Taxpayers could possibly be those on the hook for an enormous haul.
A towing firm says their profitable metropolis contracts and working license have been eradicated due to the “bribery and corruption” of a metropolis official and a towing-industry rival, in line with a newly filed $150 million lawsuit naming the town.
Runway Towing claims that disgraced Division of Buildings commissioner Eric Ulrich took money and presents from rival tow baron Michael Mazzio — after which pressured one other company to place the tow firm out of enterprise, the swimsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court docket says.
The payoffs have been a part of a bigger $150,000 bribery scheme for which Ulrich has already been indicted criminally. He allegedly accepted bribes from Mazzio, the proprietor of Mike’s Heavy Obligation Towing, Inc, together with money and Mets season tickets, the indictment claimed.
“Eric Ulrich took bribes from Michael Mazzio in change for serving to Mazzio’s tow truck firm . . . injure Runway Towing Corp., by guaranteeing that it will be investigated and its license revoked by the DCWP, in order that Michael Mazzio might regain management of the New York Metropolis highways,” the swimsuit claims.
The lawsuit alleges that when Runway went to resume their towing license in 2021, the Division of Client and Employee Safety issued subpoenas for in depth monetary information.
The company found the hauler had overcharged 237 prospects a complete of lower than $6,000 — or roughly $25 every.
Sometimes, a minor discrepancy like that might be dealt with by a easy tremendous, Runway’s lawyer claims within the grievance.
However on account of bribes given to Ulrich by Mazzio, the company denied their renewal.
Regardless of a Manhattan choose ruling in a problem that the choice was “too harsh or disproportionate to the offenses as to be ‘surprising’ to at least one’s sense of equity,” the company appealed, making the denial closing.
Runway, which maintained a fleet of 40 vehicles and a protracted listing of contracts to offer towing for the NYPD and different public companies, in the end “misplaced a ten million greenback a yr enterprise, and has ceased to function,” in line with the court docket submitting.
“An company’s willpower can’t be the product of corruption,” the swimsuit reads.
DCWP maintains that their resolution was not a results of corruption, and that an unanimous enchantment court docket ruling upheld their resolution for good motive.
“DCWP is dedicated to holding companies, like Runway Towing and Mike’s Heavy-Obligation Towing, accountable for preying on New Yorkers and we’ve taken motion to forestall each firms from violating the legislation,” stated spokesperson Michael Lanza.
Lots of the claims in Runway’s lawsuit mirror these made by the Manhattan District Legal professional’s workplace of their 2023 indictment of Ulrich, Mazzio and 5 others who gave Ulrich cash, presents and different bribes to buy particular favor from the rising politician.
“Somewhat than serve the general public, he used his roles to learn himself and his associates,” Bragg stated on the time.
Earlier this month, Ulrich — who has pled not responsible to a complete of 16 felonies stemming from 5 indictments which stretch all the best way again to his days as a Queens council member — informed the court docket that he might not afford his legal professional and requested a choose for a taxpayer funded advocate.
The gambler and former politician resigned in November 2022.
Attorneys for the 2 rival towing firms didn’t reply to a request for remark. Ulrich couldn’t be reached by time of publication and the town’s legislation division declined to debate the brand new swimsuit.