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Elliot Ness
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Flint contract shifts fortunes for towing co.
Manager in bankruptcy wins bid to bring in big haul for city http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-35/1142772671230120.xml&coll=5
...or the rise of the falsettos Flint real first family
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITIONSunday, March 19, 2006
By Robert Snellrsnell@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6302
FLINT - Mayor Don Williamson's plan to raise millions of dollars, reopen the city jail, and hire more police officers hinges on a bankrupt tow truck company operator with a string of financial problems - and apparent political connections.
Thirteen months ago, Big Foot Towing manager James P. Thomas was $339,400 in debt, facing foreclosure on his office building and owing $11,181 in real estate taxes, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Today, he's still going through Chapter 13 bankruptcy to repay his personal debts. But the company he manages was the low bidder and was awarded a $150,000 contract on March 8 to tow abandoned cars as part of Williamson's fight against blight. And Thomas, 46, is armed with a potential key political ally: In an odd marriage, the company is based in the same home that houses the law office of Flint attorney C. Frederick Robinson, one of the mayor's personal
lawyers.
Robinson, who represented Williamson in his legal battles with the City Council last year, has ties to Big Foot Towing, according to state records.
1. He is listed on the company's articles of incorporation filed with the Department of Labor & Economic Growth. Robinson said he is a member of Big Foot's corporation but didn't specify his role.
He insisted, though, that he has no financial interest in it.
"Never," Robinson said. "Not one nickel in or out."
Still, that link and Thomas' financial troubles concern a City Council member who wonders if the connection contaminated a public bidding process.
"Something stinks in Denmark," said 5th Ward Councilwoman Carolyn Sims, a Williamson critic.
Thomas, who will be making court-ordered payments until 2008, said his personal bankruptcy is irrelevant.
"It's got nothing to do with towing," the Flint Township resident said. "I ain't got nothing to hide."
Big Foot Towing, incorporated in 1994, was dissolved three years later, state records show. Thomas insists it is active now. He said he is not one of the company's owners but runs the business and drives a tow truck. He's listed on the state incorporation papers as Big Foot's "resident agent."
The towing contract is important because Williamson has touted how much money it could ultimately yield for the city, bolstering a tight budget. The mayor has provided few specifics but has said the city will make millions by towing vehicles to an impound lot and selling unclaimed cars.
If Big Foot cannot fulfill the contract for any reason, the solution is simple, Williamson said.
1. "We'll have to put it out for rebidding," he said. Williamson also said he doesn't know Thomas and his financial situation was not considered - nor should it have been.
"Do you think the city should eliminate doing any business with people who've had financial problems?" Williamson said. "Why don't they give the person a chance? Why in the world would somebody criticize somebody before they get started?"
The mayor also said he did not know about Robinson's connections to Big Foot Towing.
"My business with him is strictly on a professional basis," he said. "I have no idea what he does in his personal life."
Robinson downplays any connections between himself and the company. He said Thomas moved into an upstairs office at Robinson's law firm to avoid criticisms that the contract was awarded to a non-Flint businessman. The office is on N. Saginaw Street, just south of the Oak Business Center impound lot.
Robinson said he has known the tow truck driver a "long time." That includes defending him in a 2004 civil lawsuit filed after Thomas allegedly stopped paying on a land contract for a Mt. Morris Township commercial building.
"There are no other connections," Robinson said. "No links with me at all."
Thomas agreed.
"He had a vacancy and it's closer than anywhere else," he said. "(Robinson) ain't got nothing to do with the contract."
As for Williamson, he wasn't involved in the bidding process, Thomas said.
1. "The mayor wouldn't know who we were if he saw us on the street," he said.
Williamson has provided few specifics about his towing plan.
Some Flint officials want to expand space for the impound operation by getting control of 10 acres of the vast former Buick City Complex. The location sits across North Street from the Oak Business Center lot. No agreement with General Motors has been reached on the plan.
Given Williamson's ambitious proposal, Thomas and Big Foot Towing could become important local players.
But court records suggest Thomas struggled financially last year, making only $15,000 in annual salary in 2003 and 2004 from the towing business.
Until he filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 17, 2005, Thomas faced foreclosure on his Mt. Morris Township office building - where Big Foot formerly was based - because he owed $5,650 on a land contract and lacked property insurance.
His financial problems extended to his work vehicle. Thomas defaulted on payments in June for two vehicles leased five days before he filed bankruptcy, court records show.
1. Several council members were upset they weren't made aware of Thomas' financial situation or the Robinson connection before awarding the contract.
"The bidding process under this administration has been tainted since Day 1," said 9th Ward Councilman Scott Kincaid, another Williamson critic.
The mayor said Kincaid should worry about real problems.
"Kincaid should check his own ward. He's got all the prostitution, drugs and topless bars," Williamson said. "He should get them under control before he starts worrying about Big Foot."
Councilman Ehren Gonzales said full disclosure is needed before making financial decisions.
"This is a little concerning to me," the 8th Ward councilman said. "I'm going to ask for some more information from the administration."
The city, which is required to select the lowest responsible bidder, picked Big Foot Towing from among 11 bidders. Thomas won the bid by offering to charge $39.50 per towed car and $29.50 per motorcycle. The second-lowest bid came from Complete Auto of Flint, which bid $50 per vehicle and motorcycle.
Though Thomas listed only one truck on his city license application, Big Foot will have four licensed tow trucks, he said.
"We bought new trucks so the business can boom," he said.
..the ombudsman wanna bees should show us what they got and write an investigative report on this... |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:17 am |
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Steve Myers
Site Admin
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Before an ombudsman can investigate he or she must me appointed.
This is another attempt on the Journal part to muddy the waters with hearsay and innuendos.
I think the first order of business should be to investigate the council handling of the Tyrone Croom fiasco. |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:45 am |
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Adam
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| I think it'd be hard to nail the mayor on this one. It sounded like it was a personal bankruptcy and the mayor did award the contract to the low bidder. It seems like Snell did a pretty good job investigating to me. Perhaps the mayor should have given the council more information although I'm not sure if a personal bankruptcy should make a difference. The bid does seem a little low but like the mayor says if they go bankrupt you can simply rebid the contract. I'm curious who owns the company though. Obviously someone has money to be able to get some new tow trucks. |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:39 pm |
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Steve Myers
Site Admin
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Hard to nail the mayor ?? For what??
Also: The media goes to two malcontent every time they want a sound bite, we never hear anything the other seven members have to say do we?
BTW Adam, are you a council member?? How do you know what the mayor tell or does not tell this council?? |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:55 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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It is interesting to note that in the just over a year that I served on the City Council, Fred Robinson raped the City for over $30,000.00 in legal fees. Most of the lawsuits he filed, he lost...it was over stuff like does the Council have the right to subpeona the Mayor..... Also interesting to note that he is probably the biggest reason Trachelle Young is the City Attorney... he has a close relationship with the Mayor and I am not surprised to see that he has an interest in this business.....
Something else not mentioned in the article was the number of times that this bid was put out... I know of at least three times that it was rebid... on each of the first two times that it was bid, Complete Towing was the low bidder... Something wrong with that process.
One thing that I don't quite understand though... how are we going to make millions of dollars off of junk cars... scrap metal is in the tank right now... no one is going to pay to pick these vehicles up to repair them... there is a reason they have been left next to the abandoned house for the last 10 years.. they are junk.... I wonder if there is going to be any affliation with Spooners on Dort Hwy who owns a metal recycling joint/shredder... oh and by the way, he has been friends with the Don for over 30 years...
Who is going to run the lot? Is it going to be the ex-felon Little Chuckie? I would imagine that it would have to have security 24 hours a day... How many people is that going to take and where are they going to come from and how much is it going to cost? What liability does the city have by controling/storing these vehicles on City Property if something comes up missing? Seems that there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be addressed prior to committing the City in a major way with any amount of resources.. |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:46 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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| Oh by the way... I don't want to sound like I am against it or anything... but a plan, with specifics, needs to be submitted and debated prior to moving forward to ensure that the action is doable within our means... simply because the Mayor says that if we do X that Y will happen doesn't cut it... This is our money that he is throwing around, not his and we deserve the right to know how and for what it is being spent |
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Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:48 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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Josh,
Would you please stop using common sense. It's giving me a headache.
While I think it is a good idea for the city to run the impound. I'm with you here. There are quite a lot of unanswered questions, mostly the real costs. I hadn't even thought of Liability. I also do not see the "Millions" talked about in Scrap cars. You are correct. Scrap metal is down right now. And just because the Mayor says it will make millions. Doesn't mean it is going to. Just because be built a petting zoo in Flint, and a Race Track, and a casino. Doesn’t mean this will work out too.
I also have a suggestion for where to put the impound lot. I think it should be located "IN FLINT" just off MT MORRIS ROAD, at the Intersection of I-75. I think that would be a great place for a lot filled with JUNK cars. It sure beats the mountains of concrete there now. I'll bet we could even get a good deal on the lease too. |
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Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:16 am |
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