Alexander Vinogradsky’s Facebook posts share puns, poke fun at Gen Z and show off a trip to Tokyo Disneyland last year. In others, he is smiling or highlighting damaged cars in need of a tow.

But beneath the cheerful faces and overseas vacations, a constant menace lingered in Vinogradsky’s life: as a kingpin in the Toronto area’s tow truck underworld, he was a marked man.

Before he was gunned down March 28 outside a north-end Toronto plaza, he owned Paramount Towing, one of four outfits allegedly locked in a deadly turf war that prompted a major police crackdown in 2019 and 2020. The investigation prompted dozens of arrests — Vinogradsky’s included.

  • @Hootz
    link
    029 days ago

    Tow trucks should not be private companies, they should be operated by the city / province (outside of municipalities)

    It’s a service everyone needs at some point, create a standard and allow private companies to compete with that.