State seizes three Porsches from absent garage owner

LIME ROCK — As part of what the state attorney general’s office described as a multi-year investigation, three Porsches were seized this month from the Paradise Garage on Route 112.

Paradise, which sits across the road from the Lime Rock Park race track, deals exclusively in high-end and vintage automobiles. Though the building is owned by Frank Gallogly of New Jersey, the business (which has been in Lime Rock for many years) is now run by Arthur Glen Kurrus.

The state lists some half-dozen substantial complaints of deceptive business practices against Kurrus and his company, which is also called Evolution Motor Sports. Though many of the complainants live here in Connecticut (including socialite Carolyn Roehm of Sharon), several live out of state, including one from Colorado, one from Texas and several from New Jersey.

Kurrus claims these charges have been resolved.

The case is scheduled to go to court on June 11. Kurrus will be defended by Denise Cloutier of Cramer and Anderson in Litchfield; the state (specifically the Department of Consumer Protection) will be represented by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Cars seized as security

If Kurrus is found guilty of the charges, many of which are violations of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, he would have to pay a minimum of $170,000 ($115,000 in restitution to the complainants and $55,000 for 11 violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act).

The cars were seized as security against those fines because, according to the state, Kurrus was moving vehicles out of his garage and had announced plans to move out of state.

In fact, Kurrus was reached Tuesday morning in Healdsburg, Calif., where he said he has been living since January. His wife, Joelle, remains in the Northwest Corner. Kurrus said she is selling their house and closing up her business, which Kurrus said she has sold. She owned two stores, one in Millerton (which was closed by last weekend) and one in Salisbury, both called At Home in the Country.

A campaign of defamation?

The violations that are being investigated by the attorney general’s office were previously resolved, Kurrus said. He believes that these charges are being brought against him because Gallogly and Brad del Sorbo of Woodbury, Conn., are "trying to bring any trouble against me that they can."

Gallogly claims Kurrus fraudulently attempted to get payment from Gallogly’s insurance company for damage to the Paradise Garage showroom. He also claims that he asked Kurrus to sell a Ferrari for him on a consignment basis; when he asked for the unsold car to be returned to him, he claims Kurrus refused to do so until Gallogly paid for repairs that were done on the vehicle. Gallogly claims he never authorized the repairs. When he finally gave in and paid for the repairs, the car was returned to him. Gallogly claimed that, when he examined the Ferrari, none of the repairs he had paid for had been done.

Del Sorbo claims that he, too, gave Kurrus a car to sell on a consignment basis (a 1967 Austin Healey). He claims Kurrus made unauthorized repairs to the car, turned the odometer back (from 87,764 miles to 38,558 miles), and then sold the car to a man in Easton, Conn. The purchaser discovered that the sale of the car was being investigated by the state Department of Motor Vehicles; he returned the car to Kurrus, who then sold it to a man in New Jersey. Del Sorbo was never paid for his share of the sale; Kurrus claimed that del Sorbo owed him money for the repairs (which he said he had never authorized).

Kurrus believes these cases and the four others listed in the state’s complaint against him have already been resolved and he feels that the only reason they have resurfaced is because Gallogly and del Sorbo want to ruin him. He said he is suing Gallogly for defamation of character and interfering in his business, he said. His attorney in that case is Michael Sconyers of Ackerly Brown in Sharon.

"If I’m out to get him," del Sorbo asked, "why has the attorney general received dozens of complaints? He’s already been arrested on perjury and felony charges."

Those charges were dismissed as part of a plea bargain, del Sorbo said.

"I’m not a wealthy man," he explained. "The prosecutor said I had the choice between getting my money or putting him in jail. I took the money."

Gallogly also referred to the number of other complaints included in the attorney general’s suit against Kurrus, and said that there are other complaints from people who chose not to be involved in the suit.

A car enthusiast, Gallogly sometimes lives in the apartment attached to the showroom. He said that he has often been visited by people who he said are furious at the way Kurrus has treated them.

Gallogly said he is not out to ruin Kurrus, he just wants him off his property. Kurrus’ lease ends on May 31. Gallogly has already commissioned a painter to make a new sign for the property, saying "The Garage at Lime Rock Park."

"The Paradise Garage name has been ruined," Gallogly said. "I will never rent the place out again and I want to apologize to everyone that I allowed that person to be part of the business community."

He has some 26 high-end vehicles of his own that he said he will now store in the showrom.

Attorney general is proceeding

As for those complaints listed in the attorney general’s suit, Kurrus feels they have been resolved and that he will be cleared of the charges.

"Mr. Kurrus does believe that most of the matters that form the substance of the state’s complaint are misunderstandings," said Cloutier, the attorney who is defending him against the state charges. "We hope that we’ll be able to clear those up as the case progresses."

However, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in an interview Tuesday that, "the lawsuit is ongoing and active," despite any documentation that Cloutier has presented and even though Kurrus has moved out of state.

"There is more than sufficient property belonging to him or to his company, Evolution Motors, remaining in the state to satisfy a judgment against him," Blumenthal said. "Three Porsches worth $30,000 to $50,000 have been seized and we have custody of them. There is also other property belonging to Evolution Motors in the custody of the state."

Even if the state did not have those properties, the attorney general explained, the state could still pursue its case against Kurrus.

"That’s why we are the United States," he said. "A judgment in one state can be enforced in another. Even if he sold everything in Connecticut and moved to California and stayed there, a judgment could be pursued against him."

As for Kurrus’ belief that the state’s case against him is built on misunderstandings, the attorney general said, "We bring legal action based on the facts and the law that justify a positive outcome."