Car Dealer’s Wheels Aren’t Returned
TAMPA — A.J. Stathas went to bed Friday night full of hope.
“Daddy,” the 10-year-old said to his father, Allen, owner of Cars Unlimited at 201 W. Fletcher Ave., “wake me up at midnight. We’ll drive down, and they will be there.”
Earlier in the week, Allen Stathas had posted a sign outside his dealership, letting whoever took about $3,000 worth of wheels and tires know that he was captured on surveillance video and that he had until Friday night to return the purloined auto parts.
The sign read: “FOOLISH THIEVES: WE HAVE YOU ON CAMERA. RETURN THE TIRES AND WHEELS BY FRIDAY.”
A.J. was convinced the wheel rustlers would see the error of their ways. His father was, too.
“A lot of people were,” Stathas said.
Friends, family and customers were “excited at the possibility that, when someone is given the chance to do the right thin, they would.”
When dawn broke, A.J.’s hopes were deflated.
No wheels. No tires.
Now the police have the recording and are investigating, Stathas said.
Stathas’ next move is to make another sign, which he will unveil Monday.
“This time, I am offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever did this,” he said. “We know the police have really good footage. That is not the problem. But in this case this person is not in the system, you figure $5,000 is going to bring somebody out of the woodwork.”
He said the reward money — more than the goods are worth — is a good investment.
“It is better than hiring a security guard,” he said.
It has worked before, he added.
A few years ago, after a major incident of vandalism at his lot in which cars were slashed, smashed and otherwise trashed, he offered a $10,000 reward.
It paid off. An arrest was made and now the offender is not only paying off the damage — about $20,000 worth — but he is also paying the reward money.
“I still receive payments,” Stathas said.
