Curtis may end up with the fishes one day

[whitetop]

Owner of Redline Performance in PA (builder of Hot Rod Mag 2009 Hot Rod of the year)

According to a criminal affidavit, Robert Sechan of New Canaan, Conn., purchased a 1969 Chevy Camaro for $25,000 from a dealership in West Virginia and had the car delivered to the RPM garage in Warrendale in 2010. Sechan said he wired a total of $227,500 in payments to Ukasik from June 2010 to October 2011.

The car ended up being stored at Area 51 Autoworx in West Newton. Sechan hired a private investigator to track it down. The investigators said he found it in 2014, and determined barely any work had been done – it was a body shell with a frame and wheels and no motor – and it was in nearly identical condition to what it was when it was delivered to Ukasik in 2010.  

Investigators said Sechan reported the car also was missing $10,000 in parts. During the time the Camaro was in Ukasik’s possession, he gave regular email updates to Sechan describing the progress, justifying delays and asking for additional money, all while asserting how good the end result would be upon completion of work, investigators said.

In another complaint in the investigation, Beth Johnson of Moss Point, Miss., sold her 1962 Chevy Bel Air to a buyer in Butler for $75,000 as part of a plan to use the money to do restoration work on her 1974 Plymouth Duster in September 2013. Johnson inquired about the status of the rebuild over a two-year period and ultimately found that in 2015, the car was in the same condition as when she delivered it, according to authorities.


A complaint from Robert Gottlieb of Pittsburgh detailed how he provided a 1971 Chevrolet Corvette to Ukasik in 2013 for a total rebuild and sent payments totaling $66,500. Parts bought for the car were sold on eBay, according to the criminal affidavit, and Ukasik allegedly admitted to investigators in January he owed nearly $60,000 to Gottlieb and hadn’t completed the build



http://www.observer-reporter.com/2016042...stealing_430000

[whitetop]

a Pittsburgh man who paid $179,324 to custom rebuild a 1970 Dodge Charger; a New York man who paid $170,180 to rebuild a 1949 Ford; a Moon Township man who paid $23,000 for a build of a 2001 Chevy Camaro funny car; an Erie man who paid $17,000 for the restoration of a 1934 Ford Roadster; and a Warrendale man who paid $50,000 for the restoration of a 1955 Chevy Belair.




What a piece of workVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
<span style="font-weight: bold">According to the affidavit, Mr. Ukasik would tear down the vehicles he was supposed to restore or rebuild and sell off the parts, including in one case, the factory installed air condition unit of a 1950 Chevy antique truck.</span>

[SS427]

Which is one reason why so many people have become skeptical about having a restoration shop out of their own state restore cars for them. It's scum like this and others that ruin this hobby. All in the name of money.

[earntaz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS427</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Which is one reason why so many people have become skeptical about having a restoration shop out of their own state restore cars for them. It's scum like this and others that ruin this hobby. All in the name of money. </div></div>

YES -- with that being said it is too bad other HotRodders &amp; Classic Car types are not aware of sites like this where they can separate fact from fiction. The regulars here will steer folks in the right direction ... TAZ [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]