The towing guys aren't the only part of the local mob. They're the hit men. They stalk you from behind, carrying their ticket writing equipment in small violin-shaped cases. When you get out of your car, they're hiding behind you, waiting to see if you try to take the gamble and not drop your quarter in the meter. As soon as you're three steps from your door, they swoop in like buzzards on a dying cow.
Meter maids are the people who never got invited to dances in high school.
They realize that their existence is pretty much meaningless, so they try to validate it by making everyone else as miserable as they are. It's some kind of sick revenge. For what, we'll never know. Accountants do the same thing, but that's another column. I also think a big conspiracy exists between the towing companies and the airport taxi service.