Blue city rewards thieves
This one is just a miserable comment on why crime doesn’t pay.
San Antonio likes to bill itself as Military City, USA. Given the amount of space and people devoted to the military there, with both Army AND Air Force facilities, medical training too, as I recall – there should be some incentive to stay on the military’s good side, wouldn’t you think?
And associated with San Antonio, let’s recall UR Vehicle Management Solutions, URVMS, now just known simply as VMS. Ringing a bell yet?
An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department found San Antonio had auctioned at least 227 vehicles registered to active military personnel between 2011 and 2019 without obtaining the necessary court orders first. The city was ordered to pay over $100,000 in penalties and set up a settlement fund to compensate victims.
The company used to sell the vehicles, according to News 4 San Antonio, was called UR Vehicle Management Solutions (URVMS) — since changed to simply VMS.
Around the time of the settlement, the broadcaster says it reported the company had also auctioned 67 civilian vehicles without the required notifications. This prompted the city to temporarily halt auctions, conduct an audit and replace URVMS with a new contractor.
Can tell where we rate…over two hundred military vehicles over a ten year period, no huhu, everything’s jake. A third that many civilian vehicles auctioned off and they gotta change the system.
Did I say ‘auctioned off’? How about calling it what it was… STOLEN.
Former Air Force Staff Sergeant Paula Rangel was one of the complainants in the vehicle auction case. She says her car had been sold off while she was deployed in Afghanistan.
“I was devastated and I felt let down,” she told the local broadcaster in a story published Feb. 26. “I had just come back from a combat zone for seven months and to be just told ‘Oh, well, got to start over.’”
What da actual …?
So a few years later, all is well, huh?
Now, years after paying a hefty settlement, the city has granted Vehicle Management Solutions (VMS) a 10-year, $98 million contract to help run one of its impound lots again, according to News 4 San Antonio.
“The city has put in place tools and processes to ensure that citizens’ vehicles are not sold without them receiving notification two times and then 30 days passing,” San Antonio Police Department assistant director Rick Riley told the news outlet.
For example, the City hired a third party that enables us to search for vehicle ownership and military status when vehicles are impounded. These tools were approved by the Justice Department and have been in place since 2022. This history was not discussed before the Council’s vote last week because the issue has been resolved.”
The broadcaster says it reached out to three city council members on the public safety committee, but none wanted to comment. It also contacted VMS, which referred them to city officials. MoneyWise
I’m sure it has been resolved. “No, I pwomise, Mommy, I’ll never ever steal a cookie again”…until next time. Sounds like that to me. Wonder if there is any association between the three city council members who refuse to comment and last time?
Did I say crime doesn’t pay? Looks like it eventually is paying out $98,000,000 in San Antonio.
Category: Air Force, Crime, Government Incompetence, None
No surprise there. San Antonio is just another big city with people having their hands in each others pockets. Hell, here in SA a cop got away with murdering another cop.
We had a guy named Roddy Stinson who was well versed in the happenings here in SA and he would write around six articles a week about the malfeasance by the elites and city council. This was a time the San Antonio Express-News or the Excess-Abuse was worth reading and he would use the term lambkins, describing the populace of San Antonio which acted like sheep who were unaware of the corruption.
I miss Roddy.
https://www.ktsa.com/unforgettable-roddy-stinson/
Why were they sold? After being repoed? Unsure.
After being impounded. Some scam where a car left unmoved long enough was decided to be “abandoned” even tho’ the owner was deployed military.
Got it.
Generally when younger unmarried dudes deployed, they either turned their ride over to relatives or in many cases, the Army took it and stored it.
Makes sense to me for the military (any military) to have a “deployment lot” to store your vehicle when you’re being sent FAAAAR AWAY overseas unaccompanied. With multiple layers of security and authorization before said vehicle can be removed from the lot.
Park it, put a copy of your orders on the dashboard, lock it, and go do your duty.
As I said, makes sense to me, but then again, what do I know?
This has been going on for a very long time. I lost my vehicle while over seas 50+ years ago.
And a lot of stuff still got ripped off out of those POVs!
IIRC, San Antonio is also an HQ for some branches of certain Mexican cartels.
I’m sure there is absolutely no connection.
This definitely reeks of an All-Points Logistics type of operation.
Maybe have a questionable veteran-owned company by a fake Navy SEAL employ a fake Native American driver to tow the car and have a fake LEO sign off on it.
The government of San Antonio assures the public that no responsible government employees were harmed, let alone prosecuted, over this outrage.
Too bad. Sounds like some “responsible” (reprehensible) Gooberment employees SHOULD be harmed.
Rope, tree/lamppost, Gooberment employee; some assembly required.
UR mileage may vary….
Pert near $10 million a year to impound cars? Pretty good work…if you can get it. You can buy some real nice “snatch & run/rollback” type trucks for that.
And after listening to My San Antonio Rose by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys many times, I thought san antonio was Jake.
I would be caught checking her ribbon “rack” out all day long.
Instead of checking out her ribbon rack all day long, how about checking it out all night long while listening to “All Night Long” sung by by the Du Mauriers, 1958 on the fury record label. Boss tune as we used to say back in the 50’s.