Cops: Tow Company On Hook for Improper Fees, Driver for Not Having Permit

A Basking Ridge towing company was cited for improper fees and one of its drivers was issued a summons for operating without a permit and ordered to return a pair of vehicles to their owners, Morristown Police said.

According to a report by Officer Eric Petr, Morristown residents Matthew Strambi and Zachary Certner returned from a basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 22 and found their cars had been towed from the Staples parking lot by Basking Ridge Towing "within the last 30 minutes."

Petr was dispatched to the scene where he witnessed Certner call the towing company and attempt to get his vehicle returned to him that night, the report said. 

According to Petr, Gerard Schmidt Sr. told Certner the car would not be released that evening, prompting the officer to take the phone, the report said.

Petr said he had "several incidents in the past" with Schmidt, advised there was a legal obligation to release the vehicle due to provisos in the Anti-Predatory Towing Act, the report said.

Schmidt provided the contact information for 36-year-old tow truck driver Robert Provenzano who arrived with the vehicles, and after speaking with his boss, Gerard Schmidt Jr., said the car owners would each be billed $125 for the tow, $50 for service/labor, plus a $65 storage fee, totaling $240, the police said.

Petr told Provenzano there would be no storage fee, because the vehicles had not been held for 12 hours. Provenzano said Petr had heard him wrong: It was a $35 administrative fee, making the total bill $210 each, the report said.

According to the report, the officer then contacted Sgt. Michael Molnar who Petr said "is familiar with the town ordinance and anti-predatory towing act" and Molnar said an administrative fee can only can be applied to post-accident services.

Molnar told Petr that Schmidt was informed a week earlier that Provenzano did not have a permit but "had started the application process," the report said.

According to the report, both cars were returned to the drivers, a pair of summonses were issued to Schmidt Jr. for improper fees and Provenzano was ticketed for operating a tow truck without a permit. 

Petr said he mailed a follow-up letter to Schmidt Jr. outlining his non-compliance with the town ordinance, the report said. 

Requests for comment from Basking Ridge Towing were not returned.