Man Arrested for Stealing His Car Back

All your property are belong to us.

... charged with attempted burglary and theft

Most states have draconian laws running in favor of the tow truck operators which permit them to impose outrageous towing and storage fees on car owners. These laws have been passed on behalf of special interest groups with very intense interest in the legislation at the expense of the general public which has very little concern for the legislation unless they are personally impacted. This is typical of how most onerous laws and regulations get imposed upon us which favor a small but intensely interested special interest group.

The problem with all of this is there is very little due process in the whole affair. Although Florida does have ordinances which require posting notice for cars to be towed from private parking places, the economics of the affair all run in favor of the tow truck operator. Who is going to appeal a fee of this size, as unfair and unreasonable as it might be, and go to court for vindication?

The system now permits no adjudication of the legitimacy of the removal until the car owner pays up. If he elects not to pay up and litigate, his storage fees will mount up astronomically before he can get justice and he runs the risk if he loses of paying really exorbitant storage fees or ultimately forfeiting his automobile.

One can understand the need for a careless vehicle operator who obstructs traffic to have his vehicle towed away and the need to pass the expense to the wrongdoer but that should include some form of inexpensive access to due process somewhere early in the chain. If a car is wrongly towed, it seems to me there should be mandatory triple damages against the tow operator and the private property owner who instigates the tow.

Seems to me that there is no justification whatsoever for charging the automobile owner in this instance with burglary or theft. He might be guilty of trespass or some sort of "wrongful removal" but I suspect the seriousness of this charge has a lot more to do with the close relationship between tow truck operators and police departments than with justice.

If you ever watch Parking Wars on A&E you know that Philly has some of the toughest laws on the books and very steep fines.

Agreed. I had the city STEAL my car from me (1960 Chevy Biscayne) from my front yard. I reported it stolen and was dicked around for a week by the cops when they finally told me they were not going to help me in those exact words.

A friend found my car in the city impound yard but not in the regular yard, instead in the old rarely used one. Cost to get my car $100 for tow truck and $250 for city fees.

It was never fully explained to me why my legal car was towed out of my yard. I suspect some city employee was trying to get my car for their own.

I am the govt and am here to help you, or in this case. I am here to help my self to your property

In principle one could sue in small claims court, where fees are low or charged to the loser.

True, but consider the procedural shifts.

As a criminal defendant we have the right to be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt and the prosecution has the affirmative burden to come forward and persuade to that level. But in a small claims court proceeding, a civil action, the plaintiff has the burden to come forward and prove this case by the preponderance of the evidence. So the automobile owner instead of appearing in court with no obligation to testify, no obligation to come forward with proof, enjoying all of the presumptions as he would enjoy if he were being criminally charged, finds himself on the wrong end of these equations.

I would much prefer to see the fine and storage charges to be paid into an escrow account and paid over to the winner if the to truck operator/storage facility and possibly the private property owner can win the their case by at least a preponderance of the evidence. If one leaves the matter of court costs with the court to apply to either party in its discretion, or to apply only against the losing party still in its discretion, we have more room for reasonable results as the court applies discretion in close cases.

If the court finds that the removal of the auto was in reckless violation of the ordinance or statute, then I believe mandatory treble damages should be imposed, perhaps 3 times the towing and storage fee.

Enough people just going to small claims court would make a dent without needing dream legislation. The defendant can’t send a lawyer — he has to show up personally. That’s going to cost him more in time even than the court will ding him in fees. He’d likely cave without a hearing.

1960 Chevy, you sure you weren’t on Overhaulin? :-)

Maybe.

It seems to me that there are generally 2 kinds of tow-a-way situations: the first occurs when the tow truck, operating under contract with the city, is summoned by the police to tow away a vehicle from a public street. Occasionally, as one poster has related, a vehicle might be towed away from private property at the order of the police if parking that vehicle is of itself a violation of an ordinance such as an illegal truck in a residential area driveway.

I do not know this for a fact but I would suspect that the legislation or ordinances which provide for such towings also provide immunity to the truck when operating under the orders of the police. The police themselves enjoy a degree of sovereign immunity from suits so a civil action might not be very fruitful. But I am guessing here.

The 2nd general category of towings falls into the towing away from private property at the behest of the property owner. In this case, a tow truck operator would undoubtedly join the property owner and ask for indemnity in the event that the removal of the automobile was contrary to law. The tow truck owner would also seek to have insurance and, if he can get it, there would be an appearance by an insurance lawyer. In any event, I do not see the tow truck owner failing to appear in court and show his paperwork from the police, or his paperwork from the property owner, to maintain that he performed according to law.

I rather suspect that a tow truck operator might have several such claims and would simply be accommodated by the court to have them all bundled at the same time and heard during the same court session, making it much less onerous for him to appear.

In any event, I do not think that there is any impediment today against bringing a lawsuit against a tow truck operator for wrongful towing (unless he in fact enjoys immunity)but there seems to be very few such actions clogging the calendars today.

My fascist community had my car towed from in front of my house and would not or could not tell me where it was taken or by whom, incompetent fascists, I finally found it 6 weeks later parked outside a full secure auto lot. I got it started, took it home and a week later the theives/tow called me and said I owed them 850 dollars for the car. I told them my car was never moved and they couldnt prove they had it.

I wonder how much the tow company spends on kickbacks.

About nine years ago, when my daughter was a baby, we went to do some business at the Navy Federal Credit Union in Virginia Beach. The credit union’s parking lot was full, so like many others we parked across the street in the parking lot of an out of business HQ store. Our business took some time, and the baby had to be changed, so my wife decided to go out to the car to do that. She came in and told me that the car was gone. It seems that the owner of the unused parking lot at the closed store had contracted a towing company to keep people from parking in his lot. A good Samaritan at the credit union gave us a ride to the tow company, where it cost almost $100.00 to get my car back.

Navy Federal moved within 6 months of this incident, and the HQ store building is still vacant.

All Toyota Scion should be impounded for being too ugly!

I love retelling the story of a buddy whose first day as a repo man was his last. Upon finding the car they were seeking, they were about to put the hook on it when a guy yelled down to them from a second story window: put your hands on that car and that is where they are going to stay! He said he decided he needed a new line of work.

this is part of the bubba system in the Florida Keys

the cash gets spread far and wide and everyone has five last names and six toes

In June 1984, the Key West Police Department in Monroe County, Florida, was declared a criminal enterprise under the federal RICO statutes after a lengthy United States Department of Justice investigation. Several high-ranking officers of the department, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for illegal cocaine smugglers. At trial, a witness testified he routinely delivered bags of cocaine to the Deputy Chief's office at City Hall.

Acevedos keep suspect property

Though photographs of the Acevedo household's contents match items described on store and credit card receipts, it's not enough to say with certainty those items were purchased with school money ......

Acevedos keep suspect property - KW Citizen 12.5.10

Thousands of dollars worth of items that were illegally purchased with school district funds have been given to public schools and charities, but ousted Superintendent Randy Acevedo and his now-jailed wife, Monique Acevedo, will keep the items in their home that are believed to have been purchased with public money, according to the Monroe County State Attorney's Office.

"We went through the house when the case was still fairly early on," he said. "We had yet to completely review the individual items Mrs. Acevedo had purchased on school purchase cards. It was after that we learned that many of the items that we'd seen in the house were identical to those that she'd purchased with her school credit card."

Though photographs of the Acevedo household's contents match items described on store and credit card receipts, it's not enough to say with certainty those items were purchased with school money. Convicted on FBI Tapes at Nudist Bar, Key West Bag Man Gets Only Probation From Retiring Judge

Bribery suspects met at nudist pool bar - 02/09/2007

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

Citizen Staff

KEY WEST -- Prosecutors on Thursday showed to a jury surveillance video and photographs of meetings between an indicted former county attorney and their star witness, including one at a popular clothing-optional resort's pool bar.

Former County Attorney Jim Hendrick met political consultant Randy Hilliard at Atlantic Shores Resort on July 11, 2003 -- nine days after a former county mayor met with federal investigators at the Sheraton Suites hotel and admitted taking a bribe in exchange for building permits on a Marathon resort project the county had denied, court documents state.

Hendrick is accused of arranging the bribe, as well as a subsequent cover-up after the FBI arrested London. Prosecutors say Hendrick and Hilliard, who was once was listed in the telephone book as the Prince of Darkness, met at Atlantic Shores to discuss the cover-up. Hilliard, who already had admitted his role and received immunity from prosecution, secretly taped several conversations with Hendrick for the FBI.

Two days before their meeting, Hilliard called Hendrick, who told him the statute of limitations had run out for bribery charges, prosecutors say. Hendrick invited Hilliard, who lives in Miami, to come to Key West to talk about his "legal representation," court documents say.

Unbeknownst to Hendrick, Hilliard had an audio recording device in his white, Speedo-style swimsuit and another in his sports bag, said FBI agent Michael Pilapil, who specializes in undercover surveillance. Several undercover federal agents also watched from the bar.

"I can't help but ask if the agents kept their clothes on," federal prosecutor Christopher Clark jokingly asked Pilapil, who replied yes. In the photos, Hendrick wore shorts and a tan T-shirt, and Hilliard wore his scant swim trunks and a big yellow hat.

Prosecutors did not play the audio recordings from that day, showing only two still photographs and describing the scene. The agent said they had trouble recording because the "breezy" weather conditions and loud music created "a lot of interference."

The agent did play a video recording showing the two men meeting on March 8, 2004, in a small cottage at Hendrick's former Flagler Avenue home. Hendrick allegedly told Hilliard he "should conform his testimony [to an upcoming federal grand jury] with London's fictitious account," prosecutors said in court records. Hendrick allegedly gave Hilliard documents relating to the Halls Resort development project "to assist in the [cover-up] endeavor," records say.

Prosecutors did not play an audio recording from that meeting to substantiate the accusations, and provided no explanation as to why not. Court records do not contain full transcriptions of the audio recordings Hilliard made of eight phone calls and three meetings with Hendrick.

The FBI agent also testified Thursday that former County Mayor Jack London went to Hendrick's law firm twice on July 1, 2003 -- the day after London confessed to the FBI.

The FBI arrested Hendrick at his Whitehead Street office on May 19, 2005, charging him with conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

Hilliard and London admitted to splitting $82,500 in exchange for getting the Monroe County Commission to approve the building permits for Marathon developer Marvin Rappaport's Halls Resort, court records show. Hilliard agreed to cooperate with the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney's Office in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

London initially was charged with three counts of giving false statements to federal investigators and filing a false tax return. In exchange for his testimony against Hendrick, the FBI dropped all but the false income tax charge, to which he pleaded guilty in August 2005. London died of a stroke in November, leaving Hilliard as the government's key witness.

HENDRICK FOUND GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES - 02/24/2007

Citizen Staff

KEY WEST -- A jury found former County Attorney Jim Hendrick guilty of conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction of justice Friday, after deliberating for about two hours.

Hendrick, 59, immediately was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Miami, where he will remain in custody until his May 4 sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

His wife, Vera Vasek, maintained his innocence to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Key West and said he would appeal his conviction.

"We will continue to fight, every step of the way, to prove his innocence," Vasek said.

A judge denied Hendrick's request for bond while he files his appeal on the four charges, which include two counts of witness tampering.

Jurors declined to answer media questions as they left the courthouse. An alternate, who did not take part in the deliberations, said she had not formed an opinion about Hendrick's guilt or innocence.

"They came back so quickly, I thought it would have went the other way," said Joan Teach, who stayed to listen to the verdict. "I really did not have a chance to process it all. I was tired by the end of each day. ... We also could not take our notes home. I really didn't have a chance to form an opinion. I really didn't."

Hendrick's attorney, Ed Shohat, declined to comment on the verdict.

Prosecuting attorney Brenda Morris, who questioned Hendrick on cross-examination and gave closing arguments, also declined to comment about the case.

Morris and fellow federal prosecutor Christopher Clark built a case that Hendrick was involved in a bribery scheme and subsequent cover-up as federal investigators began questioning people about it. Former County Mayor Jack London and political consultant Randy Hilliard admitted that developer Marvin Rappaport paid them $82,500 to secure building permits to redevelop his Hall's Resort in Marathon in 1996.

The Planning Department previously had said the redevelopment plans did not conform to development regulations. London, who was to testify in the trial, died in November.

Hendrick did not receive money, but allegedly arranged the bribe and orchestrated the cover-up, prosecutors said. He advised London to leave the country to avoid having to testify before a grand jury. He also tried to get Hilliard to tailor his grand jury testimony to mirror what London had told FBI agents, prosecutors said.

Key to the prosecution was the testimony of London's widow, Elaine, who gave a detailed account of a lunch she had with her husband and Hendrick at the Pier House on March 17, 2004. In talking about the case possibly going before the federal grand jury in Key West, Hendrick told London to go to Ireland, Elaine London testified.

Morris finished her closing argument citing part of Elaine's testimony, when she said the two had referred to themselves as "the two most powerful men in Monroe County."

"He's just a man. He's an arrogant man," Morris told the jury. "He has duped Monroe County for years and he thinks maybe he can get away with it ... I submit to you that the defendant never thought Elaine London would have the strength to come in here and testify."

London was arrested at the Key West International Airport before his flight to Ireland in 2004 and charged with lying to federal agents and tax evasion for not reporting the bribe money. The statute of limitations on the bribe had run out. The feds dropped the lying charge after London began cooperating with the FBI.

Hilliard, who was granted immunity for his testimony, was another key witness, having secretly taped conversations between himself and Hendrick for the FBI. On one tape, Hendrick said London "rose in our eyes when he didn't stand up and tell them what we had done," referring to himself and developer Pritam Singh. In another, Hendrick told Hilliard "in the eyes of the government I am your co-conspirator."

The courtroom was filled with Hendrick supporters, many of whom looked stunned and gasped when the verdict was read. Minutes before, Hendrick, a self-proclaimed Buddhist, closed his eyes and appeared to be meditating as the crowd sat quietly awaiting the verdict.

The scene was a stark contrast from most days of the three-week trial. Jokes had been exchanged between prosecutors and defense attorneys, and Hendrick supporters mingled among each other during breaks.

Hendrick sentence appealed

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

Citizen Staff

Federal prosecutors have filed an appeal to the sentence of former Monroe County Attorney Jim Hendrick, who was placed on probation and ordered to do community service for obstructing justice and witness tampering in a federal public corruption case.

The U.S. Attorney's Office filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, according to a two-page legal brief filed with the court on Tuesday. There were no supporting documents filed that spell out why prosecutors are asking for review of the sentence. A brief will be filed, and that will contain the legal arguments, U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Yovanny Lopez said.

Federal Judge Shelby Highsmith chose not to sentence Hendrick to prison last month, but instead opted for five years of probation, 2,500 hours of community service and a $50,000 fine. Highsmith cited Hendrick's "previous good works, his charity work and his pro bono legal work." Highsmith also mentioned that no other person tied to the crime was sentenced to prison. Highsmith deviated from sentencing guidelines, which took into account Hendrick's first-time offender status and the severity of the crime. Hendrick was facing three to five years in federal prison.

Hendrick on Wednesday called the prosecutors' move "unusual."

"I am not an expert, but it seems unusual," said Hendrick, a former public defender and former county attorney. "Now they have left me no choice but to appeal."

On prosecutors challenging his sentence, he said: "It's sort of being like indicted. You don't have an have opportunity to decline it."

Hendrick is awaiting Highsmith's ruling on a motion to have the conviction on counts of conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction of justice thrown out.

Former federal prosecutor and now practicing Miami attorney Steven E.M. Hartz said there is precedent for prosecutors to request a new sentencing, especially in public corruption cases.

"It does happen from time to time," Hartz said. "They will appeal a sentence if they feel it's inheritably unfair to the interest of the United States. They don't do it every day."

Hartz called Highsmith an "excellent judge who is very experienced."

A jury in February agreed with prosecutors' arguments that Hendrick helped political consultant Randy Hilliard and former Monroe County Mayor Jack London devise a story to cover up a bribe from a local developer. Hendrick then urged London to flee to Ireland when the government started investigating.

Marathon developer Marvin Rappaport testified that he paid Hilliard $82,500 — Rappaport called it a consulting fee, the FBI called a bribe — in exchange for the Monroe County Commission's approval of building permits for a resort project in 1996. Rappaport received that approval.

. "The Prince of Darkness has ruined Atlantic Shores for us. Now we will never be able to go there again without wondering what the guys are stuffing into their Speedos." (From Key West Citizen's VOICE)

Bubba system appears to be judicially endorsed

As a retired former prosecutor and magistrate judge, I am appalled by Judge Shelby Highsmith's grant of probation to Jim Hendrick. Hendrick was convicted of three felony crimes, the character of which no lawyer with any decency whatsoever could conceive of committing. As the former county attorney, one would expect Hendrick to be the type of person who would enforce justice, not obstruct it. Witness tampering is something we decent lawyers think of as only occurring in bad mystery novels. Then, according to the jury, Hendrick conspired to cover his own butt, as he continues to do. He has now made it known that he will pursue his appeal, all the while denying any wrongdoing in the face of the absence of reasonable doubt. After receiving his sentence, he triumphantly pumped his fist in the air. Is this a repentant man, who deserves probation? I think not. I fully expect to read in tomorrow's Citizen that the motion for acquittal was granted. Perhaps lifetime appointments for federal judges should be rethought.

Rita Eaton

Key West

Hendrick's sentence sends wrong message

Probation for former Monroe County Attorney Jim Hendrick is totally outrageous, flying in the face of justice and common sense, while sending a strong message that attorneys and public officials are above the law. Further, Hendrick should have been disbarred the very moment he became a convicted felon for witness tampering and covering up a bribe to former Monroe County Mayor Jack London. Instead of probation, Federal Judge Shelby Highsmith should have thrown the book at Hendrick, sending the opposite message to elected officials, developers and their legal counsel alike who become involved with bribes or sleazy land deals.

Former Mayor London disgraced himself and his office by accepting a bribe, fueling existing public skepticism, while making the words "honest government" an oxymoron. Sadly, whatever good deeds London accomplished in office will be forgotten and his legacy will be reduced to his worst deed. Some will cry unfair, but is it really?

And now it's somewhat ironic our current County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro lobbied the good judge for nothing less than a wrist slap for Hendrick. To date, the mayor himself has acted more as an advocate for big developers than a legitimate representative for our residents, not to mention his own problems with the law when it comes to Sunshine Law violations.

Moreover, for Di Gennaro to subsequently suggest Hendrick be allowed to do pro bono legal work as atonement for his criminal sins represents a blatant betrayal of public trust and open contempt for laws, which most of us must obey.

In the future, Hendrick should be seen beside the Overseas Highway with a nail in one end of a stick and himself attached to the other, cleaning up the very islands he soiled.

But putting all of that aside, there is even a larger message here for the voters, which is if there's an appearance of impropriety, it's time for a closer look. And voters should always look carefully at any candidate's contribution reports and indeed follow the money.

Personally, I believe most folks are crying out for honest government and honest elected officials, but these same folks must take the time to participate in the most basic level of democracy, which is casting an informed vote. As we continue to elect those with conflicts and special interests, we can expect selective representation and often blind eyes and deaf ears to the voters themselves.

All of us have some issue with government, but in a case of this nature, where the criminal act is so very blatant and the subsequent scandal is so shameful, a mere slap on the wrist seems most offensive to each and every honest citizen. Let's pay attention now, and next time get it right at the ballot box.

Bob Johnson

Editor's note: Bob Johnson is a former mayor of Islamorada.

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Ha!

LOL! Good one.

"The defendant can’t send a lawyer — he has to show up personally. '

I don't think that's true, at least not in all states.