Editor's note: In the following story, which was posted on UnionLeader.com and published in the New Hampshire Union Leader on August 31, 2009, news correspondent Kristen Senz reported concerns raised in the New London-Sunapee area over possible business conflicts of interest related to police officers and towing operations.

Subsequently, Senz notified her editors that she had been arrested last year for a traffic offense in Sunapee by one of the officers mentioned in the article.

Newport District Court records show Senz was stopped by Sunapee police on Springfield Road May 15, 2008. She pleaded guilty Sept. 11, 2008, to a charge of driving to endanger. She was fined $500, with $100 suspended, and her license was suspended for 26 days.

Senz also told her editors that she understood Sunapee selectmen, in discussing her article with the police chief, had talked about her arrest.

UnionLeader.com believes the article accurately and fairly represents community concern over the towing issue. However, this web site and the newspaper will no longer be using Senz's work.

A towing company with connections to New London area police departments has some local residents and a competitor expressing concerns over a perceived conflict of interest.

They're upset because New London police gave a Lebanon-based tow truck company, which New London Police Sgt. Edward Andersen's family is associated with, exclusive rights to tow vehicles during a June 20 sobriety checkpoint on Route 11, while Andersen was working the checkpoint.

The company, Northeast Auto, Marine and RV Works, LLC, leases land for its Springfield impound yard from a Sunapee police officer.

Andersen, who did not return several telephone calls seeking comment for this story, is also part-time police chief in Goshen.

Darren Carter, owner of Midnight Auto Recovery Services, a West Lebanon-based tow truck company, said he doesn't think police officers should be involved in an industry that gets much of its business from police calls.

"Absolutely, I think it's a conflict of interest," said Carter, who sits on the board of directors for the New Hampshire Towing Association.

Police chief: No conflict

New London Police Chief David Seastrand said he decided to use Northeast Auto exclusively for the June 20 checkpoint because the company offers a service others do not.

Normally, however, police departments call tow truck companies on a rotation, so one company doesn't receive more calls than another.

"This is the first time that I deviated from that (rotation), and as the chief of police, I can do that," Seastrand said.

During a sobriety checkpoint conducted in Sunapee in May, Seastrand said, he and other officers discussed the need for a transportation service for people who were somewhat intoxicated but not over the legal limit.

Darren Carter of Midnight Auto Recovery Services in West Lebanon says police connections to another local towing company are unethical. (KRISTEN SENZ)

Those drivers pose a liability for police officers, Seastrand said, because their blood-alcohol level could still be rising, so police don't want them behind the wheel.

During the Sunapee checkpoint, police called a taxi to take one person home from the checkpoint area, he said.

Afterward, Northeast Auto agreed to provide free transportation to people who needed it during local sobriety checkpoints, Seastrand said.

"That's the only company right now that offers that service," he said.

Seastrand said he, not Andersen, decides whether a vehicle is towed during a checkpoint. Andersen doesn't own Northeast Auto, so it's not a conflict of interest, the chief said.

"I haven't asked for official documentation of that, but I have no reason not to believe him," Seastrand said.

A check of state records three days after the New London checkpoint showed Andersen was still listed as a member of Northeast Auto, but on June 29, those records were updated to reflect a change filed June 15.

Andersen's wife, Erin Andersen, had replaced him as a member of the company, state records indicate. Sgt. Andersen's sister, Kathy Mason of Lebanon, is the primary agent for the company, according to the state. She declined a request for comment for this story.

Vehicles towed June 20 during the New London checkpoint were hauled to Northeast Auto's impound yard at Exit 12A Self Storage in Springfield, according to Seastrand. Sunapee Police Sgt. Neill Cobb owns that property, according to Springfield property records.

Sunapee Police Chief David Cahill said because Cobb leases space to Northeast Auto, but does not profit from individual vehicles being towed, there is no conflict of interest. Cobb could not be reached for comment.

Driver arrested

Henry Touchette, a Croydon resident who owns commercial property in Sunapee, thinks local police involvement with Northeast Auto represents a clear conflict of interest.

"Police officers shouldn't operate anything other than a police department," said Touchette, whose Jeep Wrangler was illegally towed by a Northeast truck driver last summer, according to court records. "It's like a police officer operating a bar."

A driver for Northeast illegally towed a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee last July from Touchette's property in Sunapee, where he formerly operated his business, Touchette Trailers, according to court documents.

The driver, Wayne McGraw, was charged with petty theft of property worth less than $500, court records show. Touchette contends the Jeep, which was sold for scrap and destroyed before being recovered, was worth more than $4,000. Touchette said he complained about what he felt was a reduced criminal charge against McGraw to Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway.

Hathaway said he was investigating McGraw's case as a potential felony when he learned McGraw had already pleaded guilty to the lesser charge at arraignment in Newport District Court. Cahill, who prosecuted the case, said he was not aware of Hathaway's investigation until after the case was finalized.

"I suppose if you're going to start an investigation, communication would be paramount," he said.

According to Cahill, McGraw was fired from Northeast in connection with the theft.

"If he stayed on as an employee, Northeast Towing would not be towing for me," Cahill said.

Mark Barselle lives in Georges Mills and heard about the police ties to Northeast from Carter, the owner of Midnight Auto in Lebanon. Barselle, an insurance agent who insures Carter's business, said he thinks it's unethical for police to engage in private business that involves public safety.

"I think that police need to be higher above water than the average citizens, and I think when they're involved in a business that's getting calls about accidents or rescue calls, there's just something that's not adding up there," Barselle said.

Personnel policy

According to the Town of Sunapee employee handbook, "(town) employees should not participate in any matter in which they, or members of their family, have a personal interest that may directly or indirectly affect or influence the performance of their duties."

The Town of New London Personnel Policy requires employees "to refrain from engaging in any activities that create a conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Activities that create a conflict include "any financial interest in a vendor or supplier that could cause divided loyalty or even the appearance of divided loyalty," according to the policy. Failure to comply with the policy can lead to disciplinary action, including termination of employment, the policy states.

New London Town Administrator Jessie Levine said she was not aware that Andersen worked for Northeast, and that if the town did investigate the situation or take any action, it would be a confidential personnel matter.

"I don't think that our personnel policy has been violated, but I have not done a thorough investigation," Levine said.