Tow truck operators scrutinized; lawmen review rules

• December
• 10

12:43 am Trailers, Trucks

When lawmen need a tow truck at a crash scene, they call one of 43 wrecker companies on an official county roster. The rotation is meant to ensure that companies get a fair share of potentially lucrative towing jobs.

But an investigation by The Fayetteville Observer has found that nearly half the wreckers on the list are double dipping — one owner, two different company names or addresses. In one case, an owner has three wrecking companies on the county list, one of which shows an address that doesn’t appear to exist, according to tax records.

Appearing multiple times on the rotation isn’t necessarily against the rules. Several wrecker companies have found creative ways to skirt the spirit of city and county ordinances, forming companies with identical staff and ownership solely for the purpose of getting a bigger share of official towing jobs.