Saturday, February 21, 2009

Scanning License Plates, Looking For Scofflaws — And Revenue -- Courant.com


Scanning License Plates, Looking For Scofflaws — And Revenue -- Courant.com It's coming to New Britain soon!

3 comments:

  1. The take for 2008? (New Haven)

    More than $2.7 million in back taxes, tickets and penalties. Not bad for an investment of about $100,000 for cameras, computer databases and equipment, said C.J. Cuticello, New Haven's tax collector.
    ----------------------------------
    This is the answer to liberals who were crying, how can we afford to buy the equipment!

    It is also a good thing for New Britain that Chief Gagliardi is in tune with modern technology and obviously an open minded chief who is willing to consider new ideas, unlike those dinosaur chiefs in many towns who are stuck in the 1940's mentality.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Plate Hunter” Was A Scofflaw, Too
    by Melissa Bailey | February 20, 2009 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

    New Haven's plate finder company owes taxes on it's plate finder truck; read below:

    Platehunter.jpg
    Paul Bass File Photo

    On the first day back on the job after a three-month hiatus, New Haven’s controversial Plate Hunter program hit a new speed bump: One of the companies the city hired to snatch scofflaws cars turned out to be a scofflaw itself.

    A red tow truck, plate number 10519, was on the prowl Friday morning, as the city launched the second year of an aggressive tax-collection program.

    Using a plate-scanning device, the wrecker’s crew searched for scofflaws’ cars to seize.

    It turned out the wrecker was eligible to be seized itself: Lombard Motors LLC, owed $1,064.73 in back taxes the tow truck, according to city records.

    When city spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga learned of the news from the Independent Friday afternoon, she said the company’s owner, Anthony Monaco, faced losing city work for a second time if he didn’t pay up.

    The city tax collector, CJ Cuticello, called Monaco to notify him of the problem. Monaco rushed in and made the payment at 4:25 p.m., Mayorga said.

    She said Monaco believed that the truck fell under an interstate truck exemption, when in fact it did not.

    “Obviously we require that these tow-truck companies of course uphold the same law that ask everyone else to uphold,” Mayorga said. “If something is due, they need to pay.”

    Friday wasn’t the first time Monaco faced being booted from the program. Last April, the Independent reported that the owner was double-dipping by opening a sham “new” towing company next door to his original one in order to get extra city business.

    His business on Gando Drive had two side-by-side doors with signs for two “companies”: Lombard Motors and Anthony’s Hi-Tech.
    At the time, Monaco claimed he was not double-dipping. Click here for a story and a video showing his response.

    The city eventually removed one of Monaco’s companies from the city rotation and suspended him from towing for one week.

    Friday’s snag was the latest in a series for the Plate Hunter program. State marshals were removed from overseeing program after the Independent revealed that one of them had waived a tow for a politically connected reverend. Citizens who didn’t owe any taxes found their cars towed due to mixups, too.

    Previous coverage of New Haven’s towing and marshal industries:
    Alders: Rein In Marshal Fees
    8 Towed Who Didn’t Owe

    ReplyDelete
  3. Of course with $2.7 million in revenue generated, there is going to be a few problems, but of course the liberals would have you give up the $2.7 million as the solution to the problem. We all know what Democrats feel about paying taxes. It is other people's taxes that they so love to spend.

    ReplyDelete