McHenry County Blog

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER INDICTED ON ATTEMPTED EXTORTION AND FRAUD CHARGES IN VEHICLE TOWING INVESTIGATION

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer was indicted on federal charges alleging that he schemed to defraud two insurance companies by making a false police report of an actual auto accident and, separately, staging a purported auto accident.

In both instances, the defendant, Gregory Garibay, allegedly obtained extortion payments totaling $2,200 from a cooperating tow truck driver. Garibay was assigned to the South Chicago District at the time and was relieved of his police powers following the alleged crimes that occurred in late 2007 and early 2008.

Garibay, 44, of Chicago, an officer for approximately 18 years, was charged with seven counts of mail fraud and two counts of attempted extortion in an indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $2,200. Garibay will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.

The indictment is part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Operation Tow Scam. Garibay is the 10th Chicago police officer to be charged in the corruption probe. So far, seven officers and three civilians, including two truck drivers, have been convicted. Charges are pending against two officers who were recently charged, in addition to Garibay.

Gary Shapiro

The charges were announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; William C. Monroe, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Garibay allegedly obtained extortion payments — $200 and $2,000 — from the cooperating tow truck driver in January 2008, which also violated various Chicago Police Department rules and orders.

In one instance, Garibay allegedly filed a false police reporting stating that the driver of Toyota Avalon, who had full insurance coverage, was at fault in an accident with the driver of a Toyota Camry, who had only liability insurance coverage. Garibay allegedly filed the false police report incorrectly indicating that the Avalon driver was at fault so that the full insurance coverage would pay for part or all of the damage caused by the accident, including covering the towing fees that would be paid to the cooperating two truck driver, who later paid Garibay $200 for enabling the towing job.

In another instance, Garibay allegedly participated in a staged accident to induce a different insurance company to pay for damages purportedly resulting to two vehicles, including the towing fees for the cooperating tow truck driver’s company. The indictment alleges that, in return for Garibay’s participation in the staged accident, Garibay accepted a $2,000 cash payment from the tow driver from the insurance pay-out.

Each count of attempted extortion and mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Donovan.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This is the third part of the tow truck playlet. Here is where you can Part 1 and Part 2. I find it of interest because of the McHenry County Board’s having passed an ordinance tying us Illinois Commerce Commission rules, then, having repealed it.

Final Scene:

After the dust settled amongst the “guys,” everything was okey dokey but for one pesky bit of business.

My car was still on the hook.

Looking at my property, I thought, ‘Just pay the $165 ransom and be done with it.’

But the police officer wouldn’t let it go.

Though he had no jurisdiction, he appealed to the two young “guys” to release my car sans the tow charge.

The tow truck driver looked at the police officer and smiled magnanimously.

With the push of a lever, down came my car and off came the restraints.

Though relieved to have my property back in my possession, I wondered why the “guys” agreed to waive the tow charge. I found out….because I had been so “nice” about the situation. Swell.

So, my car and I were off the hook….pun intended. I shook the hand of young tow truck driver, got in my car, suffered a few good ole’ boy remarks and drove out onto Rt. 14.

I did not speak to anyone in authority at Flowerwood that afternoon, nor did anyone ask to speak with me.

It appeared my experience was of no importance to anyone except to me and perhaps the two empty-handed young guys from the towing company.

Everything was back to normal and peachy keen.

Epilogue:

I stopped in at Countryside and mentioned my recent fiasco with some of the employees who knew me.

Looking around the parking lot on my way out, I didn’t see a tow truck lurking around the corner, and the only “spotters” Countryside employs, are their courteous, helpful employees who are at the ready to offer assistance and provide great customer service.

The next day, I received a pretty bouquet of cut, fresh flowers thanking me for being a long time patron of Countryside.

Whoa, now THAT’S class!

PS: I will NEVER, EVER shop at Flowerwood or the Atrium again!

Here’s the second part of a playlet in six scenes about how a Crystal Lakers car was towed from Flowerwood’s parking lot after she left the store and went to the neighboring McDonald’s. Here is Part 1.

The Day Tradition Died
By Peg McHugh

Scene III:

I shook off the shock and found the employee I spoke with while shopping in …Flowerwood.

I ask her if she or anyone in the store had seen my car being stolen. Nope…nobody saw anything.

I asked her if she or anyone had seen my car being towed.

Nope, nada. I asked if the “tow” sign had been posted by Flowerwood.

No luck….nobody knew anything.

I asked if Flowerwood had cars towed out of their parking lot.

Once again, nobody knew anything. I asked if Flowerwood owned the parking lot.

Yeah, that’s right…nobody knew anything.

Dumbfounded, I gazed forlornly out their window.

As I walked out of the store, I thought, “Now what.”

I didn’t have to think very long because my answer came rolling right up to me.

A young man in an old SUV wearing a greasy baseball cap asked if I was looking for a car??!!

Nodding my head, he directed my attention across the street to the furniture store and wondered aloud if that was my car hooked to the back of a tow truck.

Holy moley, it was!!!

Closing my gaping mouth, I walked across Rt. 14 and approached the tow truck driver demanding he unhook my car.

No problem…all I had to do was give him $165 bucks, and I could be on my way!

I called 911.

Scene IV:

While waiting for the police officer, I asked why my car had been towed. The tow truck driver explained I violated Flowerwood’s parking sign and implied I should be grateful that he and other guy had hung around. Hung around?

The other guy? What other guy?

Just then my “savior” in the SUV pulled up along side the tow truck.

What the….. “Yeah, you should be grateful we hung around”, the tow guy repeated.

“Otherwise, you woulda’ had to go to Wauconda to get you vehicle from our company lot.”

Really! I looked at the lettering on the door of the tow truck…ACM Recovery, Wauconda.

Yeah, I was grateful.

Just as I was unraveling this stupefying piece of information, a squad car pulled up with a burly sheriffs’ police officer behind the wheel. I felt a whole bunch better just looking at him. He listened a few minutes and quickly grasped the situation as he had heard about Flowerwood’s “policy” from other dupes.

To verify my version of the “story,” he drove me back to Flowerwood in the back seat of his squad car, and I got to talk with him through the mesh divider between us.

What a treat!

Best of all, when I tried to open the car door to get out, I couldn’t. It was locked by design and had to be opened by the police officer from the outside.

Boy, did I feel special.

We found one of the employees who confirmed I had been SHOPPING in Flowerwood, and we drove back to the furniture store. This time I knew to wait until the officer opened the squad car door.

The police officer swung into action, and the questions came out in bursts and volleys. I learned these guys work as a team.

One “spots” for cars and the other tows!

Within minutes, the “he said, she said” began with spotter guy telling the police officer I had come out of McDonald’s first, THEN went into Flowerwood.

IF that were true, either way I was a Flowerwood PATRON!

The police officer tried valiantly to point out the flaw in his reportage, but it was no use.

Spotter guy was adamant and stuck to his story.

Sensing he might need backup, he called his boss for instruction.

I couldn’t hear much of the conversation but spotter guy said,

“Yeah, she knows they own the Atrium too.”

I was not privileged to the next cell phone conversation either, but it appeared the police officer was speaking to someone at Flowerwood.

I was asked again if I knew who currently owned Flowerwood and whether I had purchased anything at the store.

Yes to the former question…No to the latter.

The officer mentioned to his phone mate I had been shopping in Flowerwood and was a long-time patron, but that fact failed to impress whoever was on the other end of the cell waves.

An hour or so later, EVERYTHING was explained to me very, VERY carefully by the police officer:

• The tow company had been hired by Flowerewood and was under contract;
• that my vehicle had been towed from Flowerwood’s parking lot in under five minutes because I had walked into McDonald’s after I had finished shopping at Flowerewood;
• that once I left Flowerwood, I was no longer a patron of Flowerwood;
• that I didn’t buy anything, and I didn’t “obey” the tow sign which was face down in the grass.

Good goobilly goo.

Looking at Flowerwood’s vast and empty parking lot, I thought, ‘Dang. I wish I had bought something. Maybe my car would still be in the lot!’

Remember the towing controversy at the McHenry County Board level, here’s a new view set right on the northwest side of Crystal Lake near the intersection of Routes 14 and 176.

The Day Tradition Died
By Peg McHugh

Opening Scene:
Date: Friday, November 6, 2009…a beautiful and surprisingly mild November afternoon around 1:00 pm
Place: Flowerwood’s East Parking Lot, Crystal Lake, IL

It was that time of year.

From a young married girl to a Grandmother, Flowerwood flooded my mind with strong and sweet memories.

For the past 38 years, I have filled my yard with their landscaping specimens, patio furniture and decorated many of their Christmas trees with their ornaments.

And nothing was more poignant than the two gingerbread men ornaments I bought last year for my grandchildren at …Flowerwood.

Friday, November 6, 2009….the day tradition died …fade to black.

Scene II:

After a Friday meeting, I ran some errands and eagerly anticipated my stop at…Flowerwood.

As I came through door, two employees were decorating Christmas trees and chatting with one another. I did some browsing but nothing caught my eye.

No problem.

I knew this was just my first visit of the holiday season, so I left the store.

Pulling out of the parking space, I needed to use a restroom and wanted something to drink.

So, I drove across Flowerwood’s parking lot and parked on the east end of the lot and walked the 50 ft. into the McDonalds.

A few minutes later, I came out and looked toward my car.

I blinked.

Then I blinked again.

My car was gone!!

Bewildered, I stood wondering how my car could have just vanished!

I headed toward the Flowerwood entrance, and as I did so, I saw a sign on the opposite end of the lot warning that non patrons of Flowerwood would have their vehicle towed away.

I did not see the sign when I pulled in. However, I did see a hunk of sheet metal face down on the grass where I had parked. (Turns out that hunk of sheet metal was the OTHER warning sign which had fallen off its post.)

So there I was…a milk shake in one hand, car keys in the other with no wheels to leave.

Scenes III and IV tomorrow.

The passage of the McHenry County Board asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow it out from under the ICC jurisdiction it requested earlier in the year was approved on November 13th.

February 19th the McHenry County Board resolved it wanted to be under the Relocation law passed by State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) and State Senator Pam Althoff (R-McHenry).

A towing industry effort to educate county board members about what the new law required led to repeal on October 14th, one day before ICC control would have taken effect.

Dan Hunt of Anchor Towing mobilized the opposition.

The State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Hunt’s interpretation of the law.

Senator Althoff told the board that she and Rep. Franks would attempt to amend the law to allow the county board to accomplish its goals.

= = = = =
The accident you see was on Randall Road in Algonquin near Meyer’s gas pumps on November 13th.

The passage of the McHenry County Board asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow it out from under the ICC jurisdiction it requested earlier in the year was approved on November 13th.

February 19th the McHenry County Board resolved it wanted to be under the Relocation law passed by State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) and State Senator Pam Althoff (R-McHenry).

A towing industry effort to educate county board members about what the new law required led to repeal on October 14th, one day before ICC control would have taken effect.

Dan Hunt of Anchor Towing mobilized the opposition.

The State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Hunt’s interpretation of the law.

Senator Althoff told the board that she and Rep. Franks would attempt to amend the law to allow the county board to accomplish its goals.

= = = = =
The accident you see was on Randall Road in Algonquin near Meyer’s gas pumps on November 13th.

After comments by

• Anchor Towing’s Dan Hunt,
• his attorney William Hellyer,
• Jim Olson from Olson Collision, with locations in Harvard, Woodstock, Crystal Lake and Cary,
• his brother Pete Olson form Olson Autobody from Johnsburg,
• Huntley’s All-Star Towing and
• Colleen Smith of C & M Towing out of Union, the only firm who paid the $900 for the business license to perform relocation towing in favor of rescinding the Illinois Commerce Regulations,

the county board voted unanimously to repeal its towing ordinance.

One person, Laurie Cwerenz, a lady from Johnsburg, spoke in favor of keeping the ordinance. She said her car got removed by Cougar Recovery, headquartered in Lake Barrington. She said the tow bill was $240, but the company caused $2,500 to $3,000 in damage because of improper towing technique. She said there was no recourse, apparently not knowing that a civil lawsuit might have been a possibility.

Making the repeal motion was ordinance sponsor Nick Provenzano.

“After the vote,” Dan Hunt told me. “I stood there and tried to shake everyone’s hand. A simple ‘Thank you’ for looking at this for what it was.”

Also in attendance was State Senator Pam Althoff. She explained the history of the bill and apologized to Provenzano and to Randy Donley for having not known all the details of the bill. Apparently both county board members asked the right questions, but Althoff had been misinformed of the implications of the law.

Althoff said a revised bill has been drafted, but seemed to imply that current state law would adequately protect county residents.

After comments by

• Anchor Towing’s Dan Hunt,
• his attorney William Hellyer,
• Jim Olson from Olson Collision, with locations in Harvard, Woodstock, Crystal Lake and Cary,
• his brother Pete Olson form Olson Autobody from Johnsburg,
• Huntley’s All-Star Towing and
• Colleen Smith of C & M Towing out of Union, the only firm who paid the $900 for the business license to perform relocation towing in favor of rescinding the Illinois Commerce Regulations,

the county board voted unanimously to repeal its towing ordinance.

One person, Laurie Cwerenz, a lady from Johnsburg, spoke in favor of keeping the ordinance. She said her car got removed by Cougar Recovery, headquartered in Lake Barrington. She said the tow bill was $240, but the company caused $2,500 to $3,000 in damage because of improper towing technique. She said there was no recourse, apparently not knowing that a civil lawsuit might have been a possibility.

Making the repeal motion was ordinance sponsor Nick Provenzano.

“After the vote,” Dan Hunt told me. “I stood there and tried to shake everyone’s hand. A simple ‘Thank you’ for looking at this for what it was.”

Also in attendance was State Senator Pam Althoff. She explained the history of the bill and apologized to Provenzano and to Randy Donley for having not known all the details of the bill. Apparently both county board members asked the right questions, but Althoff had been misinformed of the implications of the law.

Althoff said a revised bill has been drafted, but seemed to imply that current state law would adequately protect county residents.

Anchor Towing’s Dan Hunt made more public comments at today’s McHenry County Board meeting.

He again urged reconsideration of the towing regulation ordinance passed in February.

After Hunt’s talk, in new and unfinished business, board member John Hammerand made a motion to opt out of the ICC regulation of towing.

Sandra Salgado seconded the motion. There was even someone else who tried to “third it,” at least that was what was heard through an open mike.

Jamie Rein of the state’s attorney’s office, advised the board members that they could not take such action without its being on the board’s agenda.

Then discussion moved to whether to hold a special meeting to consider repeal of the ordinance.

Lively discussion followed, with ordinance author Nick Provenzano defending his proposal.

After most of the discussion, Board Chairman Ken Koehler asked for a show of hands of those who would be willing to remove Illinois Commerce Commission oversight over towing, at least until the legislature could revise the law.

A vast majority raised their hands.

The emergency meeting will be held Tuesday, October 14th at 11 AM.

In other news, before the county board meeting, Senator Pam Althoff, Koehler, County Administrator Pete Austin, county board member Randy Donley and someone representing the state’s attorney’s office met on the same subject.

Below, you can read what Hunt said to the McHenry County Board.

Anchor Towing’s Dan Hunt made more public comments at today’s McHenry County Board meeting.

He again urged reconsideration of the towing regulation ordinance passed in February.

After Hunt’s talk, in new and unfinished business, board member John Hammerand made a motion to opt out of the ICC regulation of towing.

Sandra Salgado seconded the motion. There was even someone else who tried to “third it,” at least that was what was heard through an open mike.

Jamie Rein of the state’s attorney’s office, advised the board members that they could not take such action without its being on the board’s agenda.

Then discussion moved to whether to hold a special meeting to consider repeal of the ordinance.

Lively discussion followed, with ordinance author Nick Provenzano defending his proposal.

After most of the discussion, Board Chairman Ken Koehler asked for a show of hands of those who would be willing to remove Illinois Commerce Commission oversight over towing, at least until the legislature could revise the law.

A vast majority raised their hands.

The emergency meeting will be held Tuesday, October 14th at 11 AM.

In other news, before the county board meeting, Senator Pam Althoff, Koehler, County Administrator Pete Austin, county board member Randy Donley and someone representing the state’s attorney’s office met on the same subject.

Below, you can read what Hunt said to the McHenry County Board.