PITTSBURGH -- Because of Team 4's investigation into the practices of private towing companies in Pittsburgh, City Council President Doug Shields said he'll try to change the law.

But what about enforcing the existing law written 10 years ago after a task force studied the issue?

Team 4 has learned city officials have not issued one violation to any towing company in the past 2 1/2 years -- not even after investigative reporter Jim Parsons exposed apparent violations in January.

When your car is towed without your permission from private property, Pittsburgh's city ordinance limits the amount a tow company can charge you. The maximum charge is $110, and the law allows you to pay that with a credit card.

Our investigation in January revealed at least one towing company charging more than the maximum and only accepting cash. Now, we've found another. And no one appears to be doing anything about it.

West Penn Hospital's Dr. Angelo Constantino is still upset about what happened to his car six weeks ago, when he parked in the private lot behind a South Side office building. He had an evening volunteer meeting.

"It looks like the parking lot for the building I had the meeting in, and it's wide open with multiple open spots. It looks like you just park in there," Constantino said.

It was dark and snowing, and Constantino said he didn't see the tow-away signs. When he emerged from his meeting, his car was gone. He found out it was towed to Allegheny Auto on Baldwin Road, but when he called there, he said he was told to call back in the morning.

"I called back a few more times and said, 'You have to come get me, I'm freezing to death out here,'" Constantino said. "They told me to go find shelter, so I did, and to call Yellow Cab, and they told me go to an ATM and get cash out because they would only take cash to get the car back."

As Team 4 reported in January, the city ordinance is clear about tow truck companies and cash. They are required to accept credit cards, and there's a maximum charge of $110 for a non-consensual tow.

Constantino had to pay $170 cash.

"I would suspect that most tow truck operators have violated this ordinance," City Controller Michael Lamb said. "I don't think it is being enforced."

Last month, Team 4 submitted a written request to the city for copies of all citations issued to tow truck companies in the past two years for violating the ordinance on overcharges and refusing to take credit cards. We got our answer. Not one citation has been issued.

No citation has been issued to Howard's Towing, either. Not even after January, when Team 4 told the story of Karen Wedge.

Wedge says she paid to park her car at a gas station, only to have it towed by Howard's. The company charged her $180 and insisted on cash. We never got a response from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office to our questions about Wedge's case.

Constantino called the mayor's complaint line a few weeks later, alleging that Allegheny Towing violated the city ordinance.

"I filed a complaint there and was told, 'We'll look into it, but you probably will never hear anything, so don't bother calling back,'" Constantino said.

Team 4 asked the mayor's press secretary for an interview with anyone on the towing enforcement issue and got no response.

Last week, we ran into City Finance Director Scott Kunka, whose department is one of several that shares oversight for towing.

"What is your office doing about that?" Parsons asked.

"I'm not sure about that situation," Kunka said. "I'll have to get back to you on that, Jim."

We're still waiting for that call.

"This city has a problem with enforcing its own laws," City Council President Doug Shields said.

Shields is making an offer you won't hear very often from politicians. So, if you, too, have been towed away in the city, listen to this.

"My office number is 255-8965. If you have had a problem with towing companies, I would like to know about it," Shields said. "Towing companies are going to find out that we do have a rule of law in this town."

We've tried to reach the owner of Allegheny Auto, but our calls have not been returned.

At Howard's Towing, the company -- as of last week -- was still accepting cash only and charging $180 for a non-consensual tow.

How much does Howard's charge to tow a vehicle when the customer has a choice and is shopping for the best price? We called Howard's and asked about that. The charge is $50.

Constantino has filed a complaint against Allegheny Auto at District Court on the South Side. His hearing is April 14.

Shields says he wants to hear from towing "victims," as he calls them, because he intends to draft new legislation to better regulate towing companies in Pittsburgh.

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