A former tow truck operator was taken into custody in a San
Martin courtroom Tuesday without bail and now faces 25 years to
life in prison for a potential third strike felony.
A former tow truck operator was taken into custody in a San Martin courtroom Tuesday without bail and now faces 25 years to life in prison for a potential third strike felony.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office leveled a fifth round of charges against Vincent Cardinalli Sr., 64, and revealed the longtime Hollister resident was convicted of two felony arson charges in the 1970s.
“The allegations were hiring someone to burn down a residence and business,” said Santa Clara County Deputy Districy Attorney Dale Lohman.
Cardinalli Sr. could be sentenced to life in prison because of California’s Three Strikes law, and is being held in a Santa Clara County jail without bail. The new round of charges also included special allegations that Cardinalli Sr. committed some of the suspected crimes while out on bail.
At the request of Cardinalli Sr.’s attorney, Mike Pekin, Judge Hector E. Ramon scheduled a bail hearing for Jan. 31.
“Remember one thing that you’re not going to be able to ignore is this exposure,” Ramon told Pekin, “which is 25 years to life.”
The district attorney’s office also announced a new charge of felony attempted grand theft against Cardinalli Sr.’s son, Paul Stephen Greer, 30, of Clovis. Greer’s bail was increased from $250,000 to $350,000, but he was released in the presence of two bail bondsmen at the courthouse Tuesday.
The father and son, two other family members and a process server now face a total of 169 felony charges stemming from hundreds of lawsuits filed in hopes of collecting towing and storage fees for their defunct towing businesses. Charges include perjury, extortion, grand theft, fraud and embezzlement.
“This is a case based on patterns of conduct,” Lohman said.
Both Cardinalli Sr. and Greer are expected to enter pleas at a hearing Feb. 29. At the same hearing, a judge should set a date to hear evidence to decide whether the two men should be tried for the suspected crimes.
