Man killed Thursday was prominent player in tow-truck turf war

Paramount owner was gunned down in North York

- BETSY POWELL

Alexander Vinogradsky, 39, of Thornhill was the owner of Paramount Towing, which was at the centre of a York Regional Police investigation into alleged organized crime groups involved in insurance fraud and a violent battle for tow-truck territory in the GTA.

Toronto police’s homicide squad is investigating the fatal shooting of Alexander Vinogradsky, identified by a judge as “at the top” of an organized crime group involved in the GTA’s notorious tow-truck turf war.

On Thursday night, Vinogradsky, 39, of Thornhill, was gunned down in the Finch Avenue West and Dufferin Street area. He was located outside a bullet-pocked dark-coloured SUV.

He had previous attempts on his life, according to a 2020 court decision where he sought a judge’s order requiring the Crown to redact his home address — and that of his parents — from court documents, believing their lives were in danger.