Towing companies accuse Hazleton of pay-for-play conspiracy, forcing them out of business
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - Hazleton City Hall is seen on May 21, 2021.
HAZLETON – A group of Hazleton area towing companies are suing the city and several current and former officials, accusing it of issuing a “pay-to-play contract” for towing services.
DeLuca’s Auto Repair and Zenier’s Automotive filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court.
The lawsuit names the city, Mayor Jeff Cusat, ex-Mayor Joe Yanuzzi, Police Chief Brian Schoonmaker, ex-Chief Jerry Speziale, numerous city officials, and Paul’s Auto Body as defendants.
It alleges a “concerted and deliberate process of freezing out [towing] competition” beginning in 2019 and that the city failed to put a towing contract out for bid, as required by law.
In a request for proposals issued in 2019, DeLuca’s Towing and Zenier’s Towing — both licensed salvors — were “clearly the most qualified tow operators,” according to the complaint and that Zenier’s was the only tower or salvor to meet every requirement in the RFP.
Paul’s Towing did not, the lawsuit alleges, and failed on multiple counts, including failure to possess heavy wrecking equipment, operating the business with employees who had criminal records, failure to provide worker’s compensation, among numerous others.
In a non-bidded contract, the city awarded the contract to Paul’s Towing “despite the laundry list of conditions that it did not satisfy.”
Paul’s Towing is owned by relatives of Councilman John “Jack” Mundie, the lawsuit alleges.
At the same time as the RFP, DeLuca’s Towing was bringing an action against the city for failure to complete the proper paperwork to allow DeLuca’s to properly dispose of abandoned vehicles. The failure filled up the towing company’s lot and prevented them from taking on more work and storing more vehicles. This occurred, the lawsuit alleges, as proper paperwork had been filled out for other salvors in town.
The lawsuit alleges that the failure was discriminatory as DeLuca’s was the only female-owned company.
The actions by the city, the lawsuit alleges, forced the closure of DeLuca’s Towing and will force Zenier’s into bankruptcy in the next few months.
The lawsuit seeks $2.7 Million in damages.
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My personal experience in these situations is that the towing companies doing the crying are usually the ones who provide lackluster service. Not saying that is the case here, but if they have to rely on a municipality to keep their business from going under, then their business model isn’t too sound.