A few years ago, as detailed here here and here, I had an unpleasant encounter with a local tow-truck operator. I believe what this person did was grossly immoral and deceitful…but in my little journey to try and extract some justice, I came to the following conclusion: That skillful lobbying and legal work by the tow-truck industry had made it very difficult for the law to prosecute such actions and even more difficult for a wronged individual to fight back. An awful lot of e-mails since then — some from others in the towing business who agreed with my outrage — affirmed my conclusion for me.
My pal Dana Gabbard e-mails me this link to news that the Los Angeles Police Commission has set up a hotline to accept complaints about those who tow. If they're serious about prosecuting transgressions, good for them. The authorities with whom I spoke all kind of said, "Yeah, it sucks but we can't do much about it."