10th Chicago Cop Charged In Federal Probe Of Tow Truck Scams

November 16, 2012 3:33 PM " CHICAGO (CBS) - A 10th Chicago police officer has been indicted in the FBI’s ongoing investigation of a scheme in which tow truck operators were paying bribes to cops who steered them work.

CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman first exposed how tow truck drivers were paying off cops who arranged for them to tow away cars damaged in traffic accidents.

Gregory Garibay, an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was charged Friday with mail fraud and attempted extortion.

He’s accused of scheming to defraud insurance companies by filing a false accident report in one accident, staging another accident, and taking $2,200 in extortion payments from a tow truck operator who was cooperating with the FBI.

The tow truck operator said in an exclusive interview how he inflated towing, storage, and other fees charged to accident victims; in order to cover the cost of corruption.

“We had to pay the cops in order to get the tows; $400 or more a car,” he said "

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