Madison-Area Security Firm Raided for Writing Phony Parking Tickets
By Ed Treleven, The Wisconsin State Journal
May 30–Police raided the office of a local security firm and the home of its owner on Wednesday after a number of people reported they received official-looking parking tickets that weren’t issued by police.
In search warrants filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court, DeForest Police Sgt. Jim Pertzborn wrote that people were confused by the $25 and $50 parking tickets issued by Metropolitan Private Police and left on cars in business and residential parking lots.
Many who received them contacted police in DeForest because payments were to be mailed to an address in DeForest, even though the tickets were issued in Madison, the warrants state.
Some told Pertzborn they paid the tickets because of warnings printed on them that fines would double and driver’s licenses and license plates could be suspended if they didn’t do so.
The search warrants were issued to gather evidence supporting charges of attempted theft by deception, simulating legal process and threats to injure or accuse of a crime.
Police executed the warrants at the office of MPP’s parent company, Metropolitan Protective Services LLC, on Madison’s West Side and the DeForest home of its owner, Brendan Eichsteadt.
Eichsteadt could not be reached for comment Thursday. His attorney, David Saltzman, said that the situation is a “misunderstanding.”
“MPP plans to cooperate with the authorities and looks forward to clearing its name,” he wrote. “The company hopes that this misunderstanding is quickly resolved.”
He said anyone who paid an improper ticket would be offered a full refund.
According to the warrants: Owners and managers of some of the parking lots where tickets were issued told Pertzborn they hadn’t hired Metropolitan to patrol the lots. Those who did have contracts with MPP said they didn’t authorize the firm to write tickets.
The company told people who received tickets that a state license gives them the power to issue the tickets. But while Metropolitan Protective Services is state-licensed, Metropolitan Private Police is not. And even with a state license, District Attorney Brian Blanchard and state Assistant Attorney General Michael Schaefer told Pertzborn, a private security company does not have the legal authority to issue parking tickets.
The matter has been referred to the Dane County district attorney’s office, DeForest police said, adding that anyone who received a ticket from Metropolitan shouldn’t pay it and should contact Pertzborn at 846-6780.
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