Owner of Sam’s Auto Sales near Carmichaels to stand trial on theft, fraud charges
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Samuel R. Calabris III leaves his preliminary hearing in this August 2018 file photo after being ordered to stand trial on charges he stole more than $37,000 in taxes and fees paid by at least 227 customers of Sam’s Auto Sales in Cumberland Township.
Trista Thuston/Observer-Reporter
Sam’s Auto Sales at 426 Route 88 in Cumberland Township
CARMICHAELS – For more than 25 years, Russell and Virginia Pratt bought vehicles and performed numerous title transfers at Sam’s Auto Sales on Route 88 in Cumberland Township, never having a problem with the sales or paperwork.
The Carmichaels couple had a good working relationship with the dealer’s original owner, Sam Calabris Jr., and then later with his son, Samuel R. Calabris III, when he took over the business following his father’s death in December 2015.
They said that all changed last July when they bought a used SUV that started smoking the next day, prompting them to return the vehicle and buy another SUV that soon began having transmission problems. A $300 warranty they bought from Calabris was worthless, they said, when they dropped the SUV off at the dealership last August and it remained there untouched for four months.
“There was always an excuse,” Virginia Pratt said after attending the dealer’s preliminary hearing Wednesday in which Calabris was ordered to stand trial on charges he defrauded hundreds of clients.
The couple bought three vehicles from Sam’s last year and attempted a couple of title transfers on campers, but never received the paperwork from the state Department of Transportation.
After hearing similar reports from other customers last November, state police Trooper Ralph Parise executed a search warrant at Sam’s Auto in early December and said he found the office in “total disarray,” with paperwork scattered around or missing information. The Pratts saw Parise searching the office that day and told him of their situation, and soon learned they weren’t alone.
“We’ve got a vehicle we can’t do anything with,” Russell Pratt said of the SUV with no title. “We’ve got a 5,000-pound yard ornament.”
For more than a year, Calabris, 55, of Morgantown, W.Va., took taxes and administrative fees from at least 227 customers – totaling more than $37,000 – and never turned them in to PennDOT, Parise testified during the dealer’s hearing.
Parise, who was the only person to testify, said Calabris tried to cover his tracks by issuing customers fraudulent “pink slips” and 90-day temporary tags so the vehicles would appear legal months after he was supposed to submit the information and money to the state for processing. The alleged thefts began in late 2016, with the bulk of the problems coming in 2017 before Calabris abandoned his dealership earlier this year, Parise said.
Now, the Pratts and hundreds of other customers are working with police and state officials, trying to get the proper paperwork so their vehicles can be driven on the street. Customers with title issues have been urged to contact state police or the district offices of state Rep. Pam Snyder for assistance.
“We work hard for our money,” Virginia Pratt said. “Why rip off so many people?”
During the lengthy hearing before District Judge Lee Watson, Parise testified about his nearly nine-month investigation into the dealership, reading the names of each victim and the amount Calabris allegedly stole. The individual thefts ranged from $36 to $857, with most cases under $300. In all, Calabris is accused of stealing nearly $37,437 before he was charged in June with more than 1,800 counts connected to the alleged scheme.
Parise said he began investigating in November when he learned of a few complaints. Soon, “my phone at work began to explode” when customers learned of the investigation. Parise said investigators are discovering more victims as customers continue to come forward with complaints.
“This has been a pretty extensive case,” Parise said.
Parise did not suggest a motive, but he said problems apparently began in the months after Calabris III’s father died and the son took control of the business. Parise said the dealership has a $30,000 insurance bond that PennDOT is attempting to get released to pay for the title work. An auto auction at Sam’s in July raised about $90,000, Parise said.
During the hearing, Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox asked that 227 felony charges of theft by failing to make required payments be reduced to one felony count because the aggregate of the thefts showed a “course of conduct.” David Pollock, the defense attorney for Calabris, disagreed and requested those charges be reduced to misdemeanors to reflect each individual case. Watson agreed with Fox’s request, and also ordered Calabris to stand trial on 35 felony counts, 28 misdemeanor charges and more than 1,300 summary citations.
Calabris remains free on $75,000 unsecured bond while he awaits trial.