I just witnessed an amusing scam perpetrated by a tow truck operator.

The place: Gerrard eastbound near Broadview
The time: 16:30 EDT
The players: One green minivan, one “Diamond” tow truck, one police car; their respective drivers; many chinese onlookers; your correspondent

Scene 0.

Green minivan parks illegally on south side on street. Traffic is somewhat obstructed by this sole loser.

Scene 1.

Police car pulls up. Cop issues parking ticket. Cop waits.

Scene 2. ten minutes later.

Tow truck pulls up. Cop instructs tow truck to remove offending vehicle. Tow truck operator (father & son) hooks up van slowly. Chinese onlookers look perturbed. They drive away. Cop drives away.

Scene 3. two minutes later.

Tow truck is back, driving the other way on the street, green minivan still on hook.

Scene 4. one minute later.

Tow truck, still carrying its prey, returns to the exact spot where green minivan was originally found. It stops and waits. Traffic is obstructed anew.

Scene 5. ten minutes later.

Owner of minivan appears, and is willing to pay the tow truck operator’s fees. The green minivan is slowly released. Your correspondent exchanges a few merry words with the tow truck people. The minivan’s owner drives it away. Well, not really away, just to the other side of the street where parking is legal. Tow truck drives away.

The End.

The scam is divine. The cop called the tow truck in order to have the minivan removed, so traffic was no longer obstructed. Instead, the tow truck itself obstructs the traffic in the same spot, its operator speculating that the owner is likely to come back soon. Specifically, sooner than it would take them to take the minivan to a depot, drop it off, and find another “client”.

So, who was scammed? Not the owner – he got his minivan back quickly. Not the police – they got their contribution to the parking ticket quota. Just the public – the road users.