Phony cop steals motorcycle?

PATTERSON TWP. - Patterson Township police think a man falsely identifying himself as a state constable stole a motorcycle valued at $30,000 under the guise of repossessing it.
According to Patterson Township Police Chief Rich Cindrich, Michael Grimm, the owner of a 2001 Harley Road King, had fallen behind on payments, and had been given a deadline of Jan. 19 to catch up on the payments or have the vehicle repossessed.
Grimm told police that on Jan. 18, two men came to his St. Tropez Circle home, one wearing a sidearm and a T-shirt bearing the words "PA state constable."
That man told Grimm that he was there to take possession of the motorcycle, Cindrich said, and Grimm let the men take the bike and keys.
Cindrich said he wasn't sure whether either of the men showed Grimm any paperwork saying that the motorcycle was being repossessed.
Grimm, however, was angry at Harley representatives, feeling that they lied to him, and he called to complain that they had repossessed the motorcycle a day early, only to be told that they hadn't repossessed it, Cindrich said.
Cindrich said he also contacted a repossession agency out of Columbus, Ohio, that Harley uses, and they said they hadn't made arrangements to pick up the bike either.
Cindrich said he also checked with other repossession agents in the Pittsburgh area, and no one knew about the motorcycle.
The motorcycle had been customized, Cindrich said, and was lowered by 2 inches, had its gas tank stretched to the seat, and was painted with purple tint pearl, which is purple paint with red and blue flakes.
Cindrich said he didn't know how someone would know that Grimm's motorcycle was being repossessed. He added that Grimm would not benefit by having the motorcycle falsely reported stolen, because insurance money wouldn't come close to covering the value of the motorcycle.
Grimm could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Anyone with information about the motorcycle is asked to call Patterson Township police at (724) 846-8400 or (724) 775-0883.

Repo man retires with stories - and his life

By ROBERT FRANKLIN / McClatchy Newspapers
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WINONA, Minn. — For 30 years, Kim Zarbinski has been the state’s repo man.

He has seized houses, cars, business inventories, jewelry, yachts, rights to a cruise, the remnants of an airplane factory and, most recently in Winona, a 40-some-foot Mississippi River work boat. All in the name of taxes and other debts owed to the state.

Zarbinski, 59, prides himself as being unlikely looking for a tax collector — “the world’s second-oldest profession,” he calls it. He’s a slightly built Vietnam combat veteran who often shows up at a repossession site wearing an earring and a double-breasted suit. And a bulletproof vest, when needed.

On occasion, he said, he’s had a police escort out of town to avoid angry debtors. But, as he nears retirement Jan. 2, he said that “99 percent walk away (with a) better understanding and something they can live with.”

Some even have thanked him later for helping straighten out their affairs or drawing them closer to family, he said.

“He’s a class man,” said Terri Hilger, director of collections for Zarbinski’s agency, the Minnesota Department of Revenue. “He’s very good with people. He’s respectful.”

The riverboat Kaw, his last repossession, was to have been auctioned Wednesday by sealed bid. But the sale was canceled the day before after a deal was struck to reclaim the boat for the minimum bid of $18,000, Zarbinski said. The boat will go to the new Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona — a classic case of working things out, he said.

A year younger than Zarbinski, the Kaw served as a utility boat for the William A. Thompson, a big Army Corps of Engineers dredging vessel that will become part of the museum complex in 2008.

With a $100,000 grant from the Fastenal Company’s Slaggie family, the Kaw and two small barges will be restored to become a miniature towboat exhibit on the river.

Since the mid-1990s, the Kaw has been owned by American Plumbing Co., a public works contractor that owes an unemployment compensation debt to the state and, according to Don Evanson, the company’s secretary-treasurer, essentially is defunct after delays in government contracts.

All told, the state has collected $307 million in back taxes and other debts so far this biennium, but has $320 million still owed through October, Hilger said.

Most collections come from voluntary payment plans or levies against wages, banks, state refunds or lottery winnings, Hilger said. Seizures of cash and other property — the last resort — have accounted for about $420,000 in the past year, she said.

Zarbinski grew up on St. Paul’s East Side, sustained a debilitating arm wound in the Vietnam jungle, spent nine months in a military hospital, studied accounting and went to work for the state.

And he’s got stories.

Zarbinski has held open houses to move seized real estate. He once used a St. Paul hotel ballroom to sell diamonds and other jewelry three weeks before Christmas, he said. He took a 40-foot wooden yacht from its owner on its second day in the water one spring, he said, and “that guy was mad.” Because of the possibility of violence, he went in with a SWAT team, he said.

He’s never been assaulted physically by a debtor, but “you don’t know what you’re going to get yourself into because you don’t know what state (of mind) they’re in,” he said. “It’s a little scarier out there now than it was 20 or 30 years ago.”

Zarbinski said he goes into a repossession with the element of surprise, having done his homework and preparing to negotiate a settlement with debtors. “You give them options rather than force them against the wall.”

In Winona, Evanson said last week that he would “withhold judgment” about Zarbinski, but that “he was open to discussion about some options.”

Compared with his Vietnam experiences, being a state repo man “is a cakewalk,” Zarbinski said. Nevertheless, every experience “gives me a knot in my stomach, because you’re doing something tough.”

But there are rewards. For one debtor, it took losing his business for him “to realize he had a family,” Zarbinski said. He got to coach his son’s hockey team and, Zarbinski said, reported that he “was so busy making money, I didn’t realize what I missed.”

Repo man vs. rifle in Yonkers

By WILL DAVID
THE JOURNAL NEWS

YONKERS - A 33-year-old Yonkers resident pulled a 9mm rifle on a man who was legally repossessing his car for non-payment, city police said today.

The resident, Chris Cicero of 1332 Midland Ave., was later arrested by police Officer Gerald Spano, Yonkers Police Lt. Diane Hessler said.

Police gave this account:

At 10 last night, the 24-year-old employee of Traxx Recovery Service placed a boot on a wheel to immobilize the white 2004 BMW 545 four-door sedan in the garage in the apartment building at 2 Louisiana Ave., Lt. Hessler said.

He then went up into the building and told Cicero, who was in his brother's apartment there, that he was repossessing the car. Hessler said Cicero at first agreed to allow him to take the car.

But then Cicero went into the the garage with a rifle and threatened the victim with it. The repossession agent left and called the police, Hessler said.

Cicero was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, and second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor.

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Your Government At Work

Recovery Company Owner Feels Run Over

Bill Valdez lay on his back under hundreds of cars for many, many years to get his business established in Rock Springs. In the early days, he rented shops that had no running water. Even when he finally did work his way into a three-business complex on A Street, he still worked through lunch.

"This business is all about timing. You have to be there when someone walks in the door," Valdez said.

When the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the city of Rock Springs planned A Street improvements, they decided Valdez's building must go to make room for a turning lane and a grassy area. Valdez said the building wasn't for sale.

In 2005, the city initiated eminent domain proceedings to take the building that housed Valdez's three businesses -- Performance Auto Sales, Valdez and Co., and Performance Repo Services. It was appraised at $150,000, but the actual cost to move into something comparable was more than $500,000, according to Valdez.*

Then Valdez discovered there's a cap on how much a condemning entity has to pay to cover the costs of relocation: $10,000. The appraisal process didn't seem fair, either, said Valdez. In fact, nothing about being condemned seemed fair.

"I don't feel the government should have the right to force you into debt," Valdez said. "I'm not asking for a handout. Just don't take my livelihood away."

Man charged in threat against repossession agent

A repossession agent got more than he bargained when he tried to repossess a 2002 Ford Explorer, state police in Sidney said.

A Smithville man was arrested for allegedly threatening the agent with a shotgun as the agent tried to reclaim the vehicle, police said.

Philip C. Neilsen, 34, was charged with second degree menacing, a misdemeanor, and issued an appearance ticket before the Smithville Town Court, police said.