DENVER — Troy Porras, a co-owner of Colorado towing giant Wyatts Towing – which is under investigation by the state – resigned from a state judicial commission last month.
Porras was a member of the governor-appointed 18th Judicial District Nominating Commission, which submits nominees for judicial vacancies to the governor. He resigned “under his own terms” effective September 14, according to a report from The Denver Post confirmed by Denver7 Investigates.
Porras owns Wyatts Towing with his brother, Tony. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser confirmed to Denver7 Investigates that his office was investigating Wyatts Towing amid a growing number of complaints about unclear signage, improper tows and harsh treatment of customers.
“What we can say is we're going to do a thorough, full and fair investigation,” Weiser said. "And as the end result, we can either take action against Wyatts and/or we can conclude if there are holes in the law that don't protect people, we need to fix them."
Denver7 Investigates
Impound Empire: Wyatts Towing, partners connected to many aspects of towing
But Denver7 Investigates found the Porras brothers’ involvement in towing in Colorado is apparently much larger than their ownership of Wyatts.
The brothers, along with Trevor Forbes, are linked to a private investment firm called 3T Holdings that weaves a complex web of influence in multiple stages of the impoundment process – from parking lot surveillance and permitting, to towing to selling cars that have been towed – a practice called vertical integration.
"Vertical integration essentially means that this one company, this one group of people has an interest in every stage of a particular industry," said The Community Economic Defense Project policy head Melissa Mejia.
The 18th Judicial District Nominating Commission is made up of seven members. Four of those members must not be admitted to practice law in the state, while the other three can be practicing attorneys, according to the Denver Post.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Porras attended Stanford’s law school, but the Denver Post reports he is not admitted to the Colorado Bar. He had been serving on the judicial commission since 2019, the paper reported.