Three of the four family members embroiled in a suspected
tow-and-sue scam pleaded no contest to dozens of felony charges,
leaving only the family’s patriarch, Vincent Cardinalli Sr., as the
last remaining suspect in the case.
Three of the four family members embroiled in a suspected tow-and-sue scam pleaded no contest to dozens of felony charges, leaving only the family’s patriarch, Vincent Cardinalli Sr., as the last remaining suspect in the case.
Cardinalli’s son, tow truck operator Paul Greer, 33, pleaded no contest to 58 felony counts Friday afternoon, according to a source close to the case. Cardinalli’s daughter, Rosemary Ball, 35, and her husband, Michael Ball, 39, also pleaded no contest, the source said.
In total, the family faced 158 counts of conspiracy, forgery, perjury, attempted grand theft and other felony charges stemming from a tow-and-sue scheme they used to parlay their towing and collections businesses into a gold mine, according to court documents.
After being bounced around the court system for years, the case was scheduled to head to trial in August. It is unclear how the three defendants’ recent plea entries will affect that timeline.
Cardinalli, 67, was originally arrested in June 2007 along with his accomplices on 88 felony counts. He then posted bail but was subsequently re-arrested in January 2008 after the court discovered, thanks to reporting in the Hollister Free Lance, two arson convictions in 1979.
Since then, Cardinalli has been sitting in a Santa Clara County Jail cell awaiting his day in court. Last year, Cardinalli represented himself during a five-week preliminary hearing that, at times, inched along while he stumbled through his own defense. Late last year, Cardinalli heeded the advice of Superior Court Judge Gilbert Brown and secured attorney Tammy Miller-Holmgren through the county’s Independent Defender’s Office. Cardinalli’s bail is currently $500,000, according to the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections.
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