Hey, We're Not Bad Guys, Tow-Truck Operators Say

Not all news is bad in Towawayland. Despite the report this week that car-impound fees in Seattle now can run us as much as $240 in one day, there is some solace in learning that city officials plan to haul one impound operator into court and are weighing charges against another.

Last year, at the request of the Seattle Police Department, a handful of tow companies on contract with the city towed and impounded more than 30,000 cars. For the same period, Seattle-based tow companies recorded more than 13,000 private impounds, about 70 percent of the total statewide.

The operators in two cases at hand, police contend, are in apparent violation of either city criminal statutes or court orders, and face fines and possibly jail time.

One of the operators, Carlo Spatari of Towmasters, calls it police harassment, but adds that it comes with the territory.

"I used to be well-liked," he said yesterday. "Now, since I took over this company, I'm an ass---- to everybody."

The other operator, the somewhat legendary Gaston Hooks Jr. - who used to dress like a cop, drive a police-like car, call his business "Community Police Traffic and Parking Enforcement" agency, and will be forever remembered as the grinch who impounded the Forgotten Children's Fund Santa van on a cold and snowy day just before Christmas - says he's innocent.

"This is bogus," Hooks moaned yesterday. "I don't do that stuff anymore."

We'll hear his case first:

Barred by court injunction against masquerading as a police officer, Hooks nonetheless was seen allegedly wearing similar garb on a recent Friday night along Broadway.

According to two police officers, Hooks was seen in what they first thought was a police vehicle, with roof-, hood- and trunk-mounted antennas, door-post spotlights and a prisoner screen across the back seat.

In a report, the officers noted:

"Had it not been for the fact that we recognized the driver as Gaston Hooks, we might very well have driven by believing that the vehicle was a plain-clothes Seattle police vehicle."

Hooks, they added, wore a dark baseball cap, dark shirt and had some sort of a "police-appearing" patch on his left shoulder.

They requested the city's Legal Department to decide if Hooks has violated the court injunction. No decision has yet been made.

Hooks reeled in dramatic agony when I called him. He hadn't known about the cops' sighting.

"Oh man, I don't believe this! I was just wearing my sweats, a muscle shirt and a baseball cap! The cap said `Don't' Worry, Be Happy.' Ha!

"I mean, if I was impersonating a policeman, why didn't they arrest me?"

Hooks - who Attorney General Ken Eikenberry claimed had bilked thousands of dollars from the victims of his stationary impound practices - says he has given up the business of attaching "boots" or large objects as on-the-spot impounds for the moment.

"Why are they after me? No, we're not out of business, but we're not conducting it anymore," he said.

"I tell you, it doesn't matter that you're doing a public service, keeping parking spaces open; in this business, everybody hates you."

That sounds like Spatari's complaint, too. His case:

According to police, court records and interviews, the city thinks Spatari is in violation of a city code prohibiting any business association between a towing company and a supposedly independent impound-authorization agent.

In this instance, both the tow company, Towmasters, and an agent, Professional Parking Inc., are controlled by the Spatari family, the city says.

Two weeks ago, Spatari, one of his drivers, and the impounding agent, Tom Fitch, were all cited after police found them impounding a vehicle on First Avenue.

Officer Dale Vandergiessen says Fitch, contrary to law, admitted he reports to Spatari for work and is directed by Spatari (via a two-way radio) to lots in search of impounds for Towmasters.

The code forbids such cross-business practices, stating the impounder must be an independent agent acting on behalf of the property owner and is to order private impounds at the owner's, rather than the tow company's, behest.

I learned that Spatari last month went to court in attempts to enjoin the city from enforcing this law, but failed in his bid for an injunction.

Spatari contended that at least two other city tow companies have similar cozy arrangements, and contends the city is meddling in his private business practices.

He denied having a "beneficial or other relationship" with Professional Parking. Police say the company is owned by Spatari's father-in-law.

Spatari yesterday said he's not finished with attempts to seek an injunction, and contends he can win in fighting the city's recent citation.

"You know, people think you make money at this business," he said - and anyone who has mortgaged their home to pay an impound fee would likely agree.

"But I bought this company when it was in bankruptcy and it's been uphill all the way.

"And it's not like we're monsters or something. There was this guy the other night, he was drunk, and I wouldn't give him his car.

"I know, holding his car like that is a violation of the law. But he was too drunk to drive. So instead I paid a $25 cab fare for that guy to Kirkland.

"The next day, he came back and thanked me. See, he doesn't think I'm a bad guy. Heck, we're going out to dinner in a few weeks."

Rick Anderson's column appears Tuesday and Thursday on the Seattle Report Page and Saturday on Page A 2 of The Times.