Badillo, 29, sought to literally drive more business to his three primary Bay Area towing companies — Auto Towing, Specialty Towing and Jose’s Towing — by “impeding their competitors’ business prospects” and retaliating against “perceived wrongs,” according to the federal indictment.
The investigation is being conducted by a federal organized crime task force aimed at dismantling “the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to explain why organized crime investigators are prosecuting Badillo’s case.
A tow truck is seen towing a vehicle to the Auto Return on 7th Street on Dec. 1, 2015, in San Francisco. (Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
If convicted, Badillo faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 20.
Badillo, 29, also faces unrelated criminal charges of money laundering and insurance fraud in two pending federal cases, as well as one case of welfare fraud brought by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Allen Sawyer, a Stockton-based attorney representing Badillo in all three cases, said his client maintains his innocence.
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