boat theives busted

[snapperdan]

http://www.smh.com.au/national/thiev...0208-nnbb.html


T WAS a warm day in November 2006 when Graeme White answered a phone call from his neighbour. ''Have you loaned your boat to a friend, mate? I just saw it being driven down the road."
With a sinking heart Mr White realised his fishing boat had been stolen. Police told him he would be lucky to see it again.
Mr White would be the first of nine boat owners to fall victim to the simple yet brazen scam of Ricky Jason Lawson, a chef and private in the army, and his friend Stefan Murphy.
Over the next 12 months they would hire four-wheel-drive vehicles and trawl Sydney streets looking for recreational boats before hooking them to the towbar and driving them away.
The pair would take them to a property in Kenthurst where identification such as registration and hull numbers would be removed. The boats were then towed to Queensland for sale at auction.
By September 2007, they had netted more than $125,000 for the sale of five boats.
Once the boats had been taken to Queensland, Lawson would apply for new hull identification numbers and Murphy would arrange new hull plates.
Their downfall began with a minor detail missed. On a Stejcraft half-cabin cruiser that was stolen in Parramatta, they mistakenly attached a hull plate identifying the boat as a "Bowrider".
The discrepancy came to the attention of the boat owner and when a marine dealer made inquiries about the engine number, it was discovered the vessel had been stolen in NSW.
Murphy was sentenced to a maximum of 20 months in prison and gave evidence against Lawson, who was sentenced last week to a maximum of 5½ years in jail. Both men, aged 35, blamed a gambling addiction for the crime.
Police recovered several boats from DE4 Auctioneers in Rocklea, Queensland, and from unsuspecting buyers.
Colin Tannahill, whose $25,000 SouthWind fibreglass boat was stolen from outside his home, said the ''cheap padlock'' he had on the trailer clearly left the vessel vulnerable to theft. He now has a wheel clamp on the trailer.
Having worked in the marine industry, Mr Tannahill said all boat engines were registered on marine databases showing the boat it belonged to and who had bought it. "It doesn't matter how many times ownership changes, that information is there for life," he said.
The general manager of the Boating Industry Association, Roy Privett, said NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia offered free REVS (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) checks to help buyers of second-hand boats confirm their previous ownership.

[BaitThrower]

Sucked in. Jail time is good. Hopefully they also have to pay back the value of the boats they have stolen in one way or another, but I doubt it.

[griz066]

Hope Karma catches up with them inside, may they drop the soap a thousand times.

[-spiro-]

bloody crooks. LIFE IS SIMPLE 'IF IT AIN'T YOURS DON'T TOUCH IT'

[treno82]

drop the soap a thousand times and than more, bloody crooks don't deserve the air we breathe

[lethal098]

i feel sorry for the people that bought at auction and now have nothing to show for money they outlaid, after having there boats repossessed, yeah damn crooks make life hard for more than just the people they steal from.
hope the crooks get whats comin to them. theaving mongrels

cheers Lee

[Angla]

I feel auction houses may have sped up the finding process if they did a little bit of checking or demanded revs checks on boat and motor.

Cheers
Chris

[sagair]

It really does not seem very much prison time for the grief they have caused.
The people that bought the stolen boats will probably have nothing for their money. Gambling problems LOL B/S excuse.

[4x4frog]

Jail terms should equal the longest time any of the victims had to originally pay or have credit and loans for their boats.
It should also include a public flogging and stackade lock up for 24 hours in King George Square.

[FNQCairns]

Yeah they always have an excuse when infront of a magistrate, must be a big book of excuses for scum out there somewhere....makes me want to puke, why not just say "look I am trash, born trash, will only associate/lie with trash and I will be trash till the day I die.... I admit it your Honour??? Ooops forgot we where talking about trash

cheers fnq

[STUIE63]

why isn't the auction house in trouble surely they contributed to the crime by not doing a revs check on the hull AND the motor . alot of people would not check if they were buying from a business . godd to see they got jail time
Stuie

[dreemon]

A good old fashioned Stoneing would be very nice to veiw

[gr hilly]

i agree the auction house should be responsible or advertise buyer beware and they don't do that, buying what you bid on should have clear title. hilly

[Dignity]

with 15 % commission the auction houses should do the checking if it hasn't come through a registered dealer

[marto78]

A good old fashioned Stoneing would be very nice to veiw

Or tied to a post and a hundred lashes across the back with the old cat'o'nine would soon cure that gambling problem.