Last year, a Bay Area tow truck company went viral after it attempted to seize a vehicle in the middle of bumper-to-bumper traffic in downtown San Francisco while the owners were driving it. Now, the operators of the same “predatory” company are being accused of lighting their competitors’ vehicles on fire, adding to a growing list of legal troubles.
According to a March 11 indictment filed in the Northern District of California, several associates of Auto Towing and Specialty Towing destroyed at least six rival trucks in the Bay Area “by means of fire and explosives” from April to October 2023. “The purpose of the conspiracy was, among other things, to retaliate against competitor towing companies for perceived wrongs and to drive more business to Auto Towing and Specialty Towing by impeding their competitors’ business prospects,” the indictment alleges. The allegations detail the damage and destruction of vehicles on four separate occasions in San Francisco and East Palo Alto.
The defendant accused of orchestrating the scheme, Jose Badillo, has already had multiple run-ins with the law…