Two truck operators are expected to enter a plea this afternoon
on 157 felony counts relating to business practices that tricked
small claims judges and turned local courts into a
”
lawsuit mill,
”
according Santa Clara County Office of the District
Attorney.
Two truck operators are expected to enter a plea this afternoon on 157 felony counts relating to business practices that tricked small claims judges and turned local courts into a “lawsuit mill,” according Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney.
Vincent Cardinalli Sr., 64, of Hollister, and Paul Stephen Greer, 30, of Clovis, will appear at the South County Courthouse on charges that include attempted embezzlement, attempted grand theft and perjury. If the pair enters a plea, the judge could set a date for preliminary hearing, in which the judge would decide whether to try Greer and Cardinalli.
The father and son were arrested in June when the first of four rounds of charges were filed against them in Santa Clara County.
Cardinalli’s A&R Towing operated out of Hollister under multiple names until about 2004, the same year Greer’s B&C Towing, of Gilroy, was fired by the California Highway Patrol for what it deemed as business practices bordering on “criminal.”
Two of their relatives, Rosemary Ball and Michael Anthony Ball, also each face four and two felony counts, respectively, and process server Jeffrey Horan faces eight felony counts in Santa Clara County in connection with the towing companies, according to court documents there.
A defense attorney for Cardinalli and Greer, Art Cantu, said he is not worried about the number of charges against his clients.
“Those numbers aren’t intimidating to me,” Cantu said.
Anyone who believes they may have been defrauded by Cardinalli or Greer should call district attorney investigator Gil Vizzusi at 408-792-2993, or D.A. investigator Dave Keneller at 408-792-2478.
