Wheels stolen 29/9/10

[Apache]

I was amused to see a white lambo in London last year festooned with parking tickets. If it was not actually this one, the plates were similar. How I wish I'd been there when the jobsworth traffic warden tried to enter that into his little computer...

If I'm not mistaken, that's Max Cooper, owner of Gumball 3000 behind that Lambo (who organise the infamous supercar rallies).

He went to school with a mate of mine - and is a good source of free (read unsold) Gumball merchandise.

[dieselboy]

You're missing the point, probably because you're emotional about this. Just because he had them, doesn't mean he actually stole them. Just because he didn't have a receipt, doesn't mean he stole them either. FFS, if it were a criminal offence to have an item with no receipt; we'd all be in jail going by your reasoning.

The CPS were correct in not taking this to court, there is no proof of theft and there is no proof he didn't buy them. You have to accept that and move on. You have new wheels, forget this.

I dont think I am missing the point? Did you even read my reply or did you just hit the quote button and begin typing?
I think you are somehow deeply effected by what has happened. I think you also might have locked yourself in a dark room to reply to my last post. Don't worry about my problems, though, my lifes little challenges for there are bigger ones on the horizon. I'm thinking about respraying my car pink, talking with a lisp and taking dance class.

[Chillitt]

If I'm not mistaken, that's Max Cooper, owner of Gumball 3000 behind that Lambo (who organise the infamous supercar rallies).

He went to school with a mate of mine - and is a good source of free (read unsold) Gumball merchandise.

Free you say....

[Ace Piker]

You're missing the point, probably because you're emotional about this. Just because he had them, doesn't mean he actually stole them. Just because he didn't have a receipt, doesn't mean he stole them either. FFS, if it were a criminal offence to have an item with no receipt; we'd all be in jail going by your reasoning.

The CPS were correct in not taking this to court, there is no proof of theft and there is no proof he didn't buy them. You have to accept that and move on. You have new wheels, forget this.

I don't usually get involved in discussions like this (except for hairdressing 3rdGenism!) and I'll probably regret this but.......
I think you are missing the (several actually) point:

1) This forum is all about friendship & support. When someone is a victim of a crime they need understanding and support, this is a crime against one of our own and as such we should all be there for Tony!
2) I am sure it is still a crime to be in posession of stolen property. Granted there are many more serious crimes out there but when you can get away with one like this, what's next?
3) The attitude that because the insurance have paid out everything is ok is actually what makes crimes like these acceptable. In reality we will all end up paying for these wheels and if more people refused to just roll over then perhaps scumbags like this would think twice about stealing in the first place!
4) Don't get me started on the CPS! One word "Guiness"!

Rant over!

[puddlesurfer]

It appears that what we have all learned from this thread is.......

If you live in Britain, are a bit of a Pikey and want a gorgeous set of brand new alloys and tyres, just go out and nick them.

Good plan! Anybody have Dieselboys address?

[dieselboy]

Good plan! Anybody have Dieselboys address?

Please come and try.
My spare is chained. My wheels each have two different sets of locking wheel nuts manufacturered by different manufacturers. You cannot stand around my truck for too long before it warns away and pages me which the keyfob resides by my head when I'm asleep. You cannot take the weight off any one of the tyres before the alarm sounds and pages simultaneously. Nothing of any value is kept within the truck. Its also fitted with a tracker system.

Plus, I'm a Ninja.

[puddlesurfer]

I wouldn't try Tony (I'm not like that) - I think you might get the hump at Avalanche if I turned up with your wheels!

[dieselboy]

I wouldn't try Tony (I'm not like that) - I think you might get the hump at Avalanche if I turned up with your wheels!

I may have sulked a little!

[puddlesurfer]

Then I wouldn't get a Mojito!

[Albannach]

1) This forum is all about friendship & support. When someone is a victim of a crime they need understanding and support, this is a crime against one of our own and as such we should all be there for Tony!

I've supported Tony and many others on here, but I point blank refuse to go along with whatever they say 100% of the time. It's a set of wheels, nothing major.

2) I am sure it is still a crime to be in posession of stolen property. Granted there are many more serious crimes out there but when you can get away with one like this, what's next?

Our resident barrister will put me right here, AFIK, it's not a crime to be in posession of stolen goods, unless it can be proven you knew they were stolen.

3) The attitude that because the insurance have paid out everything is ok is actually what makes crimes like these acceptable. In reality we will all end up paying for these wheels and if more people refused to just roll over then perhaps scumbags like this would think twice about stealing in the first place!

I didn't say it was acceptible, nor did I say it was OK to steal. The reality is, the wheels got stolen, Tony had insurance, insurance paid out; end of Tony's involvement

Tony found a set of wheels that looked like his, police were informed; end of Tony's involvement.

As for not rolling over, it's only stuff, stuff can be replaced. I've said before, I can't get excited about theft; it's a fact of life, always has been, always will be.

[Albannach]

Please come and try.
My spare is chained. My wheels each have two different sets of locking wheel nuts manufacturered by different manufacturers. You cannot stand around my truck for too long before it warns away and pages me which the keyfob resides by my head when I'm asleep. You cannot take the weight off any one of the tyres before the alarm sounds and pages simultaneously. Nothing of any value is kept within the truck. Its also fitted with a tracker system.

Many years ago, a friend of mine (from Cumbernauld) had a Cosworth RS500. He too had all sorts of fancy gadgetry and anti theft devices fitted to it and I have to say, they were very successful. Right up to the point where he had a knock on the door at about 8pm on a warm summer's evening. A bloke pointed a shotgun at him and said, "Give me your car keys", he never saw the car again...

[GBV8]

I spent a day anxiously researching the cross border effect of speed cameras after getting flashed by a French camera just short of Calais at just over 170mph last summer...

You might have been alright there. You can outrun most standard speed cameras once you are cruisin at 170+.
Mind you, getting done for those sort of speeds and a ticket is the least of your worries lol.........hypothetically speaking.

WTF where you driving?

[flounderbout]

1) This forum is all about friendship & support. When someone is a victim of a crime they need understanding and support, this is a crime against one of our own and as such we should all be there for Tony!

I don't think anyone has been anything other than friendly and supportive about the theft. Being the victim of any crime is deeply upsetting and unpleasant (well with the potential exception of a sexual assault on me by Scarlett Johansson ). I can't speak for anyone else but I sympathise enormously. However the latest posts relate not to the theft, which we can all relate to, but to the consequences of the recovery of the stolen property, which is not quite the same thing.

2) I am sure it is still a crime to be in posession of stolen property. Granted there are many more serious crimes out there but when you can get away with one like this, what's next?

It is not a crime to be in possession of stolen goods. It is a crime to handle stolen goods, but that is an offence an essential element of which is knowledge that the goods were in fact stolen. Most of us would probably think that in the circumstances described by Tony there is a good chance that the guy in question knew full well that they were stolen. But the question is whether those circumstances would be good enough to satisfy a criminal burden and so get a conviction. For my part I think the CPS were probably justified in thinking that there was enough doubt to warrant not spending substantial amounts of taxpayers' (i.e our) money on the chance that a jury would convict. The guy has been very evasive, but assume that he bought them from some bloke from an advert in good faith (and no he wouldn't have a receipt in the usual course of events), and the next thing someone came up and pointed out they were nicked. Many of us would become evasive in those circumstances. I am not saying that he didn't nick them. I suspect there is every chance he did. But it would be very difficult to prove. That is not some weakness on the part of the police or our society, it is just the way it is. I hasten to add the fact that I am a lawyer (though not a criminal lawyer ) is not relevant. I am not some bleeding heart liberal - quite the contrary, my politics are probably slightly to the right of Genghis Khan...

3) The attitude that because the insurance have paid out everything is ok is actually what makes crimes like these acceptable. In reality we will all end up paying for these wheels and if more people refused to just roll over then perhaps scumbags like this would think twice about stealing in the first place!

I don't think that is fair. No-one is suggesting that because the insurance has paid out the theft doesn't matter or is acceptable. But the fact that the insurance has paid out means that Tony is not substantially out of pocket, which is as much as could be hoped for from an unpleasant situation. If he subsequently buys the wheels from the insurance company and can sell them at a profit after all that has happened then great. As for a deterrent, it has nothing to do with Tony or anyone else "rolling over" whether justice is done re the theft.

4) Don't get me started on the CPS! One word "Guiness"!

If this is a reference to the Guinness share scam then it is hardly fair to blame the CPS. The CPS took the decision to prosecute a series of individuals re the Guiness affair, which resulted in a series of (multi-million pound) trials and various guilty verdicts and sentences. Reductions for e.g. Saunders on medical grounds later were the result of the Court of Appeal, and had nothing to do with the CPS. If there was a body which was responsible for seriously undermining the outcome, it was the (now thoroughly discredited) Serious Fraud Office. It may be I have misunderstood the reference, in which case apologies.


Please don't get me wrong - I completely understand and sympathise with Tony's frustration that the people who he (probably rightly) perceives as the crooks have "got away with it".

But I think Albannach's point was just that assuming that that is the case is probably not very productive, and in the event the insurance has paid so all is as well as can be in the circumstances. The CPS for all their faults do generally have a pretty good idea of whether they are likely to get a conviction or not. If they think they won't then they should rightly not waste all of our money on chasing the hope that they will, and nor should we waste time or energy on worrying about it.

PS none of this should be read as undermining the basic principle that Tony should get the wheels back from the insurance company so that I can buy them off him and land him a handsome profit from the whole sorry affair .

[flounderbout]

You might have been alright there. You can outrun most standard speed cameras once you are cruisin at 170+.
Mind you, getting done for those sort of speeds and a ticket is the least of your worries lol.........hypothetically speaking.

Well my principal concern wasn't a £90 ticket - rather a short vacation with a large cellmate called Bubba!!!

[gwh200]

Isn't it strange, how misreading just one word, can skew your whole view.
I always thought Henry was a VOYEUR...