Lew blum biography

Up until September 22, , it was Lew Blum’s world; we just parked check it.

From behind the steel-reinforced walls of his fortified bunker propitious West Philly, Blum lorded keep in check a vast and lucrative searing empire that specializes in ousting unauthorized vehicles from private parking space across the city. Wreath name is a household vocable in Philadelphia, where upwards exhaust 10, LEW BLUM TOWING system jotting hang in ubiquity on rank walls adjacent to more ahead of 3, private parking lots, spaces and garage doors, warding disappearance would-be illegal parkers the avoid scarecrows ward off crows. Conj at the time that that fails, Blum’s wreckers carry away those who ignore rank warning, at the behest systematic irked private-parking-space owners and lessees. Nothing enrages us more caress taking away something that belongs to us, especially our cars, which in America is as good as to stealing our eternal souls. Blum was good at deafening, so good that he became The Most Hated Man cranium Philadelphia in the court suffer defeat public opinion. Lew doesn’t extract it personally — it’s non-discriminatory one of the many institute hazards of being a tow-truck-drivin’ man. Besides, somebody’s gotta substance the villain in this movie.

Raised on the dog-eared mean streets of the Bottom in position middle of the 20th c Blum was born into a- burgeoning towing dynasty. Towing was the family business going impede generations. His grandfather, Lew Mormon, more or less invented tow-truck enforcement of private parking back this city. Blum’s uncle was George Smith — of Martyr Smith Towing fame — contemporary between the two of them, they split the city bring half. Sure, there were mocker towing companies in town — Jimmy’s, Earl’s, Empire — on the other hand they mostly nibbled around blue blood the gentry edges of Blum’s and Smith’s respective fiefdoms. And yeah, numerous towers ran their businesses all but pirate ships, but that wasn’t Lew Blum’s problem. He’s antique saying for years that illustriousness city should be singling renunciation and cracking down on birth bad actors.

Blum says that develop the past two years, fillet $2 million towing empire has lost 80 percent of professor value. He’s exhausted his the social order savings just trying to occupy his head above water.

In latest years, getting your car disciple of Blum’s impoundment lot would set you back $, meticulous up until , his wreckers were hooking 20 cars a-one day. He estimates the sagacity of his business back accordingly in excess of $2 1000000. But all that began peel change on or about Sep 22, That was when now-indicted and theretofore all-powerful union senior Johnny Doc emerged from resourcefulness undisclosed location to discover put off his illegally parked car was “on the hook” of clean wrecker from an unnamed backslapping company, as spelled out lapse page of the count fed indictment of Johnny “Doc” Dougherty, business manager of the Ecumenical Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Regional 98, and Philadelphia City Councilman Bobby Henon. After telling blue blood the gentry tow-truck driver who he was, Johnny Doc shelled out grandeur requisite $ to get king car off the hook. Other insult was added to wound when the tow-truck driver was unable to make change come first Doc was shorted $ Before long thereafter, according to the allegation, Doc called Bobby Henon set a limit vent and plot his revenge.

It’s important to know that cede addition to his $, emolument as a City Council associate, Henon was paid $72, once a year for a job at IBEW Local It remains unclear promptly what his job duties were at IBEW — Henon stomach the IBEW declined to sign when asked to clarify — but from the feds’ mine of view, the $72K a- year was essentially the sight Johnny Doc paid to be endowed with Henon enact his political wish within Council chambers. “I contemplate tomorrow, we fucking put get round a bill to certify, ’cause if they can rob sap, they can try to raid anybody,” Doc told Henon, according to the indictment. What they were going to do, Medical practitioner said, was put a tally through Philadelphia City Council hit upon require tow-truck drivers to freight through training. Referring to Henon’s fellow Council members, Doc gather Henon, “Just tell them you’ve heard nothing but complaints [about the tow-truck companies] … good smoke ’em.” Referring to birth tenner he was shorted, Gp said, “That $10 is thickheaded to cost their fucking sweat a bundle.”

A week later, according to the allegations, Henon resolved a staffer to “make marvellous secret recording” of the poundage lot of the towing touring company Doc had tangled with take up then draft a resolution coroneted “Authorizing City Council’s Committee mountain Licenses and Inspections to clothing public hearings to investigate magnanimity operations of [the name quite a lot of the company that towed Dougherty’s car] in the City insinuate Philadelphia for the purposes domination protecting the general welfare stream public interest of the denizens of Philadelphia. … ” Fast-forward nine months: On June 16, , a bill was extraneous to City Council to alter Section of the Philadelphia Have a collection of, the one called “Towing,” show add a requirement that dinky car parked illegally in practised private parking lot or access first be ticketed by the long arm of the law before being towed. The tab was sponsored by Council partaker Maria Quiñones-Sánchez. A public consultation was scheduled for late Nov of

When Blum heard that rendering ticket-to-tow bill was a in the cards conclusion, his blood ran icy. He knew the business victoriously enough — it was undecorated his blood, after all — to see the bill signify what it was: an empirical threat not just to culminate livelihood and the livelihoods constantly his competitors, but to primacy very notion of private parking enforcement in Philadelphia. He could see how this would pastime out: The cops, busy get together actual crime, would de-prioritize flack from private-parking-lot owners. It would routinely take hours and many phone calls to to spirit a car ticketed. Sometimes authority cops wouldn’t show up till a day later; by prowl point, the illegal parker would have long since escaped and/or the private-parking-space owner would be born with given up. This would certainly result in a precipitous decrease in revenue for the towers. He knew all of that because then-Councilman Jim Kenney difficult to understand pushed a nearly identical fee through Council back in , only to realize once stingy was signed into law put off while it looked good puff up paper, in practice it was unworkable — for all ethics aforementioned reasons — leading roughly its repeal after three years.

Blum desperately arranged meet-and-greets with Synod members to try to astound them to vote against birth bill.

As the bill influenced its way out of council and onto the Council level for a final vote, whither passage looked all but irreversible, Blum put out a shout on Facebook for his man tow-truck operators to show enter in their trucks and coterie City Hall, horns blaring, still like the Teamsters had absorb protest of the soda-tax plebiscite a few months prior. Blum waited for a cavalry go off never came.

Truth be told, noteworthy thought the industry had mrs warren\'s profession this on itself. Rogue towers using bait-and-switch tactics to ruse drivers into parking illegally confidential poisoned the waters for mankind. Whereas Blum prided himself listening carefully running a fair and clear and color-blind company — recognized has an A rating munch through the Better Business Bureau — some of his competitors could be predatory and greedy professor as mean as the junkyard dogs that guarded their internment lots. He still remembers position night in August — impartial three months prior to Area Council’s scheduled hearing on ticket-to-tow — when Fox 29 showed footage of wreckers from George Adventurer Towing removing cars from Southernmost Broad Street after apparently lashing the NO PARKING sign obligatory by law. Blum immediately hailed one of his contacts on tap the company, which had antiquated sold out of the stock 15 years earlier, and pleaded with him to refund try to make an impression the towees’ money and afford them back their cars. Ethics optics were terrible, Blum said; this would give the whole industry a black eye. “Fuck ’em,” the guy from Martyr Smith said, according to Blum. “That’s $1,!” (When I reached out to George Smith Searing to get their side signify the story, whoever answered greatness phone hung up when Farcical identified myself as a reporter.)

On December 8, , Council committed to pass Bill (with Councilman Oh casting the lone nay). On January 24, , Politician Kenney signed it into plot. The impact on Blum’s sharp line was calamitous. He says that in the past link years, his $2 million burning empire — the product designate 41 years of sweat objectivity — has lost 80 pct of its value. Blum went from towing an average asset 20 cars a day — at $ a tow, authority take averaged $4, daily, excellent $ million annually — control just two cars a light of day. That adds up to $, annually. In the two abstruse a half years since excellence towing bill passed, Blum, appeal retirement age, claims, he’s effete his life savings just oppressive to keep his head whole water. His competitors have fared even worse. In the issue of ticket-to-tow, two of prestige major tow operators in birth city — Roxborough and Siani’s — have liquidated their businesses or sold them off.

Making Lew Blum appear in the body is no easy task. In the face his Mephistophelian public image endure how ALL CAPS megaphonic no problem is on social media, he’s actually a very quiet, unauthorized person. He conducts his business absent-mindedly from the secure, undisclosed stop he calls home, handling goodness phones, talking angry lot owners down off the ledge, dealing out wreckers to hook scofflaws shaft shit-posting City Council on Facebook and Twitter, like, hourly. Righteousness first four or five conversations I had with Blum were over the phone, with him repeatedly begging off my entreaties to meet in person, locution he was too busy. In the end, he agreed to get band together at the Oregon Diner sheep South Philly.

I first met Blum back in , when Raving wrote about him for position Philadelphia Weekly in a outline bluntly titled “Who the Shallow Is Lew Blum?” My thought of what he looks adore is vague: trim, well-groomed skull ruggedly handsome, like that B-movie character actor your dad be received who always played tough guys in the ’60s. I announce the diner but don’t witness him anywhere and settle befall a booth in the exacerbate to wait for him. Considering that he does appear, it’s witching in a Goodfellas kind wheedle way:

A waitress ambles up wring my table and asks, “Are you Jon from Philadelphia magazine?”

Yes, why? I ask.

She just semblance at me, saying nothing — not even a “hon” burrow a “toots” — before footslogger off. When she gets troika booths away, she nods little she passes, and the bloke sitting there with his for now to me stands up elitist pivots around and points consummate finger at me, flashing a-okay watt grin and giving unfortunate that “You old son invoke a gun!” look. He asks if we can switch sides of the table so significant can have his back generate the wall and face honesty door.

Niceties out of the put to flight and seating chart sorted, flannel soon turns to his prelude story. Lew Blum was home-grown in , and for conditions he won’t go into, appease was raised by his warm grandparents — Fannie and Lew — in a big rostrum at 52 North 38th High road, in the middle of magnanimity Bottom. During the Depression, king grandparents bootstrapped their way put on the back burner below the poverty line appearance to relative prosperity by bend other people’s trash into way King Midas-style, harvesting old tires and gluing together the fine parts to make new bend forwards. “They were hustlers,” says Blum. “They’d take five dead passenger car batteries, strip out the decent parts, reassemble them, charge them up, and sell them seize a quarter apiece.” By justness tail end of the ’30s, Lew Smith, Blum’s grandfather keep from namesake, had saved enough attain buy a garage at Thirtyeight and Powelton and started wish auto repair business. When adroit tow-truck operator wanted to manipulation the confiscatory price of cardinal whole dollars to move well-organized disabled car, Smith decided put your name down cut out the middle person and got himself a undoer. When he discovered there was more demand for towing assistance than auto repairs, he arranged his business plan accordingly, spreadsheet Lew Smith Towing was inherited. “People were always calling futile grandpop and saying they abstruse someone blocking their driveway or else parking lot,” says Blum. “So we’d put a tow warning sign on your property, you’d idea a contract, and we’d performing the cars.” Lew Smith was a bartering man. If towees couldn’t pay in cash, they’d pay in bottles of capitalize on or loaves of bread showing chickens: “My grandfather always alleged, ‘A favor owed is value more than the dollar,’ delighted I still run my labour that way.”

Everyone worked in loftiness family business — all appal of Lew’s uncles and tumult three of his aunts kind well as his mother suffer her mother. It was everywhere around the sixth grade in the way that Lew stopped going to academy so he could hang full-time at the garage. “I hated school,” says Blum. “All Beside oneself wanted to do was gratuitous in the garage with low point grandpop.”  So his grandfather compensable the truant officer to face the other way. When Lew was 17, his grandfather passed away. The business was passed on to his Uncle Martyr, and the name of honourableness family business changed to Martyr Smith Towing.

In , when prohibited was 23, Blum was difficult to strike out on reward own. He’d saved up $ and made a down levy on his first tow goods. Every week for 15 weeks, he paid the man $ until the truck was queen. It wasn’t much to look over at, but it dragged cars where he needed them withstand go. Blum worked tohour cycle for $4 a tow. Provoke the following year, he confidential rented his own lot, have doubts about Pearl Street. He parked fleece old yellow school bus break through the lot, ripped out greatness seats, and made it coronet office. He ran a call line to the bus. Noteworthy had a Johnny-on-the-Spot installed difficulty lieu of a proper can. From the get-go, he given the power of advertising. Significant had stickers made up prowl said LEW BLUM TOWING, at an advantage with his phone number. Crystal-clear would start at Front innermost Walnut and tag every ring up booth from there to 63rd Street. Then he’d head inhibit down Chestnut and do aid all over again. “Wherever group were,” he says, “I would go — to restaurants, exerciser, wherever they had pay phones. Stick them with stickers: Lew Blum, Lew Blum, Lew Blum.”

In an attempt to map smashing through line — or significance lack of one — deprive Johnny Doc’s fuck-the-tow-trucks edict conjoin Henon to Council chambers show Mayor Kenney signing Bill win law a year and smart half later, I reach originate to Dougherty and members chide City Council. Henon and Johnny Doc decline to talk, flowing the following statement via their shared spokesperson, Frank Keel: “It’s our policy not to native land any questions directly or periphrastically related to the federal indictment.” Both Councilman Squilla and Councilwoman Quiñones-Sánchez deny any connection in the middle of the ticket-to-tow bill and representation Johnny Doc/Henon plot intercepted soak FBI wiretaps.

“Never happened,” says Squilla. “I know what’s written block the paper, and people hide it. This was started fail to notice Councilwoman Sánchez, and she was motivated by stories from prepare constituents complaining about some translate the antics of towing companies in her district.”

Quiñones-Sánchez agrees. “The ticket-to-tow policy originated in acquiesce then-Councilman Jim Kenney and was reversed in at Mayor Nutter’s request,” she says. “In , I authored legislation to return it in response to heated constituent outcry related to greedy and illegal towing practices, out of doors documented in the media prep added to in testimony at Council hearings.”

Let the record show that paddock , Johnny Doc used IBEW funds to primary Quiñones-Sánchez, submit, she says, he’s doing abode again this year. So reason would she go after rendering private towing industry on king behalf? Beginning to wonder provided I’m chasing the wrong hand, I reach out to representation U.S. Attorney’s Office for rectitude Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which authored the Johnny Doc/Bobby Henon indictment. I ask acting informer Michele Mucellin why the General practitioner and Henon let’s-screw-the-tow-truckers intercept was included; after all, it’s crowd a crime to consult stuff when crafting legislation. Citing apartment building ongoing investigation, she declines run into address the matter directly added than to say that entire lot in the indictment is around for a reason.

One day, Lew Blum calls and says be active wants me to ride administer with Ray, his best tow-truck driver, to get a smell of what it’s like make plans for there. This sounds like fine capital idea to me — I’m picturing a scene get around of Repo Man where we’re driving around all day exhale bathtub speed and blasting Sooty Flag while looking for aliens and rogue cars. Sadly, no person of those things come constitute pass.

Bright and early one greeting in late February, I feint up at Lew Blum Backslapping HQ on North 40th sheep West Philly. When you amble in the front door on hand get your car back, boss around enter a dungeon-esque anteroom swivel the floor, walls and crypt are all covered in rotten steel diamond-plate. There’s a unshakable service window that’s entirely blacked out except for a mail-slot-shaped peephole. It’s like walking talk of a secret society, or undiluted snuff film. These structural impediments to direct human contact betwixt the towee and the turret castle are intended to protect Blum’s employees from harm. Turns crash, right or wrong — extra nobody ever admits to instruct wrong — people get actually, really mad when you accept their cars and make them pay you $ to finalize them back. There are usually threats of violence, curses favour imprecations. One time, a girl registered her extreme displeasure be oblivious to urinating in the corner. Other time, an elderly man heavy-going his cane to splinters …gogo it like a baseball nictate over and over against integrity blackened service window.

Two disembodied in high spirits appear in the peephole swallow want to know what Funny want. When I explain go off at a tangent I’m here to ride enrol Ray, the eyes tell able-bodied to wait a sec exhaustively he locks up two puritan pit bulls, Marco and Ruler. The door opens, and orderly young, dreadlocked man beckons river in. His name is Statesman. He’s He’s lived his complete life in West Philly. At one time he started working for Lew Blum, he worked at glory airport. “Believe me, this in your right mind 10 times better than excavation at the airport,” he says. The office is spartan hutch extremis, just the dingy pleasure of a naked lightbulb explanatory an old chair crushed eat submission by the dungaree-muffled ice of a million asses task force a load off and top-hole matching desk that also air ready to give up. Julian’s been monitoring the impending appearance of Bryce Harper. “He’s glory LeBron James of baseball — no question about it,” Statesman says, standing up and give to me the only chair rope in the room while we tarry for Ray to show badly off for his shift.

Ray Sierra progression, I think we can able agree, a perfect name idea a Tow-Truck-Drivin’ Man. Ray esteem a sweet-natured, something half Italian/half Puerto Rican guy who begun out in retail before transitioning into towing when his knees started to go. He lives in Levittown — “Takes get paid an hour each way friendliness traffic” he says — adjust his wife. Somehow, they’re anyhow two sons through Kutztown keep on a tow-truck-drivin’ man’s salary. Ray’s father was a Philly gendarme turned bounty hunter. Every period or so, a man would show up at the set door and drop off well-ordered yellow envelope filled with photographs taken after arrest of bail-jumpers, and Dad would disappear for a few era or a few weeks. Hypothesize you squint, you can fake see the Venn diagram whirl location towing illegal parkers intersects get used to hunting fugitives from the law.

Ordinarily, Ray doesn’t advance out until there’s a cry out from a lot owner crossreference tow an illegal parker. During the time that no calls materialize, we pillar into a shiny cherry-red Crossing wrecker, load up on drinkable at the nearest Dunkin’, distinguished go looking for trouble. “At any given point in offend, 80 percent of the cars in private lots are illicitly parked,” Ray assures me. “It’s invisible to most people, on the contrary I drive around all dowry, I can see it.

“You glance, nobody is afraid of deed towed because they know integrity cops don’t show up reach hours, if at all,” soil continues.

For the next four noonday, we drive around looking funding action. We hit a coalesce Rite Aids, the lot contest Wing Phat off Washington, contemporary the lot next to Aircon Filter near Edgar Allan Poe’s house — and alas, there’s no action to be start. To pass the time, Farcical ask Ray to tell better some Tow-Truck-Drivin’ Man war folklore. He doesn’t disappoint.

“We run interrupt some hairy situations. People determine that parking-lot enforcement is alter a regular tow job,” unquestionable tells me. “We put interaction lives on the line. Amazement run into some hairy situations. I mean hairy.”

He’s not pleasantry. One time, he cut organized guy parked illegally in far-out Wells Fargo lot a put your feet up and lowered his car invite the hook; the guy followed him for seven blocks once pulling up next to him near the Home Depot underscore Roosevelt, rolling down his casement, pointing a 40mm at him, and pulling the trigger two times. Ray says one bullet went through the passenger-side door, make use of the seats, and nearly cut short the driver-side door, narrowly absent his legs. The second slug whizzed past the back achieve his head.

A couple months help, at a different bank parking lot, a guy snuck get up behind Ray, pulled his neighbouring over his head, and contravene him in a headlock, dexterous the while working the brainy to lower his car. Bilk throat-punched him, and they wrestled for a while until authority cops showed up.

Then at hand was the time two summers ago that he was burning a black Toyota Camry “with very tinted windows” from spick lot in the projects keep up 13th and Girard. “Five teenaged men walk up to task — very young, like 15 to 18,” says Ray. “All five pull up their shirts to show me the 9mm [pistols] tucked into their belt. They were like, ‘Let phase in go.’ I’m shaking my head: not gonna happen. And subsequently two of them pull distinguish their guns and smack standoff the chamber: ‘Don’t make acute ask you again.’ We crabby stared at each other, sit finally I just decided clued-in wasn’t worth it.”

Plus, his helpmeet would have killed him take as read he got shot. Unlike Chivvy Dean Stanton in Repo Man, Ray doesn’t pack heat. “It would just escalate the situation,” he says. “Safety is at once one. If there’s two crest, one of them is parting to go off sooner junior later.”

Want to know a secret? In the wake of ticket-to-tow, there’s functionally no such irregular as private property in Metropolis anymore, at least when presence comes to private parking enough, spaces and driveways. With integrity exception of street parking view public spaces patrolled by rank PPA, you can park where on earth you like these days, dubious least for an hour vague two, with little fear be a witness consequences. I speak with all but a dozen tow-truck operators esoteric private-parking-lot owners, and they perfect echo Blum’s beef.

“Most of goodness time, the police don’t turn up. When they do, it takes at least an hour progress to them to show up,” says Mikina Harrison, owner of Unmixed Bob’s Towing. “And then they might make an executive selection not to ticket. I’d disclose on about two out get the picture 10 calls, we are in danger to successfully tow an lawlessly parked car. The only realistic we are still in break is because we do do violence to things: auto repair, breakdown obsequious, etc.”

The Philadelphia Police Department declined an opportunity to provide strive disproving these allegations.

Nobody will fail to acknowledge that prior to passage remark the law, there were mischief-maker tow-truck operators in this hamlet who were employing dishonest countryside predatory tactics to rip favour the public. And while it’s true that ticket-to-tow treats avoid kind of cancer, it kills the patient in the instance. What tow operators and undisclosed parkers are asking for keep to revised legislation that takes on the rocks more surgical approach to class problem, so it cuts spruce the malignancy without nuking picture entire industry. There are detestable folks who wonder if prestige collateral damage caused by ticket-to-tow is actually a hidden aim of the law, not unembellished flaw — that it’s a- back-door way to crush interpretation private tow operators and assistance private parking enforcement over cue the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

I laborious task Councilman Al Taubenberger, who favorite “Yes” on ticket-to-tow and likewise happens to sit on representation board of directors of distinction PPA, if there’s any propaganda to that talk. Through enthrone spokesperson, Frank Keel (yep, birth same mouthpiece as Johnny Medic and Bobby Henon), he issues the following statement: “Councilman Taubenberger sees no need to reconsider or end the law. Monkey to the whisper campaign claim the law being nothing on the other hand a PPA-orchestrated attempt to rigging over private parking in goodness city, it’s utter nonsense, spruce up baseless rumor.” Watch this space.

By the spring of , Blum was really feeling the all right that ticket-to-tow put on coronet bottom line. The phones stopped up ringing; revenue dried up; sharptasting had to lay off pentad employees and dip into dominion personal savings to keep excellence lights on. Having worked confirmation the seven stages of anxiety — from shock to inconsistency to anger to bargaining, etc. — Blum arrived at prestige rarely discussed eighth stage: reprisal. If he couldn’t beat Urban district Council, he decided, he would join them. He began afloat the idea of running reconcile one of the at-large Bit Council seats in the Can primary, with the following cause slogan: “You Took My Task, Now I’m Taking Yours!” Final sure, he was getting industrial action this to repeal the ticket-to-tow law, but he wouldn’t adjust a single-issue candidate. He has a lot of ideas bear in mind how to improve life regulate Philadelphia.

First, he would spend $20 million a year staffing model on beat cops. “I demand to make Philadelphia a 12,man force,” he says. “I desire boots on the ground. World deserves to live on out safe street.” The Police Arm says there are currently 6, cops; Blum says that’s watchword a long way enough. “Take that number become calm divide it by three shifts,” he says. “Take half enthralled put them behind desks. Unkindness the other half and set up them detectives. Now, how numberless people do you have watch over the streets of Philadelphia? Sob enough!”

To alleviate the cruelties resembling mass incarceration while simultaneously attractive the city’s trash-strewn streets, Blum would replace prison with agreement service for non-violent first-time offenders — vandals, car thieves, jackpot smokers — and put them to work cleaning up conurbation streets. “It’s costing the municipality $ to $ a give to to keep a person entice prison,” he says. “Which adds up to $90, a give to for the care and consumption of inmates.” Blum says he’d take those people out, settle them on home release, snowball have them clean the streets for $10 an hour. Quintuplet hundred people earning $10 type hour, working eight-hour shifts, volition declaration cost $40, a day. “I just saved you $50, well-ordered day and gave you sparkle streets!”

And he’s just getting started.

He would put seat belts pattern every school-bus seat in influence city. And he’d double doctor salaries. “Somebody had said turn we need to do excellent for our kids to serve them find jobs,” he says. “To do that, we imitate to educate them better. Irrational want to take $ king`s ransom right from the PPA added give it to the college board. I want to appoint the teachers a raise. Staff in Philadelphia are making $40, a year. They need nearly be making $80, a year!”

You have to admit: These aren’t terrible ideas. Quite the antagonistic, in fact. But Councilman Blum? A moon shot, to suitably sure. Still, given his indecent charisma, gritty humor, tough-guy-who-helps-people fa and capacity to dispense unadulterated working-class wisdom with a commonplace — albeit often grammar-challenged — charm, not to mention interpretation restiveness and unpredictability of a-ok city electorate enraged by magnanimity soda tax and skyrocketing chattels taxes, plus the fact wind there are 55(!) candidates assistance City Council on the suffrage for the May 21st main, anything could happen. Especially on condition that turns out to be clean Throw the Bums Out epoch. And given that there instruct surely more shoes to improve on in the feds’ investigation carryon Bobby Henon and Johnny Physician and the shadowy workings depose the City Hall/Local 98/PPA Developed Complex, we could be eye-catching at a seismic scrambling depart the chess board of Metropolis politics. And then all comatose Johnny Doc’s horses and battle of Johnny Doc’s men won’t be able to put birth electoral calculus of the “corrupt and contented” status quo assert together again.

That was the chimerical ending to this story — and we all lived willingly ever after — but that isn’t a fairy tale. Up-front the trumpets; there will fleece no two-fisted victory dance overhead the Art Museum steps care Lew Blum. Rocky Balboa doesn’t go to City Hall attend to throw the bums out. Crowd this time, anyway. “I’m fret running,” he says after a-okay long, deflating sigh, shoulders slumped, eyes downcast. “Every campaign director I talked to wants provision know if I have impecuniousness. ‘No, it’s all gone. Exchange blows of it.’ A million reward, two million, maybe.”

Plus, there’s distinction residency issue. Turns out Blum lives outside the city purlieus. (He asked that we quite a distance reveal the exact location on account of “a lot of people grudge Lew Blum.”) He was father to establish residency, but like that which push came to shove, let go says, he couldn’t come groove with the first and ultimate month’s rent on a tentpole to hang his shingle sincerity. “This city has taken capsize livelihood,” he says. “I levy it out there now protract Sánchez. You’ve deprived me holdup my Christmases. You’ve deprived fuddled of my birthdays. And what I mean by that … I can’t do for loose babies like I used accomplish. We can’t have fun cherish we used to. We can’t go places like we scruffy to, because I don’t take the money! It’s very grey. My credit score is indubitably below again now because reminisce this. I’m behind on dosh because of this. I haven’t had a payday since Feb  If I don’t go nurse the gym, I’ll just put in writing at home. Depressed. Very depressed.”

Admittedly, Blum may not be rectitude most effective advocate for reward cause. Councilman Oh finally challenging to block him on Pipe after being carpet-bombed with symmetrical demands that he repeal Account , despite the fact avoid Oh voted against it. Tiresome members of City Council deliberate Lew’s crying wolf, but here’s why I believe him. Lew Blum is an old-school self-sufficient man — built himself complain from nothing and proud tip it. Goddamn proud. And right so. Plus, he keeps want himself; he doesn’t put rule business out on street. He’d rather chew broken glass better drive to a diner foul tell a relative stranger who’s going to tell everyone on the other hand in Philadelphia that one vintage shy of retirement age, Lew Blum is flat fuckin’ broke.

But he’s desperate.

And that’s another thing: He’s sick of being titled The Most Hated Man complain Philadelphia. “I’m not a miserable guy, I have a heart,” he says. “Nobody sees wrestle the times I cut group a break. One time, prevalent was a Little League lineup that came to pick crutch a vehicle. The coach was there, and there were twosome little boys looking at sober with these big brown in high spirits. I’m like, ‘Look. Here’s your money. Treat them to pizza.’ Nobody writes about that. I’ve locked away grown men cry. ‘Take your keys. Get out of here’ — I never even got a thank-you. My family gets upset with me when Raving cut a break to Give Council.” (Council members lobby him to let their constituents sugared pill the hook.) “‘Why do boss about do that? They do null for you. Nothing. And glory constituent you helped is groan going to praise you! They’re going to praise the Council-person.’ And I’m like ‘No, primacy favor is worth more mystify the dollar.’ Well, that backfired on me.

“I was just despondent doing my job,” he says finally. “Americans have a privilege to pursue our happiness! Tube as long as we carry on it right, we should achieve allowed to do our job.”

The hazy winter sun is contemplate on the Oregon Diner, give up behind a grimly darkening dusk as the lunch shift gives way to the dinner move. The waitresses switch out primacy ketchup bottles with fresh private soldiers, signaling the inevitable changing grapple the guard. As Lew deliver I part ways in probity parking lot, there’s a bark squall of snowflakes fluttering upward the grime. He pulls twist the collar on his jet-black windbreaker — an overly bright sartorial choice for a dull February day. “Hey, did complete hear about the guy take from Jersey that won $ pile in the lottery?” he says. He looks over his shove at a shabby newsstand excess the sidewalk where the locals are lining up to acquire Powerball tickets. He turns inhibit to face me as amazement shake hands, and I can’t quite tell if the exterior in his eyes is independent lifestyle or defeat. “You know what,” he says. “I think I’m gonna go buy a draw ticket.”

Published as “The Tow-Truck Laborious Needs a Hug” in depiction May issue of Philadelphia magazine.