Club Cobra - Lawsuit: Paradise Garage in Lime Rock CT

February 10, 2008: NY Sunday Times by Jeff Holtz

LAWSUIT
State Pursues Case Against Luxury Car Dealer

By JEFF HOLTZ
WHEN Michael Torsone decided to sell his 1967 Jaguar convertible more than a year ago, he turned to Evolution Motor Sports in Lime Rock, an antique, sports and luxury car dealership and garage.

But more than a year and a half after he said he agreed to let Evolution’s owner, Arthur Glen Kurrus, try to find a buyer, Mr. Torsone now says Mr. Kurrus stole his car. He is not the only one to accuse Mr. Kurrus, who moved to California sometime after complaints against him began to snowball around 2006.

In December, the Connecticut State Police arrested Mr. Kurrus, who has a house in Falls Village and was extradited from California, on two counts of first-degree larceny and one count of conspiracy to commit second-degree forgery. The charges are based on complaints by Mr. Torsone, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Steve Cohen of Bedford Hills, N.Y. Mr. Cohen said he gave his 1967 Austin Healey to Mr. Kurrus to sell in 2003 and still has not had the car returned to him, or received money for its sale.

Mr. Kurrus is also facing prosecution by State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the State Department of Consumer Protection. Their complaint contends that from 2001 to 2007, Mr. Kurrus committed fraud against numerous clients, including Mr. Torsone and Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Kurrus posted a $150,000 bond in December, and on Jan. 8 pleaded not guilty to the charges filed by the state police.

Mr. Kurrus’s lawyer, William F. Hickey III, said the charges were without merit.

“Both people voluntarily gave him the cars to sell,” he said of Mr. Torsone and Mr. Cohen.

Mr. Kurrus could not be reached for comment. Mr. Hickey said he is representing him only in the criminal case.

Mr. Torsone, 54, a funeral director, said that he and Mr. Kurrus entered into a verbal agreement in June 2006 that the car dealer would try to sell his car for no less than $80,000. Last May, Mr. Torsone contends, Mr. Kurrus sold and delivered the Jaguar to a New Hampshire couple for $67,000, and forged his signature on the registration.

Mr. Torsone said he found out about the sale only when Mr. Kurrus wired $10,000 into his bank account.

“I never would have agreed to sell my car for $67,000 when I owed the bank $75,000 for it,” he said. He said that after he complained to the authorities, the Connecticut State Police seized the car in New Hampshire and impounded it.

Mr. Hickey, the lawyer, said that his client has not yet been able to sell Mr. Cohen’s car.

“When it’s sold, the guy will get paid,” Mr. Hickey said. “He just didn’t wait long enough basically. But to some degree, it was a long time, so I can understand his frustration with it.”

Mr. Cohen, 57, said he had been “extraordinarily” patient.

“When you put a car out on consignment, and it has not been returned to you after a long period of time, you can draw your own conclusions,” said Mr. Cohen, who is a money manager.

In its complaint, the state’s attorney general’s office said that Mr. Kurrus sold cars out of his business, also known as Paradise Garage, without the knowledge of the owners, withheld the proceeds from sales, tampered with odometers, falsely represented himself as the owner of cars to potential buyers and made unauthorized repairs. One of the people included in the suit was the fashion designer and author Carolyne Roehm of Sharon, who won her own lawsuit against him for the proceeds from the sale of her 1971 Mercedes.

The state is seeking restitution for victims, as well as civil penalties that could be as high as $5,000 for each violation, Mr. Blumenthal said. He also said he would try to get any missing vehicle returned to the owner.

In the meantime, Mr. Torsone said that he received an insurance settlement for auto theft on the car. He said he hopes to return the $10,000 to the New Hampshire couple who thought they were buying his car from Mr. Kurrus. The authorities told him to hold the money in an account while the investigation continues.

“There were a million dollars worth of cars in that dealership, Ferraris and Porsches, in a very rural, beautiful and wealthy community,” Mr. Torsone said. “Never in a million years did it cross my mind that my car wouldn’t be safe there.”