23 tow companies apply for Lake County contracts
Post-Tribune
March 15, 2017
Twenty-three towing companies have submitted surveys and bids to the Lake County commissioners for the chance to become one of the businesses used for sheriff department tows.
Eight of those companies currently are approved vendors under the existing sheriff's department contract, Commissioner Michael Repay, D-Hammond, said.
Commissioners in February made available the survey and guidelines to help select potential tow companies after the county council in January stripped the power to award towing contracts from Sheriff John Buncich in the wake of federal corruption charges stemming from the towing operation.
The guidelines list 23 specific criteria each tow company – included those already contracting with the sheriff's department -- must meet to be considered. Criteria include items such as hours of operation, liability coverage and compliance with regulatory standards.
Repay said he expected to see a larger number of potential vendors apply. Now it will be up to officials to review the qualifications of each company, weed out any that do not meet the proposal terms and then decide how many it may choose to hire.
Approved companies will have to have the ability to quickly respond to dispatches.
"The police tow is a matter of public urgency," Repay said.
The county currently operates under the terms of the existing sheriff's department contract while the survey and bid process is underway. There are nine towing districts under the current contract. Repay said a map will be drawn with the locations of the qualifying tow companies included to determine if any tweaks to the existing districts or the addition of new districts are needed. There likely will be more than one operator assigned to each district, he said.
"Our 911 has the technology to do whatever we want," Repay said. For example, they can dispatch tow companies by assigned district and in a rotation so the same company is not used over and over while other approved towing contractors are not.
He said towing companies already under contract with the sheriff's department had to submit the survey and meet the guidelines to be considered for continued work in the wake of the sheriff's towing scandal.
In November, Buncich, former Chief of Police Timothy Downs and William Szarmach, of CSA Towing in Lake Station, were named in a multicount indictment alleging an illegal towing scheme in which the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich's Boosters, according to court records. All three are facing charges of wire fraud, while Buncich and Szarmach also are charged with bribery.
The sheriff, whose department was in charge of deciding which companies were called for towing services, and the chief allegedly steered business toward towing operators in exchange for cash and checks, the U.S. attorney alleged in a 14-page indictment. Buncich allegedly took more than $25,000 in cash bribes and $7,000 in checks from Szarmach and another towing operator identified as "Individual A," according to the indictment.
Buncich and Szarmach pleaded not guilty during their initial appearances in November.
Downs struck a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, which a federal judge has not yet accepted, admitting he allegedly cooperated with Buncich to solicit brides from tow truck operators for favorable treatment.
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