On May 31, 2004, Jesse Sensibar filed Lisa Carroll's Ford F-250 as an abandoned vehicle. Carroll had purchased the truck four years earlier with a $25,000 cash loan from a family member. Carroll repeatedly contacted Sensibar attempting to get the truck out of the tow yard. By August, Sensibar was driving the truck, titled in his name. Carroll then contacted the police, who informed her that the alleged injustice was a civil matter. Sensibar now estimates the value of the truck, which he still possesses, at $14,000.. Though Sensibar admits in documented interviews that Carroll contacted him about the vehicle, he signed MVD paperwork stating, "I certify that, as of the date of application, no person has presented proof of ownership or proof of interest in the vehicle described above.". On December 21, 1999, Dennis Reinke was arrested for driving under the influence. Two days later, Alliance Towing removed his car from a Circle K parking lot. On January 14, 2000, Reinke executed a document issuing power of attorney and "control over all property including automobiles" to Ronald Turner. On January 26, 2000, Alliance Towing filed a Report of Abandoned Vehicle, answering "no" to the question, "Has anyone contacted you claiming ownership or right of possessions to the vehicle?" On February 29, 2000, the MVD issued Alliance a title to the Corvette. Alliance later sold the car. In 2004, after filing a lawsuit, Reinke received a cash settlement from Alliance.

Held for Ransom

Jessie Sensibar's arms are painted with tattoos. His fingers, clad in chunky silver rings, casually reach to stroke his goatee or adjust his black-rimmed glasses as he speaks. His rough voice is likeable in person. His outward swagger and casual shop-talk suggest he likes what he does.

Distraught and with limited funds, Carroll tried everything to get her vehicle back, including notifying the Flagstaff police. "I found out Arizona has a 'no-ransom' law that they're not allowed to hold a vehicle ransom in rural areas," Carroll says. "I let the police know, and they said it was a civil matter and they couldn't help me."

Meanwhile, Sensibar had all wheels in motion to obtain an abandoned vehicle title on Carroll's truck, and he's not apologizing. When confronted with the facts of Carroll's case, Sensibar is straight-forward about his position and his actions. He says he operates within the parameters of the law and though it may be unpopular, it's how he makes a living. He adds that this is how many Arizona tow companies operate.

Sensibar also admits he planted roadblocks along the way to prevent Carroll from retrieving her vehicle. "I did some other things I think that probably made it so she didn't get the car back. I don't feel bad about that," Sensibar says. "If I get four of those (abandoned vehicles) in a year, that pays my salary," he said. "I don't need that much to live."

Deregulated Deeds

A recent Channel 15 News report caught one Valley tow truck driver pushing a car into a fire lane, snapping a photo and then towing it away. But as Carroll's story illustrates, the scams can go further than illegitimate impounds and excessive fees. Some tow companies are keeping vehicles altogether. And while Sensibar's actions may seem extreme, they are not uncommon.

Because there is no one agency assigned to supervise the Arizona towing industry, cases like Carroll's are difficult to regulate. The current system takes tow companies at their word on the status of high-value "abandoned" vehicles. And considering the majority of the 60,000 abandoned vehicles reported each year are junk, it's dufficult to sort high-value vehicles like Carrolls from the mix.

Cydney Demodica, spokesperson for the Arizona MVD says there's nothing her agency can do once the new title has been issued. "The business practices of the tow company are at question here," she says of Carroll's case.

"The industry is an unregulated industry. They are not under the authority of the MVD. We simply own one piece of the puzzle," she says. "What these other people are doing outside, before the process begins with us, I can't respond to that."

Many of the other pieces of the towing industry puzzle are completely unsupervised, and those within the industry know it. That may be one reason the Maricopa Sheriff's Office and the Arizona District Attorney continue their investigations into Valley towing practices.

In front of that backdrop, Sensibar's open explanation of practically legalized theft may seem less surprising. Mark Bogan, a retired Mesa police officer who was responsible for towing contracts during the mid-'90s, says the Arizona towing industry is rank with fraud, from unreasonable add-on costs to vehicle seizures and collusion with local and state officials.

"You're going to find it very difficult to get anything you can get a hold of," the retired officer says of finding paperwork evidence. "Those people know how to operate. That's how they've gotten as far and as lucrative as they are," he says.

Justice is Sued

Valley resident Dennis Reinke has come to know the abandoned vehicle statutes in Arizona all too well. Like Carroll, Reinke's car was towed and then literally taken out from under him. While Reinke sat in jail, Alliance Towing proceeded to sell his car.

Even though Reinke sent a friend with his power of attorney to retrieve his Corvette, according to court records, Alliance still checked "no" on the MVD paperwork asking if the company had been contacted by anyone about the vehicle.

"(They) knew I was in prison, and stated only the owner could claim it because he knew I couldn't," Reinke says of the tow yard owner. In a jailhouse interview, Reinke says his scenario is common with DUI offenders. Others in prison told him he'd never see his cash-purchased Corvette again. But Reinke was savvier than Alliance had anticipated, ultimately receiving an out-of-court cash settlement.

Route 66 Recovery owner Jesse Sensibar says many Arizona tow companies practice similar "abandoned vehicle" policies. That may be one reason he believes his actions to be above board.

A Bad Rap?

Bruce Phillips, the attorney who represented Alliance Towing against Reinke, has represented a number of Valley towing firms in lawsuits. He admits Alliance settled Reinke's case out of court but adds that the tow industry has gotten a bad rap from the news media.

"Not that they haven't at times deserved some adverse press," Phillips says. "I'm not saying there haven't been some extreme cases, but how many cars are towed a day in this town? They tow so many and have a few problems with a couple."

Valley-based Daryl's Towing manager Chad Gammage agrees that a few greasy characters are tarnishing the industry's image. Gammage says state and city bidding policies favor dishonest tow companies by awarding contracts on terms like "one-cent" tows that are financially unrealistic.

Those economic realities suggest the money must be made up in other ways. Sensibar is one tow yard owner who's not afraid to say so. Even in Flagstaff, Sensibar says the contracts are where the money is. "If you want to look for fraud, just follow the money," he says.

"It's not just the dirt bag who put the contract together," Sensibar says of city contracts. "It's the purchasing agent and everybody in the city who accepts it. There needs to be some sort of a truth. We all know it costs $138 to tow a car, so if you're bidding at less than $138, you're either stupid or you're going to be making the money some other, backdoor way."

Sensibar's tow of Lisa Carroll's Ford F-250 was a result of his company's contract with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. Without that contract, Sensibar would have no access to the vehicles after drug and DUI arrests. And with an insider's understanding of the abandoned vehicle process, it seems handy to know a vehicle owner may not be out of custody before the 40 days required for the abandoned vehicle authorization.

Letter of the Law

Despite Sensibar's claims to operate within the boundaries of the law, MVD documentation obtained by The Times and signed by Sensibar suggests otherwise.

On an Abandoned Vehicle Report dated May 31, 2005 Sensibar clearly states that no person had contacted him claiming ownership of Carroll's Ford F-250. But on several occasions Sensibar related detailed stories of Carroll's repeated attempts to obtain her vehicle. Sensibar adds that some vehicle owners will never be able to pay their tow and storage bills. He suggests Carroll was one such owner, and filing those vehicles as abandoned is his only way of guaranteeing a paycheck.

"When I got out of jail, not that same day, but the day after, I went to go get my truck," Carroll says. "Sensibar told me I could not take it until I got my registration and insurance current. I didn't have a whole lot of money. I didn't know he was being dishonest at that point in time," she adds.

"Then he said I couldn't take it off the lot until I got my brakes fixed. Later I found out he had obtained an abandoned title, and I no longer owned my truck. He ended up getting it. I ended up having nothing. The truck wasn't in my name anymore."

In a recent interview, Sensibar said he doesn't practice stonewalling. But in an earlier conversation he claimed that he can be very difficult to get a vehicle from. "Absolutely, some of them deserve it. I'm a whole lot less helpful. If I think that you didn't work for this thing very hard, I'm a whole lot more likely to try and keep you from getting it back," Sensibar said.

Like Reinke and other victims, Carroll didn't know Sensibar was filing for an abandoned title while he was delaying her requests for the truck. Once she found out Sensibar had secured the title to her truck, she called the Flagstaff Police Department, but was told her dispute was now a civil matter.

In other words, those who can't afford a lawyer may never see their vehicle again. Lisa Carroll is one such person, unable to afford a lawyer and out a vehicle still valued at about $14,000.

: If a tow company will not release your vehicle:

1. Contact MVD immediately, notifying them the vehicle is not abandoned.
2. As with any legal dispute, date and duplicate all your correspondence.
3. Print the state statutes or municipal codes that apply to your situation, highlight them and take them in hand to the tow yard with the phone number of a lawyer also in hand.
4. Reinke v. Alliance Towing, 2004, confirms that a tow company cannot file for abandoned title if the owner is trying to claim the vehicle. As such, prove and document your attempts to recover the vehicle.
5. According to a 1997 ruling in Tucson, tow companies cannot create a lien on your vehicle to pay the vehicles' fees unless you give consent.

The most common ways tow companies hike bills, as listed by tow owners and managers. These tag-on fees are entirely legal if they are not specified in the city tow contract.

1. Retow fee to move vehicle to another tow yard.
2. Moving fee, to move a vehicle within the yard.
3. Gate fee, to let you in or out of the yard to obtain possession.
4. Administrative fees.
5. Daily storage fees.

By the Numbers:

10-20 Number of days within which a tow company can file a vehicle as abandoned. 30 Number of days the MVD waits to send an Abandoned Vehicle Authorization to the tow company.
$14 Total cost for a tow company to secure title on a vehicle they claim as abandoned. $10 for the original abandoned report. $4 for transfer of title.
60,000 Approximate number of abandoned vehicle reports filed in Arizona in 2004. The majority of abandoned vehicles are literal junk that tow companies sell as scrap metal. But some are high value, no-lien vehicles.
0 Number of federal, state and local agencies that validate or inquire about a tow company's claim that a high-value vehicle is actually abandoned.
45 Number of days one Arizona tow owner says he needs to obtain title on a vehicle he claims as abandoned.