DA puts stop to rogue’s racket

— another way to operate out of bounds — by listening to police scanners and rushing to crash sites and steal jobs from other vendors.

“In several instances the defendants simply used violence to maintain their dominance. If a rival company arrived on scene at the same time as one of (Steininger‘s) drivers . . . (they would) show some force, cause a ruckus,” Vance said.

The suspects went so far as to strike rivals’ trucks with a crane — a practice known as “blasting,” prosecutors said.

All but two of the 17 people indicted surrendered early Wednesday and appeared before Justice Daniel Conviser in Manhattan Supreme Court. They pleaded not guilty.

Investigators also uncovered tax fraud, money laundering and insurance fraud in connection with the towing operation, prosecutors said.

Charges include enterprise corruption, scheme to defraud, conspiracy and related counts.

Bail was set at $1 million for Steininger — who posted bond and was released immediately. Karen Steininger was released on $500,000 bail.

Lawyer Joseph Mure, who represents brothers Michael, 49, Angelo, 53, and Salvatore Mazzio, 40, accused of manipulating permit usage, said the trio surrendered voluntarily and will “fight these charges.”

Mure added that the investigation has been on their radar for some time.

“They have known year,” he said. for a