!! Consumer Alert: Auto Gallery of Seattle

Hang in there Joel. Best of luck..

 

+1. hopefully it'll all work out in the end, and all affected parties find restitution.

 

Bump...any updates on this?

 

It's been like reading a mystery novel and I need to hear a happy ending. My prediction is SpeedDemon wins the law suit from the Buyer, and Tyson (oh that hurts my *** when you boys keep doing that to me) will find his in the big house. Only unfortunate lossers here are the buyers who lost their money and all those who were forced to pay large legal fees to protect themselves and their own property. Damn Lawyers, they still get theirs though. (However, I wouldn't hesitate to hire one if I need one.)

Wishing the best for you SpeedDemon.

 

Last I heard the civil trial was coming up in early December...

I don't believe that any criminal charges have been filed or are pending at this time.

 

Damn, how could criminal charges NOT be filed by now?

 

Joel is also in transition.

 

A little perspective: This is the kind of case that will require a jury trial. The state has limited resources and DAs pursue cases where there is a possibility of serious and immediate harm to the community as a whole, that they can win and which will get the sympathies of the jury. Usually those are cases where there is physical danger or, where con artists are involved, "the little guy" has gotten badly burned.

We may be outraged at the way some of our fellow members were swindled, but keep in mind that their loss while painful, was not a truly life-changing event, such as being permanently crippled by a drunk driver or losing one's entire life savings to some scammer who preys upon the elderly. I'm sure many of us lose that much on paper when there's a bad week in the stock market.

Most of the working public worry about paying the mortgage or rent and making payments on their credit cards and on their Hyundais or Toyotas (they are the ones who actually end up serving on juries) and will have little sympathy for those in our situation.

I consigned a beautiful 993 Carrera Targa to a dealer recently and, who knows, I could have been up the same creek. Would I have been cranked? You bet. Would the basic elements of my life other than my near-term emotional equilibrium have been drastically altered? Probably not. I can't be too riled that those who have fewer resources than the typical F-car owner are more fittingly protected by the judicial system from such immediate criminal problems as a violent spouse or intimidation by a drug dealer.

 

All good thoughts. However, rich ,poor or in the middle. We all can relate to being screwed, taken advantage of, and forced to pay large sums that effect us financially in are daily lives to defend our rights. I'm an average guy just like most lawyers always seem to choose when I get called up to jury duty, and I would have no problem seeing how the consignor was wronged as well as buyer. I stlill beleive that if this was a politician, mayor, gov, congress person, the DA would have moved on this case by now. If their slow on this, then I bet they'll ignore and put off the same type of cases that you've discribed above. I know for a fact that more old people get taken advantage of then criminals get prosecuted for. Fact is when you have an opportunity to get a bad person you do it!!!!. It not only punishes them for the crime, it also sends the message to others not to try this or you'll be screwed (litually) yourself. This message just says it's ok to screw people and move on to California.

 

I'm sorry, but that doesn't justify the inattention, in my mind. It really is more about who's got the political influence to force the issue.

Here's an example.

One of the offices that I consult for had two employees who were stealing from the company and extorting/stealing from some of the company's clients. The best estimates are that one managed to get somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 and the other managed to get $200-300,000. When discovered (evidence included correspondence, canceled checks, statements from clients) the police were called. An officer came and took a statement, and the case was forwarded to the SPD fraud unit. This was over 1 year ago. To date, pretty much no action from the SPD. The officer assigned to the case has responded to status requests with "look, I've got 42 other cases."

Now, if they had been caught shoplifting from a Safeway, Bartells, or Nordstrom, NO MATTER THE AMOUNT, they would have been arrested, charged, had an initial hearing, and either would have pled or have been scheduled for trial.

Get caught shoplifting 4 pairs of No Nonsense panty hose - get arrested, go to court, get sentenced, get fined.

Get caught stealing $500,000 - nothing, absolutely nothing.

 

+1

 

I didn't say that I LIKED the way it is, just that it IS the way it is. White collar crime, like corruption, takes far more money out of the economy and lowers the overall quality of life of a society more than does violent crime, but it is more widely absorbed. People generally view crimes and identify with victims on a more personal level; it's a lot easier to imagine the evil in someone holding a knife to your throat than in changing entries on a ledger sheet.

Part of the reason to prosecute shoplifters is that it serves as an example to the general public where there is a great and immediate temptation and opportunity to commit the act (kind of like prosecuting traffic infractions). Most members of the general public do not have the opportunity to embezzle vast sums or shake down suppliers and the "example factor" is far lower. As I said in the previous post, law enforcement resources are limited and, as I said above, I didn't say that I liked the idea that crimes go unpunished.

 

Not wanting to start an argument, but how can you (2000 456M) say that violent crime is not as harmful to a person's quality of life as white collar crime? I am sure that the poor who live in ghettos would disagree. Getting robbed and stabbed on your way home from the bus stop surely effects more people than the white collar crime mentioned above (Understand, however, that I am not saying that white collar crime is not bad).

 

Maybe I didn't write clearly (for me, that is a real crime). Of course, an inidividual's quality of life is harmed to a far greater degree when violent crime happens to him/her, or someone he/she is close to, than does white collar crime. However, thousands of robberies in different cities don't affect as many people (i.e. society as a whole) as did the Enron debacle.

Societal harm is a function of the impact on how people think because it affects their actions even when they are not the direct victims.

We're way off topic here. I wasn't making any value judgment. I just tried to explain why DAs concentrate on violent vs. white collar crime when resources are limited.

 

This is all just hearsay. Go to the source I say and ask Tyson himself what is going on. Just hit him up on Friendster and, who knows, maybe he'll include you as one of his friends in his extended network:

http://profiles.friendster.com/1642064

My favorite quote:

Favorite Books?

"Don't use them"

 

This just makes me a little sad. We all have situations in life where you have a chance to screw, take advantage, cheat, or steal from others. In the end you don't because it's not right. You wouldn't want someone to do it you, and you need to stand tall and feel good about yourself. Then a guy like this comes along and proves that if you cheat, steal from others it's all ok. Besides our legal system and those we give the responsability to enforce our laws are all part of the problem. You hear that a lot of lawyers are guilty themselves of over billing, excessive cronic billing and such so mayby deep down they admire a guy like this for having the gonads to be so direct and obivious.

 

I think you may be projecting on to a whole profession what you imagine their motives are. You don't condemn corporate managers generally for the antics of Dennis Koslowski, Ken Lay and Bernie Ebbers (all of whom got their asses nailed by the judicial system), do you? I think people are generally inclined to think ill of lawyers because they always get to know them--and judges--in unpleasant personal contexts: a divorce, a ticket or a car accident. I've known hundreds of laywers. Some are truly extraordinary people, most are decent and hard working, and a few are genuine slime. I've been an officer and senior executive at two fortune 500 companies and can say the same of my business colleagues.

I've also noticed that people who complain about government inaction are the same ones who rail against taxes and are outraged by all of the "waste" in government and vote against providing funds for the judicial system. You can't have it both ways.

 

It doesn't look like Tyson has logged in there for quite some time. The last comment is from 2004. It says occupation is Auto Gallery of Seattle which is obviously not true now.

 

Yeah I didn't think he was actually using it anymore. I though the fact that he said he doesn't use books was somewhat humorous given the nature of his crimes. Not that I find anything that he did here funny and I meant no offense to his victims. I could have easily been one of them as I had my 328 in storage there (not for sale) in late '05/early '06. He actually told me about someone who might be interested in it and I sort of entertained it but managed to pull it out of there without any funny business.

I wonder who's 355 his son is sitting on?

 

Any updates ?

 

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

I lost. Hensrude successfully convinced the court that he was the injured party, and I am left in sole posession of "the bag". And a big bag of nothing, it is.

Despite the facts that he purchased it after the consignment agreement had expired; that he knowingly purchased it for less than the consignment agreement specified; that he admitted on the stand that he himself requires the title at the time of purchase; that BECU violated its own lending policies by providing monies without proof of ownership ...

And despite the facts that Hensrude is, actually, a dealer of used cars himself; that he has a non-dischargeable court-entered bankruptcy settlement agreement in place with Tyson Spring for more than $127,000 to be paid to him over 5 years, ...

Despite all of that -- and much more -- I have been ordered to turn over the car/title plus a check for mileage/depreciation on the vehicle.

It was a complete goat-rodeo. Apparently, it is legal in the state of Washington for a dealership to steal your car, and then for someone to buy it illegally. You have no recourse, you have no options.

Tyson is in the wind. Near as I have been able to determine, the King County DA isn't interested in pursuing any criminal charges. "Oh, he's just a bad businessman and things went south; he didn't intend to defraud anyone" ... seems to be the tune. It is either too complex or too time consuming to deal with, so another white-collar criminal goes free. After all, it is more important to prosecute a shop-lifter than a con-man that bilks dozens of honest, hard-working tax payers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the end, Hensrude gets the car, and he *gets paid* for the very same car. He gets a free Ferrari, I get jack. Two crooked used car salesmen are able to collude to defraud a third party, and it is all perfectly legal. Ain't the American justice system grand?

There are so many other things I would like to say, but if I did, I'm sure he would hit me with yet another lawsuit. Tyson is a dirtbag, and he knows it. Hensrude is ... well ... I'll let you draw your own conclusions. It's all a matter of public record, now, so feel free to read it for yourselves. If I were in his seat, I might have been inclined to follow the same path, but I hope that my conscience and sense of basic decency would prevent me from illegally profitting against an innocent individual. Hensrude suffers from neither affliction to any great extent, and so he doesn't seem bothered by the prospect.

I want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and support throughout this ordeal. Maybe -- one day in the distant future -- I will again have the pleasure of owning the king of cars. So if you hear the ear-splitting shreek of a finely tuned Capristo exhaust, or see a flash of red on the freeway, please tip your hat to a fallen soldier.

Motor on, friends, motor on.

--Joel

 

Hensrude gets your car?

<AND>

Tyson owes him $127K?

WTF? I understand that one of you would end up not getting the car. Why doesn't the other person get the judgement against Tyson?


Is this Hensrude?

http://www.precisioncollisionautobody.com/about.html
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

REAL REAL sorry to hear that...it is a Black Eye for all..

My thoughts or with Joel!!

SUCKS

 

Joel, so that's it? No appeals process or the like? I am flat out amazed. The more I hear about the legal process in Washington state, the more I'm convinced this is not a state for the "good guys".

Tyson should go to jail, BECU should be liable for Hensrude's loss. End of story.

 

This has to be the most dissapointing I think I've ever heard. Extremely sorry to hear this. Its just hard to believe there is no recourse?