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TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Pennsylvania man has been sentenced
today to 10 years in state prison for his
role in an auto theft ring responsible for
thefts of more than $3 million worth of
vehicles.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Patrick Gutorski, 32, of Lake Ariel,
Pa., was ordered by Superior Court Judge
William Wertheimer in Union County to serve
10 years in state prison, with three years
parole ineligibility, and to pay approximately
$180,000 in restitution. The sentence is
pursuant to a criminal accusation which
charged him with second-degree conspiracy
to commit racketeering and second-degree
racketeering.
At
the guilty plea hearing on Feb. 21 before
Superior Court Judge John S. Triarisi in
Union County, Gutorski admitted that he
was a member of an organized enterprise
that stole cars, re-tagged them using counterfeit
and salvaged titles, and sold them, frequently
on the Internet through eBay. A re-tagged
or re-plated vehicle is a vehicle which
has had its original vehicle identification
number plate removed so that a VIN from
another vehicle, usually a vehicle which
has been damaged in an accident and which
is a salvage vehicle, can be affixed to
the stolen vehicle to disguise that it was
stolen.
On
Feb. 8, two other Pennsylvania men pleaded
guilty in this case before Judge Moynihan.
The leader of the ring, Dariusz Grabowski,
also known as Derek Grabowski, 37, of Lake
Ariel, pleaded guilty to second-degree leader
of organized crime, second-degree conspiracy
to commit racketeering and second-degree
racketeering; and his brother Krzysztof
Grabowski, 26, of Lake Ariel, pleaded guilty
to second-degree conspiracy to commit racketeering,
second-degree racketeering and third-degree
alteration of a vehicle identification number.
On March 23, Dariusz Grabowski was ordered
by Superior Court Judge Scott J. Moynihan
in Union County to serve 20 years in state
prison, with eight years parole ineligibility,
and to pay more than $725,000 in restitution.
Krzysztof Grabowski, 26, was ordered by
Judge Moynihan to serve 15 years in state
prison, with seven years parole ineligibility,
and to pay more than $725,000 in restitution.
A
fourth man, Waldemar Kondzielewski, 29,
of Staten Island, N.Y., pleaded guilty to
second-degree conspiracy to commit racketeering
and second-degree racketeering for his role
in the ring on March 29 before Judge Triarsi.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18
before Judge Scott J. Moynihan.
It
is believed that more than 150 stolen vehicles
with a total value in excess of $3 million
were stolen, re-tagged, and sold by this
auto theft ring
Dariusz
Grabowski falsely portrayed himself as a
locksmith licensed in New York to obtain
automobile key codes from a company known
as Key Code Express in Florida.
A key code is a code used in connection
with the manufacture of certain automobile
keys which enables only the key with the
proper code to unlock and start a specific
vehicle. Dariusz Grabowski admitted that
he falsely obtained more than 130 key codes
from Key Code Express, as well as additional
codes from other key code companies. The
codes were used by members of the ring to
steal vehicles, frequently from automobile
dealerships.
The
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
participated in this multi-jurisdictional
investigation with the New Jersey State
Police, the Pennsylvania State Police and
the New York Attorney General’s Office.
“Frequently
insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence
of stolen automobiles and alteration of
vehicle identification numbers,” said
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “This
particular investigation uncovered a large
auto theft ring. Our investigation is ongoing
and charges against additional persons are
likely.”
State
Investigators Jarek Pyrzanowski, Jeffrey
Lorman, Joseph Luccarelli, and Kelly Howard,
Civil Investigator Gary Miller, Analysts
Paula Carter and Barbara Ziolkowski, and
Deputy Attorneys General Philip J. Mogavero
and Jacqueline Smith coordinated the investigation.
Mogavero represented the Office of Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the guilty plea hearing.
Also assisting in the investigation were
New Jersey State Police Detective Joseph
Salokas and National Insurance Crime Bureau
Agent Donald Cavallo.
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD
or visiting the Web site www.NJInsuranceFraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
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