Who knew that a hot dog or a Coke might keep you from getting a parking ticket from the city of Richmond?

Sidewalk vendors downtown have avoided tickets by offering parking-enforcement contractors free food and beverages, City Auditor Umesh V. Dalal said yesterday.

He said surveillance over 17 days in August and September found six downtown parking agents were regularly accepting food or drink in return for not issuing tickets to certain vendors parking in loading and tow-away zones, where the fine for violation is $40. People who parked nearby weren't so lucky.

"I don't know who initiated it, but it looked like it was a standard practice," Dalal said.

He said the contractor, Lanier Parking Systems, which gets $1.2 million a year from the city to enforce parking regulations, left its crews unsupervised most of the time. The city expects its parking-fine revenue will fall 7 percent this year to about $3 million.

Dalal said he has referred the matter to the commonwealth attorney's office, noting that it is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, to give or accept a gift intended to influence actions by agents like the Lanier employees.

A Lanier spokesman said the company suspended the six employees without pay and is cooperating with any criminal investigation. The company has 22 agents, eight of whom were assigned downtown, Dalal said.

"Lanier Parking Solutions is appalled by the unacceptable behavior of these rogue parking-enforcement officers," said Brennan Robison, a company spokesman.

Robison said the company regularly audits itself and added, "This was a rare case in which our audits had not detected this activity."

Acting Chief Administrative Officer Chris L. Beschler said, "The vendor is responsible for the conduct of its employees, and we've communicated that we will not tolerate illegal behavior of any kind."

The department that oversees the parking contract is the same one responsible for the city's vehicle fleet, where after repeated audits, Dalal found officials do not know how many vehicles the city has, and have not set up a promised security code system meant to prevent gasoline thefts.

Dalal said he will follow up his findings about the food-for-free-parking deals by reviewing documentation for all payments made to Lanier by the city.
Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or dress@timesdispatch.com.