Donnie Callaway remains in custody Phoenix AZ. Grand Jury Indictment

Disgraceful. This guy is nothing but a career criminal.

 

Thanks Tom.

 

ok how did matt farah, given what he does for a living, not know this?

 

I had no idea it was him. Unfollowing....

 

PS, just from a quick look I can tell you a good part (80%) of those followers are bots/fake.

 

Here is more info on Donnie Callaway
https://www.instagram.com/ferrari_1966a/
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2024/04/11/769257.htm

 

Wow

 

That's appalling.

 

Love to know what the conversation would be now with these guys ?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

328 GTS #60053 is my former car tht I sold to Ed Niles.

I dont know if the registration was ever taken out of my name on their end. Last time I saw it, it still had my plates.

 

Wow , no wonder the lavish lifestyle as posted on facebook , he did used to say that he was a grandson of Frank Sinatra, with massive areas of property in California !

 

The writing was always on the wall ...... unless you were blind.

 

I was thinking the same thing. The only reason I followed him was because of Farah's posts. Unfollowing.

The article actually came across my newsfeed this morning.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13303327/Ferrari-mechanic-Jay-Leno-charged-sell-two-supercars.html

 

The ol' prison wallet text special?

 

Another example to never believe anything on the internet.

 

One of Jay Leno’s Favorite Mechanics Was Just Arrested for Theft and Fraud
Donnie Callaway was arrested in early April following a "sting operation" set up by a collector.

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/ferrari-mechanic-arrested-in-arizona-faces-theft-fraud-charges-1235578526/

If you were planning on having Donnie Callaway work on your Ferrari, it might be time to come up with a backup plan.

The California-based mechanic who’s gained renown in auto circles for his work on vintage Prancing Horses and other Italian sports cars was arrested in Arizona earlier this month, reports Bloomberg. The 60-year-old is facing charges of theft, trafficking stolen property, forgery, and fraud.

Callaway was booked in Lower Buckeye Jail in Maricopa County on Monday, April 1. The newswire reports that the mechanic was ensnared in a “sting operation” set up by an unnamed collector who had come to suspect that Callaway did not rightfully own the Ferrari Daytona and 512BB that he was attempting to sell. He is being held on $400,000 cash bond. His arraignment is set for April 17, with his trial scheduled to start on Aug. 14.

Callaway’s arrest and detainment will likely come as a shock to U.S. Ferrari aficionados familiar with his work. The mechanic, who works and lives out of an airplane hangar north of Los Angeles in Lancaster, California, has become a community celebrity in recent years thanks, in part, to the endorsements of high-profile gearheads like Jay Leno and Matt Farah. His extensive social media posting of the cars he works on, and the lifestyle his success has brought him, has also helped boost his profile.

“His work is beyond reproach,” Farah told Bloomberg earlier this month. “He gave me a fair rate for excellent-quality work.”

Leno and Farah may have had good experiences dealing with Callaway, but there are also several Ferrari lovers who didn’t. The mechanic was accused of overcharging some clients even before his arrest. An anonymous Instagram account that calls Callaway a “swindler” was set up earlier this month to share his mugshot and case details.

This isn’t Callway’s first experience with the court or legal systems either. He has been charged with multiple instances of theft and fraud over the decades, and has multiple criminal convictions dating back to 2001, according to Bloomberg. He’s also currently the subject of multiple lawsuits, including one in which he is accused of trying to sell a Ferrari Monza that didn’t belong to him and another that accuses him of unfair business practices, breach of contract, and fraud.

 

The Bloomberg article:

Wealthy Californian’s favorite vintage Ferrari mechanic charged with theft, fraud

By Hannah Elliott | Bloomberg

Few mechanics post photos of themselves on Venetian canals, brag about buying $30,000 artworks or frequent the George V Hotel in Paris and Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

But this was the life Donnie Callaway portrayed via social media to wealthy clients, who sent him their vintage Ferraris and Alfa Romeos for his reportedly magical mechanical touch.

On April 1, Callaway found himself booked in the Lower Buckeye Jail in Arizona’s Maricopa County on charges of theft, trafficking stolen property, forgery and fraud.

The 60-year-old mechanic had been arrested hours earlier after he allegedly attempted to sell a Ferrari Daytona and Ferrari 512BB to an Arizona collector who apparently had come to suspect that Callaway did not rightfully own the vehicles he was selling. The collector set up what people close to the matter described as a sting operation. The collector could not be reached for comment. The people close to the matter did not want to be identified so as not to affect potential future lawsuits, they said.

Callaway is being held on a $400,000 cash bond, according to the Maricopa Sheriff’s Office. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for April 17; a trial is scheduled for Aug. 14.

A Fall From Grace

Callaway was boosted in recent years by such influential automotive commentators as Matt Farah and Jay Leno, who featured him on his popular car-themed YouTube show. Now, some of California’s most affluent Italian-car enthusiasts are scrambling to pick up the pieces of vehicles they had entrusted to him.

“Not many mechanics in the US can work at this level,” says Steve Serio, a broker who sources blue-chip cars for collectors that include Jerry Seinfeld. “There might be 20 people in California, but there certainly aren’t 50. It’s a dying business. It’s hard to find capable people.”

No one seems to doubt that the repairman knew his way around the engines of the cars he kept in the airfield hanger that doubled as his workshop and residence in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. He would often post images of his projects, such as a half-built Ferrari 512 engine, on social media. (He isn’t related to the family that owns and operates Callaway Cars, according to company president Pete Callaway.)

“His work is beyond reproach,” Farah said in a phone interview on April 5. “He gave me a fair rate for excellent-quality work.”

Others report a similar experience. Alexander Knox, who goes by @thego_getter on Instagram, wrote a post on July 21, 2022, that described Callaway as a “Ferrari savant” with an extraordinary skill set “who happens to be incredibly humble.” He continued: “I am most grateful for his wisdom, shared life experiences, advice and lessons.” (Knox clarified over e-mail after publication that he didn’t use Callaway for mechanical work but wrote that post, since edited, after receiving a tour of his workshop.)

“A true class act” is how Dyuna Morgan described Callaway in an Instagram post on June 13, 2022. Morgan, who goes by @thegentlemanofleisure, appeared to have joined Callaway in Venice in 2021, according to his Instagram posts. Morgan did not respond to request for comment.

But among many positive comments posted on the prominent Ferrari Chat news and commentary website are those from users complaining about Callaway’s opaque fees and propensity to overcharge.

“This guy should be SHUNNED—not to be made out to be some super mechanic,” one called versamil wrote in a 2023 thread about a $130,000 service bill on a Ferrari 328.

Another, under the name Nuvolari, agreed: “Prices like the ones shown are what give mechanic shops a bad name and discourage people from owning Ferraris. They are monstrously high even by the standards of a Beverly Hills Ferrari dealership let alone a one man show operating out of an airplane hangar in the middle of nowhere.”

The Backstory

Callaway’s history reveals legal skirmishes dating back more than two decades, according to legal documents obtained by Bloomberg. He has been charged with multiple instances of theft and fraud and had a burglary conviction in 2001; a possession of a controlled substance conviction and a grand theft conviction in 2003; a domestic violence conviction in 2006; and perjury and extortion convictions in 2012, among others.

On Feb. 21, Thomas Shaughnessy, a longtime Ferrari consultant and historian, filed a legal declaration with the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego stating that, at the Retromobile car show in Paris, he had witnessed Callaway trying to sell a rare Ferrari Monza owned by someone else. Callaway was selling the Monza as if it belonged to him, the declaration stated. The declaration appeared to be related to a separate ongoing lawsuit against Callaway. The lawyer retained for that suit declined to comment.

Meanwhile, a new Instagram account has appeared under Callaway’s name, describing him as a “swindler.” As of April 10, the only posts on it were screenshots of his mugshot and criminal case history. It is unclear who created the account.

Another lawsuit, filed on Aug. 11, 2023 by Arthur Teerlynck of Kuurne, Belgium, alleged unfair business practices, violations of California’s automotive repair act, breach of contract and fraud, among other allegations.

That lawsuit requests, among other things, restitution of a 1973 Ferrari Daytona valued at $950,000; a 1961 Maserati 3500 Spyder Vignale valued at $825,000; a 1986 Ferrari 328 valued at $100,000; a 1995 Rolls-Royce Flying Spur valued at $40,000; and various parts and titles. It seeks compensation for overcharges, plus fees and other damages, and a trial by jury.

“Plaintiff has paid over $1,465,989.00 to Defendant Callaway for brokerage fees and repair services performed on his vehicles,” the lawsuit says.

It claims, among other things, that Callaway did not have the license legally required to work as an automotive repair mechanic. It alleges that Callaway wrongfully assumed control over the plaintiff’s vehicles and was actively trying to conceal the vehicles. It also alleges that, on a trip to Belgium, Callaway was left unattended in the plaintiff’s repair shop and intentionally placed small metal pieces in the spark plugs of a $200,000 Ferrari Testarossa, causing the engine to fail.

“After [Callaway] had departed from Belgium, Plaintiff noticed [he] began to make posts on social media regarding the Testarossa, where [he] made such statements, ‘Never to be seen on the road again,’ and ‘It’s [sic] Last Drive,’” the lawsuit says.

Through his lawyer, Teerlynck declined to comment. Callaway’s lawyer in the Teerlynck matter also declined to comment. A court hearing on the status of the case is set for May 14.

 

I wondered if this was being monitored.

 

And his shop was a mess!

 

While I have absolutely no sympathy for characters like this in any business or industry, unfortunately they do exist, but looking at these claimed victim vehicles with some (minimal ?) “Vintage” content, I can’t help but wonder why is this thread/topic in this section since majority of them appear to be later models/years than typical “Vintage Ferrari” ?

Besides, wouldn’t this topic be more appropriate, better serving and wider reaching as a cautionary tale/warning among some more general Ferrari discussions or in something like “Who’s who ?” section, rather than devolving “Vintage” to levels of endless public floggings commonly seen in some subscriber forums or that “0846” debacle ?