17 Face Odometer Rollback Charges

[Marika]

Here's an article in today's New Jersey Bergen Record Newspaper:

17 facing odometer rollback charges

Thursday, April 1, 2004

By AMY KLEIN

STAFF WRITER

ODOMETER TIPS FOR CONSUMERS:

Odometer fraud nationwide results in losses of at least $1 billion annually, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports. For the average consumer, that comes to roughly $4,000 per car.

Most cars built after 2000 have digital odometers, which can be manipulated by hooking up a laptop to the car's on-board computer, making it difficult for owners to detect any tampering.

The NHTSA offers these tips for consumers:

# Have an independent mechanic inspect the car for wear and tear on moving parts before buying it.

# Ask the dealer whether a computer warranty check has been run on the vehicle.

# Check the owner's manual to see whether maintenance was listed.

# Check service stickers or state inspection stickers inside the door or under hood for mileage readings.

# Check for excessive wear on the armrest, floor mats, brake and gas pedals, steering wheel, and the area around the ignition, suggesting more use than the mileage indicates. If any of those items was recently replaced, it could indicate an effort to hide the car's true use and mileage.

# Consider using a commercially available computer search program to check for mileage alterations. But beware: They charge fees.

Federal authorities charged 17 men Wednesday with operating a ring suspected of rolling back the odometers of more than 10,000 used cars sold in New Jersey, scamming car dealerships and consumers alike.

During a 15-month investigation, the FBI unraveled how members of the organization bought late-model, high-mileage cars at auctions in nearby states and took them to shops in Hackensack and Brooklyn to have digital odometers electronically lowered - sometimes by up to 100,000 miles.

The cars were then sold to dealerships across the state - or, in some cases, directly to buyers through newspaper ads or off car lots operated by members of the ring.

The sheer number of vehicles tampered with makes this one of the largest odometer rollback cases in FBI history, authorities said. Legitimate car dealerships were scammed out of about $7.5 million, authorities said.

"When citizens of this state are cheated, when they are not given the value of the product they bought, we will do our best to bring [the thieves] to justice," said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.

Drivers who suspect they bought a car with a rolled-back odometer should call the dealership that sold them the vehicle, Christie said.

The 16 men arrested in a Wednesday morning sweep - minus one defendant who was in Essex County jail on traffic charges - later appeared briefly before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of tampering with an odometer.

Robert "Bobby Cars" Fiorello, 54, of Jackson ran the ring, financing six auto sales businesses in Garfield, Bloomfield, and Keansburg, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Fiorello and his associates bought more than 1,000 cars at auctions in Pennsylvania and Maryland that, at the time, didn't report mileage to consumer databases, the complaint alleges.

If the cars had an analog odometer, then Richard Leonard, 25, of Howell and Raymond Clark, 38, of Livingston manually rolled it back, it says.

The ring removed digital odometers and took them to Eastern Electronics in Hackensack or to A&J Auto Lock and Glass in Brooklyn, where the mileage was rolled back with computers, the complaint said.

In one case, a 2000 Buick Century bought at an auto auction in Maryland with an odometer reading of 70,296 was sold in Staten Island with a mileage of 20,296. A 1999 Ford Explorer that was purchased at a Pennsylvania auction with a reading of 137,096 was sold with a mileage of 47,333, federal authorities said.

A separate criminal complaint charges the owner and employees of A&J - Anthony Moscato, 41, of Staten Island and Louis Moscato, 50, and Joseph Fishetti, 46, both of Brooklyn - with conspiring to change the odometers.

The business charged $300 to $400 per odometer, the complaint says.

Eastern Electronics was not named because, according to the complaint, Fiorello provided the business with fraudulent odometer statements.

Once the odometers were rolled back, Anthony Laduca II, 31, of Little Falls and Vincent Spina, 41, of Belleville forged the cars' titles to reflect the new mileage readings, federal authorities said. In one instance, the pair scraped the original mileage figure off the paper using a penknife and acetone, then wrote in the new figure, they allege.

During the height of the operation, federal authorities said, the ring rolled back 10 to 20 odometers a week.

The scheme was discovered in June, when the Lynnes Auto Group in Bloomfield found that one of its car odometers had been turned back, they said.

Others arrested and charged Wednesday morning with buying and selling the tampered cars were Joseph Fiorello, 60, of Ocean City, Md.; Robert "Bobby Bumpers" Bolander, 52, of Toms River; Rocco Panzino, 34, of Sayreville; Jose "Kubie" Perez, 34, of Wayne; Johnathan Sorge, 35, of Riverdale; Carmine Marchitello, 59, of Livingston; Nicholas Labruno, 39, of Nutley; Charlie Thompson, 37, of Brick Township; and Joseph Lucania, 43, of Smithtown, N.Y.

Robert Fiorello, the alleged ringleader, was released on $100,000 bond, placed under 24-hour house arrest with electronic monitoring, and ordered to have no contact with any of the victims or defendants.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McCarren argued for the house arrest, saying authorities had learned of two threats Fiorello made against others involved in the case. In addition, Falk said, Fiorello has been previously charged with arson and threatening violence.

Other defendants posted bonds that ranged from $15,000 to $50,000.

E-mail: kleina@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2004 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

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[PAUL T]

As the cars go high tech, so do the thieves. Rolled back odometers, selling flood cars, Loan scams, and Title doctoring, as long as cars are around someone will get greedy and figure out how to scam you.

I think the thieves ought to pay the scammed vehicle owners the differance between what actual true value of the vehicle was and what they sold them for plus a little pain and suffering. Where does the fine money go? Lawyers?

[Marika]

As the cars go high tech, so do the thieves. Rolled back odometers, selling flood cars, Loan scams, and Title doctoring, as long as cars are around someone will get greedy and figure out how to scam you.

I think the thieves ought to pay the scammed vehicle owners the differance between what actual true value of the vehicle was and what they sold them for plus a little pain and suffering. Where does the fine money go? Lawyers?

I think the fines go into some sort of fund for the Police to use.

I think your idea is excellent, if they sold a car for $5,000 but it was only worth $3,000, the difference should be paid to the owner of the vehicle, in addition to stiff jail time that is.

[95SLS]

WOW! Markita Good bust! A while back I posted that I went to a dealer and found a 99 Eldo with low miles and like 50 present codes that were not addressed. Then I found papers and other evidence of higher mileage on the car than was on it at the time. So I posted my findings and a lot of people called me a liar basically. Only Logan said it was possible but very hard to do. I guess the Jersey Devil figured out hoe to do eh! MAN (Er ahh WOMAN) am I glad I walked away from that clean ride! As I recall it was rolled back like 40K from the papers I saw. Now I know it's possible! Great Post! MC