Baltimore’s spending board terminated a contract with a city towing vendor Wednesday over vigorous objections from City Council President Nick Mosby and the vendor himself.
The decision capped weeks of investigation, argument and an allegation of racism over a probe of the contract, sparked by a January report from Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming saying West Baltimore vendor Universal Towing violated the terms of its contract by towing three vehicles to a private rather than a city lot. The company also violated the state’s transportation code, the report said, by attempting to scrap the vehicles.
The owner of the three vehicles, Enterprise, made a complaint to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, whose investigators brought the issue to the inspector general.
In January, Baltimore suspended its contract with Universal Towing, which involves towing vehicles at the request of police, citing the inspector general’s findings. The city Law Department conducted its own subsequent investigation, and recommended the Baltimore Board of Estimates end the contract.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Emily Opilo over at the Baltimore Sun
