Toronto’s 17th homicide of the year took place on the morning of last Thursday (28/03/2024) at 10:46pm near Finch Avenue West and Dufferin Street. The victim was 39 year old Alexander Vinogradsky, a man that police has reported has been at the top of the hierarchy in to tow-truck turf wars.
For those of you wondering what tow-trucks and a turf war have in common; it’s no secret that Toronto and it’s neighboring regions in Southwest Ontario and Central Ontario along the 401 highway have had a share of business misconduct when it comes down to tow-truck companies. It is a very competitive area. So competitive, that it has lead to murder, arson and intimidation, as was the case for Alexander Vinogradsky. Much so, that the organized crime unit in Toronto is taking on these cases. They suspect the companies might be related to certain motorcycle clubs as well as the mafia.
But this would insist a towing would yield thousands and thousands of dollars. In fact, one tow could make tens of thousands of dollars. After the vehicle is towed, the company, along with cooperating garages, submit multiple insurance claims that would yield them more money per tow. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars that yields from the storage fees. This goes as far as police officers accepting kickbacks for leading certain tow-truck drivers towards accidents. Lawyers have also been targeted.
This results in tow-truck drivers from different companies to race to the stalled car or either accident. It is called a first responder method. Once the vehicle is towed, the tow-truck company releases the vehicle to the garage who are in cahoots with the company. Then the vehicle is ‘fixed’ with all the problems it contains, phony or not. This industry claims billions of dollars a year. This has only been prevalent in Ontario within the past decade.
When officers and emergency services arrived on scene, they found a bullet riddled black SUV with a man inside. They identified the man as 39 year old Alexander Vinogradsky, hailing from Thornhill, Ontario. No suspects have been arrested as of yet, but authorities have said to media that the shooter fled in a black Mercedez. Vinogradsky was also being sued in a 2.4 million dollar lawsuit from a family of a security guard who had been shot in the head while guarded a vehicle lot, Vinogradsky also supplied this 19 year old security guard with a pistol, although he was unlicensed to carry.
Vinogradsky has had previous attempts on his life in the past, urging the court to redact his parent’s address as well as his on a 2020 court case. Vinogradsky was also the owner of Paramount Towing located in the York Region. Paramount Towing was targeted in an investigation by York Regional Police name ‘Project Platinum’ in the past, along with four other different crime groups. Some of the ‘accidents’ Paramount Towing was involved with were deliberately stages, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in income. It even went as far as ordering wiretaps on Vinogradsky in an attempt to convict him of insurance fraud.
People also speculate Alexander Vinogradsky was responsible for ordering the hit on CLE Toronto gang member, Soheil ‘Cadi’ Rafipour in 2018. It is also suspected the hit on Vinogradsky was in revenge for the death of Rafipour but highly unlikely, this is only speculation.
