World's Finest Car Destroyed in Crash

[RDK]

And 175 mph doesn't allow any room for error. And it's faster than 240 kmh.

No s@#t, Einstein. 240 kmh = 149 mph.

What happened to the spirit of adventure here. Are we just a bunch of old farts?

It has nothing to do with us being old farts. But driving 175 mph down PCH is stunningly unsafe. Would you be this glib about it if "Deitrich" (or worse, an innocent bystander) had gotten hurt/killed? Frankly, I'm shocked that anyone was able to walk away from that crash. My estimation of Ferrari engineering has gone way up.

[Adam]

And 175 mph doesn't allow any room for error. And it's faster than 240 kmh.

No s@#t, Einstein. 240 kmh = 149 mph.

What happened to the spirit of adventure here. Are we just a bunch of old farts?

Maybe we are. Who can say? Maybe I get my adventure from music and travel and hot air balloons, not from traveling at high speeds and endangering other lives and my own if a tire should blow out or something, but I'm not a car person. I'm uncertain why you are being so hostile about it. You like to drive fast. Cool. I'm saying that it's unsafe to drive PCH, and indeed most roads & highways, at such a speed.

Personally, I think it might be kinda cool to go 150 or 175 mph on a clear straight road, but it's not so important to me, and I doubt that I'll ever get around to it.

[Dmitry]

You are right 100%, Adam. Only a maniac wouldn't agree that traveling on PCH at that high a speed is suicide [or murder]. But dammit, when you're 80 y.o. and leaking from all orifices, at least you'll be able to show your grandchildren you weren't always old...

[Indestructible!]

And 175 mph doesn't allow any room for error. And it's faster than 240 kmh.

No s@#t, Einstein. 240 kmh = 149 mph.

What happened to the spirit of adventure here. Are we just a bunch of old farts?

Dmitry,

Wow, what's up with that comment? Have you ever actually been on the PCH? A bunch of us have, and Adam is absolutely correct that driving it at 175 MPH is absolutely insane. Seriously, it is fucking insane to try to drive that road at that speed!

I've also been in a car doing about 220 kph, but it was on the autobahn in Germany, where speeds like that aren't completely out of the ordinary. I love speed and fast cars, and can't wait for the F1 season to start in a couple of weeks (Go BMW-Sauber Go!), but good god man... I wouldn't trust Schumacher (the good one, not Ralf!) to drive 175 mph on the PCH, let alone "Dietrich"!!!

Hey, knock yourself out on the autobahn all you want, or head down to Imola or Spa or any other closed course and drive like a bat out of hell... I've got no problem with that. More power to ya, I say!

But if some fucker is doing 175 mph on a road I drive on ALL THE TIME, where the average speed limit is about 45 mph, then you bet I got a problem with that! How you can defend that behavior is beyond me.

Cheers,

Shane

[Dmitry]

I think It takes Enzo about 3.5 sec. to go 0-60. 0-175 should run around 25 sec. or so. We really don't know if Dietrich was doing 175 for more than a few seconds before he became airborne.

My question is - where were the cameras?! It's LA, after all.

I want to see some footage of this thing.

[Indestructible!]

I think It takes Enzo about 3.5 sec. to go 0-60. 0-175 should run around 25 sec. or so. We really don't know if Dietrich was doing 175 for more than a few seconds before he became airborne.

My question is - where were the cameras?! It's LA, after all.

I want to see some footage of this thing.

Hi Dmitry,

True, the Enzo is a hell of a piece of machinery and can stop on a dime (so to speak). But that doesn't take into account the reaction time of the driver, who first needs to put the plan in place to stop the car. Even if the Enzo took only 10 seconds to go from 175-0 mph, the decision to hit the brakes rests on the driver... and if Erikkson really was driving the car with a BAC of .09, then his RT would've been even more hindered. There's a meaning behind the phrase "Speed Kills"...

Either way, let me say this... I love the Ferrari, but anyone who drives it like that doesn't deserve to own one (or be driving period!). Enzo is probably still rolling in his grave over this!

Cheers,

Shane

[Dmitry]

Either way, let me say this... I love the Ferrari, but anyone who drives it like that doesn't deserve to own one...

Amen to that.

[Adam]

An update:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fe...1,3019293.story

The Plot Thickens in Ferrari Crash

A gun's magazine found near the wreckage may be connected to the accident, and a Scottish bank says it might own the destroyed car.

By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers

February 28, 2006

The mystery deepened Monday in the case of the puzzling crash last week of a $1-million Ferrari Enzo on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

Sheriff's detectives said Monday that they believe a gun's magazine discovered near the wreckage is connected to the crash, and they plan to interview an unnamed person who they believe was in the car with Swedish game machine entrepreneur Stefan Eriksson.

The crash has also garnered the attention of a leading Scottish bank, which has informed sheriff's investigators that it may own the destroyed car. At the same time, detectives are trying to figure out why another exotic car in Eriksson's extensive collection, a Mercedes SLR, was listed as stolen by Scotland Yard in London, said Sheriff's Sgt. Phil Brooks.

The totaled Ferrari was one of two Enzos that Eriksson brought into the United States from England along with the Mercedes SLR, Brooks said. But detectives concluded that the totaled vehicle did not have appropriate papers and was not "street legal" for driving in California, he said.

Detectives have been trying for nearly a week to sort out what exactly happened last Tuesday morning when Eriksson's Enzo — one of only 400 ever made — smashed into a telephone pole, totaling the car. Eriksson told deputies that he was the passenger and that a man he knew only as "Dietrich" was behind the wheel. But detectives have been openly skeptical of the story, noting that Eriksson had a bloody lip and that the only blood they found in the car was on the driver's-side air bag.

Brooks said detectives have called in Eriksson for another interview. Eriksson has declined through the security guard at his gated Bel-Air estate to comment. An attorney who has previously represented Eriksson in civil matters, Ashley Posner, also declined to comment Monday.

But some city leaders in Malibu, where the crash has been the talk of the town, were less circumspect.

"The guy should have had an IQ test," said Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Ken Kearsley, who has been following the coverage of the crash with a half-grin. The driver's IQ "couldn't come up above 60 if he was doing 120 on PCH," Kearsley said.

But in fact, Brooks said Monday, the car was traveling 162 mph when it crashed, far faster than the 120 mph originally believed. The Ferrari, with just a few inches of undercarriage clearance, hit a bump at a crest in the road, sending the vehicle airborne and into the power pole, Brooks said.

Brooks said they are investigating whether someone else may have been present and are trying to determine whether the recovered gun component is connected to the case. He declined to say more about the find or elaborate on the status of the Scottish bank and Scotland Yard in the case.

The question of whether Eriksson was the driver is key to the case, Brooks said. Eriksson's blood-alcohol level was 0.09%, higher than the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.

Sheriff's officials are still trying to confirm witness reports that the Ferrari might have been drag racing with another car, and officials aren't sure if that's what happened.

Sheriff's officials said Eriksson was an executive with a game company that attempted to take on Sony and Nintendo, but the firm collapsed last year.

In Malibu, officials said they are not sure what to make of the accident.

Kearsley said the stretch of road was not known for drag racing, but for run-of-the-mill speeders. He said the Sheriff's Department has had success for the last year and a half using radar and lasers to catch overzealous drivers. The lasers are not detectable to drivers, he said.

"It's straight as an arrow where the accident was," he said. "You really have to go out of your way to hit a telephone pole."

Carol Moss, a longtime Malibu resident, activist and meditation group leader, said the accident came as no surprise.

"It was horrendous, but Malibu is full of idiots," she said. "There are a lot of wild cars and irresponsible people. The roads are dangerous. You always see people with those sorts of cars. You see some wild behavior."

But, in keeping with her Zen frame of mind, Moss extended an olive branch. "Everyone is welcome to attend the meditation group. Even the drag racer."

[Claude]

Eriksson is not only an excellent driver:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/27/gizmondo_shakeup/

[Claude]

Controversy

Shortly after Gizmondo was released in America, a newspaper printed a story linking Gizmondo Europe Executive Officer, Stefan Eriksson from Sweden, with the Uppsala Mafia. In light of these findings Eriksson resigned and at least two other resignations were reported in connection with this case. One of those resignations came from Carl Freer, the Chairman of the board and a director, who co-owned along with Eriksson Northern Lights Software Limited. Northern Lights was paid a large sum of money to create Chicane and Colors, two Gizmondo games that were actually developed by Gizmondo Europe itself. Freer paid the money back to Gizmondo in order to stop an investigation into the matter. The Gizmondo company itself denied knowing anything about Eriksson mafia ties.

[edit]

Bankruptcy

On January 23, 2006, the UK based arm, Gizmondo Europe (GE) decided to enter into administration. However, on February 1st, a SEC filing reveals that Gizmondo parent company Tiger Telematics has managed to obtain a $5 million lending agreement with Laffitte Partners. [1]

On February 21, 2006, Stefan Eriksson, the former Gizmondo executive who stepped down amidst allegations of his involvement in the Uppsala Mafia Swedish organized crime ring, lost control of a million dollar Ferrari Enzo sports car which he illegally drove on the road in California, car was claimed by Bank of Scotland during the bankruptcy of the Gizmondo, apparently while racing a Mercedes SLR. The car careened off an embankment on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and hit a pole at about 162MPH, which split the car in half. Mr. Eriksson claimed a German national was behind the wheel, but a search for the driver came up empty.[2] [3] The embattled Gizmondo hand held gaming device hemorrhaged hundreds millions of dollars last year before filing for bankruptcy: between January and September of 2005 Tiger Telematics lost £140m (about $244 million).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gizmondo

[Dmitry]

This story is getting weirder by the day! I'm beginning to like it!

Pictures from the accident scene and a mug of the "passenger" [aka driver].

[Adam]

News on this:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fe...-home-headlines

Ferrari Case Continues to Widen

Man whose car crashed in Malibu could be deported. A firearm and possibly cocaine were found in his home.

By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers

April 11, 2006

The investigation into a former Swedish video game executive whose rare Ferrari crashed in Malibu widened Monday as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency confirmed it is investigating Stefan Eriksson.

Eriksson, 44, is expected to appear in court today or Wednesday after Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrested him over the weekend. They allege that his $3.5-million car collection — the red Ferrari Enzo, a black Enzo and a custom Mercedes — belonged to British financial institutions, not to him.

Sheriff's officials told The Times on Monday that in addition to the cars, detectives who searched his Bel-Air home seized several computers, a firearm and a substance believed to be cocaine. Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the substance is now being tested.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, declined to provide details about the inquiry. But one question that has emerged since the crash is how Eriksson was able to get the rare cars into the United States — especially if British financial institutions claimed ownership of them.

Kice said that the customs agency has placed an immigration hold on Eriksson so if he is released from the county's Men's Central Jail it will be able to take him into custody.

"He is potentially subject to deportation," she said.

The federal probe is just one of several into Eriksson and the crash.

The Sheriff's Department is investigating the Malibu accident as well as a San Gabriel Valley transit company where Eriksson served as a member of the "anti-terrorism" unit. Scotland Yard has told local authorities it is investigating the ownership of at least one of the cars in his collection.

Although no one was seriously injured in the February crash, the investigation has generated significant attention because of the strange circumstances surrounding it and the fact that it destroyed one of the only 400 Enzos ever built. Authorities believe the car was going 162 mph when it smashed into a power pole.

Eriksson told deputies who arrived at the scene that he was not the driver and that a man named Dietrich had been behind the wheel. Eriksson said Dietrich fled the scene.

Investigators took a swab of Eriksson's saliva in order to compare his DNA to blood found on the Ferrari's driver-side air bag. The results are back, but detectives won't release the findings.

A blood-alcohol test on Eriksson at the time showed him to be above the legal limit for driving in California, so he could face several other charges if he is found to be the driver.

Eriksson also told deputies at the scene that he was deputy commissioner of the police department of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority, a tiny private agency that provides rides to the disabled and elderly. A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the scene, identified themselves as Homeland Security officers and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving. Detectives are investigating any connection Eriksson may have had to the agency.

Eriksson's attorney could not be reached for comment. Detectives over the weekend spent more than six hours searching his home in the posh Bel-Air Crest gated community. Several neighbors reached Monday said they didn't notice the search and didn't know Eriksson.

Before arriving in Los Angeles, Eriksson was an executive with Gizmondo, a European video game company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with more than $200 million in debt. According to Swedish authorities, he served prison time in the early 1990s after being convicted of financial crimes.

[Adam]

And this was a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fe...-home-headlines

Ferrari Owner Is Minus His Second Car

Stefan Eriksson's priceless Enzo was totaled in a crash last month. On Sunday, his very pricey Mercedes was impounded.

By David Pierson and Richard Winton, Times Staff Writers

March 28, 2006

Stefan Eriksson's famous exotic car collection keeps shrinking.

First, the former European videogame executive's rare Enzo Ferrari was destroyed in a mysterious crash Feb. 21 on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

Then, on Sunday, he lost his 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, valued at more than $400,000. Beverly Hills police confiscated the vehicle after Scotland Yard said the car might have been stolen.

The officers stopped Eriksson's wife, Nicole Persson, 33, about 2:30 p.m. on the corner of Beverly Drive and Wilshire Boulevard because an officer found the car's European license plate suspicious.

The officer then discovered that Persson lacked a driver's license and that the car was not registered in the United States.

"We contacted Scotland Yard and subsequently learned that the car was perhaps stolen" out of the United Kingdom, Lt. Mitch McCann said.

The entire incident was caught on tape by a 13-year-old exotic car buff who has filmed Eriksson's vehicles in the past.

Beverly Hills authorities said they didn't have details of the British police case.

But Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Phil Brooks said that an unidentified financial institution says it owns the Mercedes and that a financial institution in Scotland says it was the owner of the Enzo.

This leaves Eriksson with only one of the three exotic cars he imported to the United States late last year, Brooks said.

"He brought in through San Diego two Ferraris and the Mercedes and said they were show cars and that he was not going to drive them on the streets," Brooks said.

Last month's crash prompted both an accident investigation and a probe by the Sheriff's Department's Homeland Security Division.

Although no one was injured in the crash, the investigation has generated significant attention because of the strange circumstances and the fact that it destroyed one of only 400 Enzo Ferraris ever built.

Eriksson, who lives in a gated Bel-Air estate, told deputies who arrived at the scene that he was not the driver and that another man, named Dietrich, had been behind the wheel.

Eriksson said Dietrich fled the scene.

But detectives said they were skeptical of his version of events.

Investigators have taken a swab of Eriksson's saliva to match his DNA against blood found on the Ferrari's driver's-side air bag.

Eriksson also told deputies that he was a deputy commissioner of the police department of a tiny transit agency in the San Gabriel Valley.

A few minutes after the crash, two men arrived at the crash scene, identified themselves as homeland security officers and spoke to Eriksson at length before leaving.

According to Car & Driver magazine, the Mercedes SLR McLaren is capable to going 200 mph and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds.

The car didn't just capture the eye of Beverly Hills police.

Spyder Dobrofsky, a 13-year-old car enthusiast, happened to be at the scene of Sunday's traffic stop and switched on his camera.

The teenager has photographed cars in Eriksson's collection before and knew immediately that the McLaren was his.

"The car really stands out because of the British plate," Spyder said.

Spyder said Eriksson's wife was with a young child when she was pulled over.

On the tape, Spyder asks the tow truck operator called to remove the Mercedes where he's taking it.

The man jokes: "To my house."

[Adam]

More news:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fe...-home-headlines

A Pileup of Charges in the Case of the Totaled Ferrari

The man arrested after the crash of a rare Enzo faces weapons, theft and drunk driving counts.

By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers

April 18, 2006

Los Angeles prosecutors filed embezzlement, grand theft, drunk driving and weapons charges Monday against a former European video game executive, whose involvement in the crash of a rare Ferrari Enzo in Malibu two months ago has mushroomed into a case filled with international intrigue.

The charges, more extensive than prosecutors had suggested last week, come as officials with Scotland Yard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to investigate the case, which involves the Swedish underworld, fake Homeland Security officials and an exotic car collection.

If convicted on all counts, Bo Stefan M. Eriksson, 44, would face up to 14 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, who described the charges as "overblown."

The case stems from the 162-mph crash of the Enzo, one of only 400 made, on Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21.

Eriksson told sheriff's deputies that he was a passenger and that the driver, a man he knew only as "Dietrich," had fled into the hills.

But prosecutors charged Monday that Dietrich never existed and that Eriksson had been behind the wheel — with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit — when the crash occurred. The charges were filed after officials received results of a DNA test of blood found on the vehicle's driver-side air bag.

Laying out their case against Eriksson for the first time, prosecutors accused him of embezzlement and grand theft for allegedly bringing the Enzo and the rest of his $3.8-million car collection to the United States, even though he had only leased them from British financial institutions. The lease contract, authorities said, prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.

He was also charged with possessing a handgun, which is illegal because he had been convicted of drug and counterfeiting felonies in Sweden.

Eriksson, dressed in an orange jail uniform, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom packed with journalists from around the world.

His attorneys protested that the $5.5-million bail set by Judge Mary Strobel was excessive. Prosecutors sought the high amount because they said detectives searching his Bel-Air estate April 8 found an airline ticket in Eriksson's name that would have him depart to London two days later.

"Right now, I have six or seven murder cases, including a death penalty case, where the bail is $1 million," said attorney Andrew Flier outside court.

Eriksson's other attorney, David Elden, said the .357-caliber handgun was not his client's but belonged "to a deputy sheriff for Orange County." The attorney did not elaborate, and Orange County Sheriff's Department officials declined to comment.

In an interview outside court, Elden described Eriksson as "totally innocent of all these charges."

"The press has blown this out of proportion," he said, adding that Eriksson is in a dispute with the British financial institutions over ownership of the destroyed Ferrari as well as two other expensive vehicles.

Elden also said Eriksson is not a flight risk because he has business ties in Los Angeles, though he did not say what they were.

Eriksson arrived in Los Angeles sometime last year, moving into the posh Bel-Air Crest section of Los Angeles with his wife and young son. Eriksson had been an executive with Gizmondo, a London-based video game company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with more than $200 million in debt. The finances of that company are now under investigation.

According to Swedish police records contained in the prosecutors' court filing, Eriksson in the late 1980s and early '90s was involved in counterfeiting, assault and drug crimes tied to a Swedish underworld group in Uppsala, a city 50 miles north of Stockholm. He was sentenced to prison three separate times, according to the records.

Some observers Monday marveled at how the single-car, non-injury crash in Malibu could unravel such a string of revelations.

"It's amazing. If the guy didn't get into the wreck, none of this would have happened," said Malibu Mayor Andy Stern, who said he hopes the charges send a message to other sports car drivers who exceed the speed limit on PCH.

"I've seen guys like him before get away with things so long and never get caught," he added. "So they do it more and more. But eventually, you get caught."

[Adam]

Just when you thought the story was going away, more news this week:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-05090...-home-headlines

Ferrari Crash Leads to Confiscation of Badges, Guns

By Richard Winton and David Pierson, Times Staff Writers

2:21 PM PDT, May 9, 2006

Authorities confiscated guns, badges and several police cars while serving search warrants today as part of their investigation into a tiny San Gabriel Valley transit agency that finds itself at the center of a growing investigation into the crash of a Ferrari in Malibu.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies searched the headquarters of the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority in Monrovia, as well as the homes of four officials.

The probe comes three months after a Swedish businessman crashed a rare Enzo Ferrari on Pacific Coast Highway, telling deputies who responded that he was a deputy commissioner of the agency's "anti-terrorism division."

A few minutes later, two men arrived at the crash scene and told the deputies they were from "homeland security" and needed to talk to Bo Stefan Eriksson. Eriksson was charged last month with grand theft, embezzlement and being drunk when he crashed the exotic car.

A onetime business associate was charged with illegally obtaining a gun by claiming to be an officer with the transit agency's police department.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said today that detectives and prosecutors are trying to figure out why the men were connected to an obscure private company that provided rides to disabled people in Monrovia and Sierra Madre.

"This investigation is entirely focused like a laser beam on the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority Police Department and whether laws have been violated," Whitmore said. "Detectives are seeking to determine what the badges were used for and what is the extent of the agency."

More than 25 deputies searched five locations, including a large home at Woodlyn Lane in Bradbury belonging to Yosef Maiwandi, a founder and transit commissioner, and his Monrovia business, Homer's Auto Service.

Also, Los Angeles city prosecutors said they charged Eriksson with misdemeanor hit and run and driving without a California license and insurance after he allegedly crashed a Porsche Cayenne into a SUV near his Bel-Air home.

Eriksson, 44, allegedly rear-ended a Ford Explorer on Jan. 4 on Sunset Boulevard at Beverly Glen Boulevard, said Jonathan Diamond, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.

"Rather than exchanging information, he drove off," Diamond said.

Diamond said Eriksson did not own the Cayenne, but authorities linked it to him. Diamond would not elaborate. A manual for that Porsche model was seized during a recent search of Eriksson's home, court records show.

Eriksson, a Swedish national, was to appear in court today on the three new charges, which were filed Friday. The arraignment was delayed to later in the month.

David Elden, one of Eriksson's attorneys, said the hit-and-run accusations were minor compared to the charges filed by the district attorney's office in connection with the Enzo and other exotic cars.

Eriksson faces up to 14 years in state prison if convicted of seven felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto and possession of a firearm by a felon and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.

He is accused of trying to defraud three British banks by importing three luxury vehicles — the red Enzo, a black Enzo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren — into the United States without the banks' knowledge.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Hall said Eriksson tried to conceal the importation by using different Swedish passport numbers on customs forms and bank documents. Eriksson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His attorneys insist that he did not steal the cars and was negotiating a financial settlement with the banks before his arrest last month. He is being held in lieu of $3-million bail pending trial.

[Adam]

A new update, from the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-ex-fe...-home-headlines

Eriksson Ferrari crash case slams into mistrial

By Jill Leovy, Times Staff Writer

11:55 AM PST, November 3, 2006

A mistrial was declared today in the theft and embezzlement trial of Bo Stefan Eriksson, who was involved in the crash of a rare Enzo Ferrari.

Jurors began deliberations Thursday and told the judge today they were deadlocked. They had voted 10 to 2 for conviction, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Eriksson faced two counts of grand theft and fraudulent concealment with intent to defraud. Prosecutors said he stopped making payments on and tried to hide two luxury sports cars from the lenders.

Eriksson, 44, had already agreed to a plea deal on drunk-driving charges related to the spectacular crash of his 2003 red Enzo Ferrari, reported to be worth a million dollars. Police believe he was going 162 mph when it crashed on Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21.

The images of the severed and mangled car on the dusty Malibu roadside seemed to capture some spirit of debauched wealth and excess in Los Angeles, as if a Stradivarius violin had been smashed at some drunken beach party.

Afterward, the protagonist's dark past came to light. These factors helped fan public interest in the case, along with the murky happenings surrounding the crash, such as the inexplicable appearance of men identifying themselves as Homeland Security officials and Eriksson's insistence that a mystery man named Dietrich had been behind the wheel.

After the crash, Eriksson's possession of two other cars came under scrutiny and deputies searching his Bel-Air house turned up a gun. Eriksson, who has nine criminal convictions in Sweden for forgery, narcotics and firearms offenses, cannot legally possess a gun. His trial on the gun offense is pending.

This case dealt with auto theft and embezzlement charges.

Eriksson, former executive of a now bankrupt company, had been accused of transferring ownership of two cars, a black Enzo and a McLaren Mercedes-Benz, to employees, then shipping them abroad in violation of lending contracts.

Prosecutors called it a sophisticated scheme to spirit away the two valuable cars.

Eriksson's defense attorney, Jim Parkman, said the banks had finessed a civil disagreement into criminal courts out of self-interest. He added that Eriksson's contracts with them were more like a purchase than lease agreements.