Donnie Callaway remains in custody Phoenix AZ. Grand Jury Indictment

Yes, it can be ruled out. I've been in contact with 5 people who have spoken to her by phone and email.

 

Hindsight is 20/20, but yeah. We got played. Lots of us.

 

CF Robert Desmarais victim, he gave money to Gordon Tatum to go to the UK to buy the Breadvan and Tatum once there called him saying you don't want this car it is horrible, then he bought it for himself with Desmarais's money and shipped it to his workshop in DC...Desmarais found out and went to confront him....

Tom Meade innocent, Thomassima III, Norm Silver victim who thought he was buying the car, Tatum did not pay Tom and kept Silver's money. Silver got neither car nor money.

Claude Dubois in Belgium once told me a good one, he had a rare old Bugatti, Tatum came to see it for Bill Harrah but Dubois who was nobody's fool, an importer for several brands, very astute (and one of the best interviews I ever did) noticed that the dollar figures between what he paid for the car and what he told Harrah it cost were vastly different. Hence Tatum pocketed a vast sum which Harrah thought went to the purchase of the car. Dubois informed authorities and the FBI got on the case, Tatum caught!

 

This car was seized in Tatum's last bankruptcy and was auctioned in Federal court. At the auction the decrepit Federal judge accepted a hand written, unwitnessed bill of sale which stated that Norm Silver had a 50% interest in the car. Silver was allowed to bid in the auction and pay in 50% dollars.

 

Also people need to not forget the human side...

Maybe she's just being a mom. Her little boy is in trouble and she is trying to help.

She has probably been conned by him her entire life and he is probably lying to her like crazy today.

Id imagine she's pushing 80ish and we'll she's probably not that smart. Probably just worried about her kid.

But...

It's also possible she's a giant pile of trash too. Hell maybe she taught him everything he knows.

 

Seems business as usual for a long time. No body can be trusted then or now. Will be interesting to see how this whole Donnie fiasco plays out and who ends up with what. Pretty sure Donnie is done. Will be interesting once he comes back to Calif. Definite flight risk.

 

Let's stay on topic here.

 

There's trustworthy people in the business but it is almost universally true it is not the ones standing on soap boxes promoting themselves.
I know a number of good people I do not hesitate to place my reputation in their hands when I refer someone to them.

 

That was always an awesome showroom to visit and dream in.

 

I'm waiting for the Arraignment update.

That said.....this is a legal mess to sort out. Callaway's lawyers are claiming that him not having a license to operate a car business has nothing to do with a private sale between two parties (which is a good legal argument). Further they claim most of the aggrieved customers were oral contracts which are term limited to two years in Kalifornia (again....that is another good argument).

The fact he put mechanic's liens on customer cars (allegedly for non-payment) and then had the cars re-titled in his name to sell them is a deep rabbit hole.

It would appear that Mr. Callaway knew exactly what he was doing to separate cars from their wealthy owners.

The main weak point in Mr. Callaway's legal strategy, in my opinion, is that a Mechanics Lien requires a business relationship to exist that must be satisfied. An oral agreement will not suffice. Further, because it is a business relationship.....the business must be in good standing (licensed) in Kalifornia. If Prosecutors push on that......Donnie is in really big trouble. If the Prosecutors are on their game....they will work out a Plea deal since juries would have a hard time sorting out who is telling the truth.

As to what happens next......that comes down to what charges the Prosecution is actually going to pursue at the Arraignment. Rich people claiming some one ripped them off.....doesn't get a lot of sympathy with juries.

 

So is he still in jail or is he out?

 

As far as I know he hasn’t made bail but I don’t have real time access.

 

The rules of the regulating state agency (California Department of Consumer Affairs) are pretty cut and dried and its long been established that in instances where a business or an individual needs a license (in this case both ) by state law and you dont have one your rights to perform business activities (charge for services etc) are legally very curtailed and that is for the repair side. He would also need a auto dealer license for the business and an auto salesman license personally if it is done in conjunction with his business. I suspect with his criminal record an auto salesmans license was out of the question. Hes screwed and justifiably so. As far as California is concerned a written or oral contract for any business he did related to auto repair/service or sales isn't valid.

 

There used to be a poster in this forum that was fond of the concept of Occam’s Razor…until it became inconvenient for him…

In this case, however, Occam’s Razor is still the “most convenient”…a grifter with a history of grifting is most likely grifting. But, yeah…anything is possible.

 

I checked the court docket for Criminal Cases where he is being held and his case was not listed for today. That could mean his attorneys asked for a continuance for a variety of reasons. For example.....maybe they were waiting on Mom to raise the money to pay them? More realistically they are sifting through the proposed charges and lining up their arguments.

This one is a tricky legal case. While I agree with Brian @Rifledriver on the majority of points he makes.......the precedents and exceptions in Kalifornia law are legendary. Even if there is a law on the books.....the Judge decides what's in and out. If the Judge does what I think he is going to do.......the only other courtroom activity will be a plea deal before the trial starts in June.

The bigger issue will be unwinding the cars which he sold claiming they were his. That is even a bigger legal quagmire because it involves other States and could move the venue to Federal Court where the outcome will be far more severe.

That's why it is Callaway's best interest to take a plea and settle the case.

 

Today's arraignment: This case has a lot of moving parts.

https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CR2024-115322

As you can see the original charges have been dropped because Mr. Callaway was indicted by a Grand Jury. So the new charges look a lot like the original ones. He has been released on his own recognizance effective today so ......Mom must be baking a pie for him.

He also changed lawyers in the process which is a minor point but likely is related to money and experience. Next stop on the Court train is June 4th.

 

So he was released without bail?

 

My sympathy for Trevor pretty much evaporated with that screenshot.

Best of luck to everyone with cars there, I really feel for you.

 

Doesn't mean he's writing it....

 

Good point.

 

Unfortunately I (we) know several owners who got seriously taken by DC before his previous prison time, let's await how the law can help the current owners out. He probably burned through the cash, hopefully everybody involved gets their car(s) and/or parts back. And hopefully this thread will assure his true M/O will be known to everyone in our field.

 

Just so you know the Motion for Release was filed a week ago and as you can see from the Court link: ROR was signed yesterday. That is legal shorthand for:

“Release on recognizance” (ROR) refers to a pretrial release option that allows a defendant to be released from custody without having to post bail or bond, but rather by signing an agreement promising to return to court for all scheduled appearances. This option is typically granted to individuals who are considered low-risk, have strong ties to the community, and are not seen as a flight risk.

 

Maybe even more important is according to a comment on Tom S's part is that California isn't really getting involved.
We all know how their interest in fixing anything is more about political imperatives than law or right and wrong.

 

Well there is a name I will not mention who has likewise spent most of his career screwing Ferrari owners, has reinvented himself many times and is still operating. He is infamous to those of us who are long time in the business.