SWEETWATER, Fla. – The day after a Local 10 investigative report on Sweetwater's deal with a towing company tied to a convicted con artist, the city cut ties with the company, AAA Towing & Recovery.
Original report: Convicted felon tied to city's exclusive police towing job
"There has been a resolution to do that for two months," said Sweetwater Vice Mayor Orlando Lopez, who has been critical of the city's no-bid arrangement with the firm. "But it took a news report to make it happen."
The company is managed by Edwin Rodriguez, who was convicted in a high-profile 2012 fraud case and has several other felonies in his background. In an interview with Local 10 News investigative reporter Bob Norman, Sweetwater strong Mayor Jose Diaz defended the hiring of AAA.
"Do you expect a person who graduates from Harvard University is going to be driving a truck?" asked Diaz rhetorically.
Watch highlights of Norman's interview with the mayor, which doesn't end well, above.
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