Towing owner's past full of arrests.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

A towing company owner accused of illegally towing cars has a habit of breaking the law while on the job, police and court records show.

James Louis Husk, owner of B&B Towing and a convicted felon, once pleaded guilty to beating up a man whose car he was towing. Husk's father, who works for the company, was accused of firing a gun during the fight.

Husk and other B&B drivers have been busted for driving without proper licenses and insurance, forcing police to hire tow companies to impound B&B trucks, according to police and court records.

The Better Business Bureau says the company has an "unsatisfactory record due to unanswered complaints." The state attorney general's office has received three complaints about B&B Towing in as many years, spokeswoman Jan Margosian said. Husk himself has a violent criminal history that spans his entire adult life.

Husk, 32, and tow truck driver Scott Lee Webb, 43, were arrested Monday on three counts each of second-degree theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle and theft by extortion. The men were released Tuesday from the Lane County Jail pending a grand jury indictment, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Mortimore said.

A second tow truck driver has not been arrested.

Neither Husk nor Webb could be reached for comment Tuesday.

They are accused of posting no-parking signs at a vacant lot on West 11th Avenue last month and then immediately towing cars parked there, Eugene police said.

Husk charged the vehicle owners his standard $160 fee to release the cars from his Prairie Road impound yard.

"This is not the first allegation we've had against B&B Towing Service of this nature," Eugene police spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said. "This is the first time we've had reliable witness statements to corroborate the allegations."

Detective Scott Thomas said complaints have been "rolling in" since Husk and co-owner Norman Vierling bought the company in July 1999. But police never had enough evidence to charge Husk with a crime.

However, the Lane County sheriff's office arrested Husk and his father, Kenneth Husk, 59, in April 2001 after a physical fight with a man whose vehicle the Husks were trying to tow, court records show.

Kenneth Husk, whom the federal courts classified as a "career criminal," was accused of firing a gun during the altercation. He was on federal post-prison supervision at the time.

James Husk pleaded guilty to a charge of felony third-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months probation and $500 in restitution.

James Husk was still on probation when he was arrested Monday. His driver's license is suspended, but witnesses said he drove his own white Chevy Suburban to the gravel lot on the morning of July 25 and posted the signs, police said.

He then drove across the street where two B&B tow trucks waited.

"He basically gave them the thumbs-up and they started towing cars," Thomas said.

Witnesses noted the license plates and telephone numbers written on signs posted on the cars advertising them for sale, police said. Investigators were able to identify three of the vehicle owners using the information. The same witnesses were able to pick Husk out of a photo lineup, Thomas said.

Bob Duncan, manager of automotive services for AAA of Oregon, said few rules govern the business practices of towing companies. The companies must be bonded and drivers must have the proper vehicle licenses, but there is no dedicated agency that monitors towing businesses.

"Regulation in this industry is very weak," Duncan said. "All you need to do is find a used tow truck someplace and put a name on the door."

Three people towed by B&B filed civil complaints with the attorney general's office in 2000, 2001 and 2002, spokeswoman Margosian said.

Two of the complaints alleged that B&B acted unconscionably by exploiting vulnerable motorists.

A third complaint accused B&B of damaging a car during towing.

In one of the cases, the complainant just wanted the situation documented.

In another, B&B never responded to letters sent by the attorney general, Margosian said.

A third case remains open and under investigation, she said.

Individual municipalities sometimes establish guidelines for companies hired to do police tows or respond to car wrecks, but those rarely govern private property impounds, which are B&B's specialty.

The city of Portland requires that tow companies wait 10 days before towing cars after posting no-parking signs, but Eugene has no such requirement. However, companies are expected to wait a reasonable amount of time before towing cars, Thomas said.

"We have the expectation that the posting occur before the problem vehicle shows up," the detective said.

Monday's arrest was just the latest for Husk, who has convictions for felony attempted first-degree arson, first-degree theft, second-degree burglary, failure to appear in court, felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a deer.

Husk also has been the subject of several restraining orders, including one filed by his stepmother and another by a next-door neighbor, both of whom claimed that Husk had threatened their lives and physically intimidated them, court records show.

Husk's driver's license has been suspended "many, many, many times" since 1988, according to Kevin Beckstrom, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. The suspensions are the result of convictions for failing to comply with court orders, failing to appear in court, driving while uninsured and driving while suspended.