said she found $309 in damage to the left front fender, which was against a wall and blocked from view at Towbusters.
Fountain denied causing the damage. Gold cannot prove otherwise.
“I think he’s disgusting. They have to take some responsibility for this,” Debby Gold said.
Also, records show Towbusters yanked two dozen cars from a defunct bar at 3935 N. Federal without the property owner’s permission. Tom Godart, a broker handling the property, said he liked Towbusters’ plan but never signed a towing agreement.
“I didn’t even know there were tow signs on the property,” Godart said.
Fountain said he was signed up by a tenant business there, now closed.
Other drivers complained to county officials that Towbusters refused to take checks or credit cards, and was not available to return their cars — both violations.
The county has issued the company four warnings for those and similar violations since February, more than any tow firm.
Dennis Borello, manager of Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House at 4201 N. Federal Highway, lets Roxy patrons park for free in his lot. Scheiber parks in Borello’s lot to watch the lot at 4140 N. Federal Highway.
Borello has refused tow company offers to post his lot as a tow zone. The tow companies and lot watchers, he said, are predators.
“I feel bad for the average guy who just wants to park his car,” Borello said. “If you have a tow-away zone, the only purpose of having a security guard is to call the tow truck. Let’s not be naive.”
—- If you think your car was towed wrongly, call the county consumer affairs office at 765-5350.
