David Sweetman and/or Monster Towing has been sued a total of 19 times.
1 case is pending
3 cases the result is unclear from looking at the notes
15 cases he has lost
0 cases he has won or got dismissed

additionally, he and/or his wife has been served with two restraining orders.

So, point being…David Sweetman is a bad person.

You can read my past posts referencing my winning a lawsuit against Monster Towing. Winning the lawsuit was the easy part, because you’re tough to beat when you’re right. But, unfortunately, collecting on a judgment is the difficult part of the process.

After I won the lawsuit, I sent Sweetman a letter demanding my judgment. Just as I expected he would, he totally ignored the letter. So, I took the next step and scheduled a Judgment Debtor’s exam.

Sweetman showed up for the Judgment Debtor’s exam, presided by Judge Burton-Cahill. Sweetman spewed several lies, including that he didn’t know about the exam until two days prior, and that he thought he actually won the lawsuit against me. Her Honor Burton-Cahill rescheduled the exam for a couple of months later, giving him a date and time to be there. She made it very clear to everyone in the room that she would not tolerate Sweetman being absent or unprepared.

A couple of weeks ago was the rescheduled exam. Sweetman did not show. Her Honor was clearly not pleased at all. Based on how many times Sweetman has been sued, it is my guess that she knows who Sweetman is and what he’s all about. Without my having to ask, she told me that she was issuing a civil arrest warrant. It was explained to me that no one would be going to get Sweetman, but the next time he was pulled over for a traffic violation or something like that. I was told that if he was arrested during business hours, he would be taken directly to court. And, if he was arrested outside of business hours, he would be booked into jail, and then taken to court in the morning of the next business day. I thought that would be fine. A look at court records shows that Sweetman is pulled over quite often, so I figured it would just be a matter of time and I’d be patient.

Well, something even better than that happened…

About a week ago, I got a call from one of the Maricopa County Constables. He informed me that he would be going to arrest Sweetman…Laura Sweetman that is, his wife. Her name is also on the business. I didn’t ask, and I don’t know, but my guess is the Constable also knows all about David Sweetman, and this is the only way to get a reaction out of him. The Constable told me that he would be making the arrest later in the week, and then let me know what happened.

I spoke to the Constable yesterday. This is what he told me happened. He said that around 10am Friday morning, he gave a courtesy call to David Sweetman. The Constable informed Sweetman that he had until 3pm to ge the money to the court, or the Constable would be serving the arrest warrant on Laura Sweetman. Considering it would have been very late in the day on a Friday, odds are that Laura would have been spending the whole weekend in jail. The threat of his wife in jail for a weekend is apparently the only legal way to persuade David Sweetman to do the right thing. Sweetman went to the courthouse and paid them my money by the 3pm deadline.

So, this didn’t turn out exactly the way I wanted it. The initial judgment that was granted to me by the small claims hearing officer wasn’t fair, as it didn’t cover all my costs and was insufficiently punitive (Sweetman could make it back with three marks out of his bait lot on a Saturday night). Also, the night I was towed I had zero doubt in my mind that Sweetman would give me back my $120, I just had no idea it would take thirteen months.

But, you know what…I have no regrets. Here’s why…

-Yes, when figuring expenses I’m out some money. And, when you consider time is also money, I’m out even more. However, Sweetman no longer has any of that money. My money ended up in the hands of folks who earned it, not someone who stole it.

-It ended up costing Sweetman money to tow my car.

-Most of all…I did the right thing. I stood up to a bully and a crook. I hate the people who say “I would sue him but I don’t want the hassle blah blah blah…”. It’s because of those people that Sweetman prospers and his scam has no end in sight. If everyone did what I did, Sweetman would have to get an honest job, or starve. I can’t control other people’s behavior, but I can control my own. I did my part, and did everything I could legally do, to end Sweetman’s scam. I have zero doubt that I feel much better about what happened to me now than I would have felt if I did nothing and let Sweetman steal my money from me.

Speaking about Sweetman’s scam, I recently heard something that may explain why the Tempe Police Department refuses to do anything to stop it. I heard that Monster has the contract to tow impounded cars for Tempe PD. Can anyone confirm if that’s true or not?

I can be contacted at bretlinden at the gee mail…

Did this guy just suddenly go soft?
Did Sweetman threaten this guy, or worse?
Did Sweetman pay this guy off to keep his mouth shut?

I think these are all good, fair questions. How about it Brett?

Apperently they own the business known as The Fixx…and they’re renting the space from Mario Sanchez…who owns the north half of the entire block, all the way from Mill ave to Myrtle Ave, see here: http://www.tempe.gov/planning/agendas/DRC/SupportingDocuments/DRCr_M7_032508.pdf

So the tow company and the Fixx…are owned by the same people. What a racket!!!

According to this document, The Fixx property only includes the 7 parking spaces to the south, the parking lot across the alley to the west…is not theirs. That belongs to Mario Garcia, it is unrelated to the space The Fixx is renting. http://www.tempe.gov/planning/agendas/HO/SupportingDocuments/HOr_FixxCoffee_030111.pdf

Now this is where it gets interesting…

“Sec. 32-5. Authority to tow. (a) It shall be unlawful for a private towing carrier to tow or transport a motor vehicle from private property or immobilize a vehicle on private property without the permission of the owner or operator of the vehicle unless such private towing carrier receives a request from a law enforcement agency or the express written permission from the owner of the property or the agent of the owner, who has complied with requirements of this section. The owner or the owner’s agent shall either sign each towing order or authorize the tow by a written contract which is valid for a specific length of time not to exceed one year. The private towing carrier may not act as the agent of the owner.” http://www.tempe.gov/citycode/32towing.htm

Read that last part again…

“The private towing carrier may not act as the agent of the owner.”

If the owners of The Fixx (who owns Monster Towing)…are the ones authorizing tows from the lot to their west…and there is no contract between Monster and Mario Sanchez (who owns the lot)…then the tow company is acting as the owners representative to authorize tows from a lot other than The Fixx’s parking lot.

If that is the case…it’s illegal (to my understanding).

I’ll be looking further into this matter…

If anyone has additional information, please post it.

Well this really upset me…so I went back the next day and thought I’d watch how they do it so quickly from the raised walkway to the north. The very first tow I watched, was an illegal tow. They never even got out of the truck. They backed up to it, and they took off with it. To my knowedge, it’s against the law to leave the property without securing their load. You can see that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNf4bhB6Mlo&feature=related (He did get out while he phoned it in the police, just not to secure it)

Then I decided to go back and see what this parking pass thing is all about. So I parked in their lot on Friday afternoon, walked directly into The Fixx, requested a $5 all day parking pass, and an Iced Coffee. No sooner did I complete my order, the tow truck driver comes walking through the door to check the list…while I’m standing there waiting for my coffee and parking pass!!!

I didn’t hear the clerk cherping up to tell him my car was in the lot, and I knew he hadn’t written my vehicle description down anywhere. My jaw dropped, I gasped as I realized what was happening right before my eyes. I flipped out my phone and recorded him leaving The Fixx. As I waited for my coffee and parking pass…I watched him out the window…on the phone with the police. By the time I received my coffee and parking pass and walked outside…he was already hooking up to my truck to be towed. I recorded the audio of the entire event, and there’s some footage too. Even after walking in to the coffee shop and having the employees verify my story, while holding the parkign pass, the receipt, AND the coffee my hand…he STILL threatened to tow it…and started leaving with when he didn’t like me telling him “drop my shit and leave me alone”…!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTqKHo0-zMc&feature=related

The owner of the parking lot and this tow company are scum!

I haven’t yet decided if I believe Robbie Pfeffer (manager/clerk that day) is an active/willing participant of this malicious cash cow, he may have simply been absent minded and negligent when he failed to let the tow truck driver know I was waiting for a pass.

And the owner of The Fixx (Sandra Arthur, who I beleive is renting the building from the lot owner) who arrived half way through seemed genuine, and almost beat down by the situation. She apologized, and she even refunded the $5 I paid for the pass. I suspect she feels as helpess and abused by the parking lot owner…as the people who park there lot feel (me and you).

However I don’t think she reveives kickbacks…I think she’s simply at their mercy as her landlord, who gets to make all the rules.