Key charges stayed in massive tow truck corruption case linked to organized crime

Open this photo in gallery:

A high-profile towing corruption case has collapsed after charges against a group of men – including the person who was accused of being the ringleader of a criminal organization – were stayed in the Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday.

Two years after York Regional Police said Project Platinum had significantly interrupted organized crime’s hold on the Greater Toronto Area’s towing industry, at least half of those swept up in the initial raids no longer face charges.

The joint-forces operation was the first police action taken in connection with a deadly tow truck turf war that a February, 2020, Globe and Mail investigation revealed was raging across the region. More than 50 trucks had been set on fire by that time, and at least four men with ties to the industry had been killed, as tow truck drivers competed for slices of the lucrative and often fraudulent business.

In Zoom court on Wednesday, after months of preliminary proceedings, Assistant Crown attorney Pamela Larmondin requested that the charges against five accused in the case — including towing operator Alex Vinogradsky, whom police had identified as the crime boss — be stayed. No explanation was provided for the request, which was granted by Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuest of the Newmarket court.

Defence lawyer Rachel Lichtman, who represents Mr. Vinogradsky, said a disclosure issue arose last month during proceedings involving a separate group charged in the same project. During legal arguments related to the warrant application for a wiretap that was the foundation of the police’s case, defence lawyers had requested additional information that the Crown was unable to provide for confidentiality reasons.

“That caused the Crown to realize they can’t meet that disclosure obligation,” Ms. Lichtman said — and without the disclosure, the defence would be hamstrung in making full answer to the charges.

Charges have been stayed for at least 10 of the 20 people included in the initial Project Platinum arrests. It’s unclear whether any elements of the project will move forward.

The violence in the towing industry revolves around a lucrative segment of the business known as accident chasing.

Because some peripheral businesses – such as body shops, car-rental companies and physiotherapy clinics – will pay tow-truck drivers to send clients their way after a crash, a single car can generate thousands in profits. As a result, the industry is rife with fraud and some people are even staging crashes. As well, a Toronto-area lawyer who represented insurance companies in lawsuits against tow-truck operators was forced to shut down her firm after the office was twice set on fire and then shot up in broad daylight.

Mr. Vinogradsky, the owner of Paramount Towing and other companies, had been identified as one of the main targets of Project Platinum and was charged with organized crime as well as fraud, mischief and conspiracy to commit arson.

Ms. Lichtman said the Crown conflated his ownership of legitimate towing businesses alleged to be connected to crimes with him leading a criminal organization.

She agreed that the industry is rife with problems, adding that wiretaps show her client and his companies were victims of the violence.

A spokesperson for the York Regional Police said on Wednesday that the service remains proud of the project, and that it “halted the significant street-level violence that was plaguing our community in the months leading up to the arrests.”

“Successful prosecution is not the only measure by which we achieve our community safety goals,” spokesperson Maniva Armstrong said. “We operate in an imperfect justice system. By their nature, these cases are complex and multifaceted. We always have, and always will, face challenges within the court system that may or may not be surmountable in any given case.”

“This in no way has an impact on our resolve to continue to investigate these cases to ensure public safety.”

Project Platinum was one of several towing-related corruption cases to come out of the tow truck turf wars, and is not the first to unravel in court.

An Ottawa case that highlighted police corruption in the towing industry fell apart in March, when charges were stayed against tow-truck operator Jason Ishraki and Ottawa Police Constable Hussein Assaad after a judge determined there had been an unreasonable delay in the proceedings against them.

Charges against two of Constable Assaad’s police colleagues, Kevin Putinski and Andrew Chronopoulos, were stayed earlier that month by the Crown in exchange for their resignations. Mr. Putinski pleaded guilty to one count of fraud – the only charge laid in the case that resulted in a conviction – relating to a false insurance claim. He received a conditional discharge and agreed to make a charitable donation.

Two other towing corruption cases, involving Toronto Police and Ontario Provincial Police officers, remain before the courts.

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.