Pat’s Towing: 400% More Tows in 2012 Than in 2011

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Derek McLean, GoLocalWorcester Reporter

The City's exclusive towing company is on pace to do 400% more tows in 2012 than they did in 2011. The controversial Pat's Towing that has been suspended by AAA, dropped by the State Police, has a standing grade of "F" from the Better Business Bureau, and is tied to a series of assaults, is now on pace to excute as many as 700 or more tows this year.

Pat’s towing has been under fire over the past week after GoLocalWorcester received more than 80 complaints about the City's exclusive towing company. Beyond the criminal offenses tied to the firm, complaints about the company ranged from verbal abuse to reckless driving.

There is now a new twist to the controversy.

According to Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst, a spokesperson for the Worcester Police Department, the City's contracted towing company has racked up 181 police initiated tows in 2012 to date and 48 in just the first eight days of March alone. Police initiated tows are just a fraction of the number of tows conducted by the company.

The number of police initiated tows conducted in less than two-and-a-half months into 2012 have far exceeded the total number of tows executed in 2011. According to police records,there were 164 conducted throughout in 2011. Since Pat’s Towing signed a three-year contract with the City on December 10th, 2010, the company has towed a total of 349 vehicles.

Mandatory Reporting

The three-year contract with the City states that Pat’s Towing must submit a list weekly of all vehicles removed under Police or other authority. “The list shall indicate whether the vehicle is still in the contractor’s possession or whether it has been removed or otherwise disposed and be provided on the enclosed form,” states the contract.

The contract further states the list is to be submitted every Wednesday to the Police Records Bureau. A failure to submit the list is considered a material breach of the agreement.

According to the contract, “the contract can be terminated without notice if the contractor is not performing in accordance with all the terms and conditions of the contract.”

Since signing the contract with the city in 2010, Pat’s towing has been suspended by AAA, has a grade of F by the Better Business Bureau and have been dropped by the State Police.

City Repsonse to the Dramatic Increase

Repeated calls to Mayor Joseph Petty were not returned. According to Worcester's spokeswoman, Christina Andreoli, she was unaware of any change in city policy that would trigger the dramatic increase in tows.

Related Articles

• INVESTIGATION: City Officials Haven’t Read Contract with Pat’s Towing
• Complaints About Pat’s Towing Pour into GoLocalWorcester
• Outrage Builds with Pat’s Towing

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