Monthly Archives: January 2025

Cars We Love & Who We Are #57

Winter of 1939 found Estonian native son and freedom fighter, teenager Mihkel Oja seeking refuge from a tempest that would soon engulf all of the world he knew and much of the world in total. Clinging to a sled behind his team of powerful Malamutes and Siberian Huskies, his hunched and bundled frame cleaved the bitter Baltic night. Fleeing across the uncharted recently frozen surface of the Gulf of Finland offered his only hope. He would surely be killed if he stayed in Estonia. Better to make this desperate attempt to cross 50 miles of dark uncertainty and danger to reach Finland and sanctuary. To do otherwise would expose him and, worse, his family to the brutish retribution common to life lived at the cruel crossroads where Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia battled for dominance over a tiny nation alive with individual dreams of freedom.

Certainly at this moment Mihkel harbored no thoughts of a priceless Bugatti unknown to the world and hidden on his father’s rural Estonian farm, but decades later he would.

In Search of the Lost 7th Royale  (Part 2 – Episode 9 – Priceless Bugatti Lost in the Fog of War)

FINLAND 1940

Distant flashes of artillery fire lit the far horizon. What became known as the “Winter War of 1939 to 1940 had escalated to widespread pitched conflicts producing battlefield bloodbaths across frozen forested terrain. At stake, Russia’s attempt to take control of large swaths of Finland. It pitted a massed and massive Russian armed force of about a million men against a far smaller and largely ill-equipped Finnish military and civilian force intent on defending their homeland.

Winter War

Warmed by the anxiety born of the distant sounds of war that carried across the great dark expanse of ice, Mihkel tried to concentrate his thoughts solely on reaching Finland. He envied the singular focus of his disciplined dog team. Thoughts crept into his consciousness bringing to mind questions of fight or flight. He allowed himself a half smile, half grimace in recognizing the irony of his apparent fleeing into harm’s way. He quickly snapped to, recognizing that worrying about the myriad things that could go wrong served no purpose. Life would provide answers soon enough. With a hushed “Tchk, Tchk” he spurred on the canine co-conspirators enabling his escape to freedom, he hoped.

A soft moonlight diffused by a gentle mist obscured the sled’s presence without obliterating the celestial beacons by which the young but skilled outdoorsman navigated his escape. Deep into the hollow hours of his silent journey, a thickening fog instilled in Mihkel both hope and trepidation. A significantly reduced visibility forced him to rely on his compass, watch, and estimated speed to orient his whereabouts. He could be close to land but how would he know. In a short time an answer came, abruptly. With startling immediacy his sled bucked high then tipped violently to the right sending both Mihkel and the sled spinning on their sides across the ice. A rock protruding through the ice had caught a sled runner. Without his life on the line, the scene would have been comical. He looked up to see his dogs, apparently unfazed, displaying “well let’s get going” expressions as they stood poised and ready to continue. Checking for damage Mihkel felt relief that the spill harmed neither the sled nor its passenger. With the sled righted and proceeding slowly, Mihkel found himself at the shoreline of a rocky beach. He had reached Finland.

He exhaled in deep relief. Then he heard it, the metallic draw and lock of a bolt action rifle. His body froze. His mind raced. Russian or Finn? His life or the loss thereof would be determined by the answer. Mihkel rolled the dice and spoke up in both Estonian and Finnish declaring his flight from the Russians. A gruff voice responded in Finnish. Mihkel, in translating as best he could understood something like “He’s some crazy, lucky Estonian son-of–a-bitch if he’s telling the truth.” Two more men came out of the woods. One cracked no smile. Clearly in charge, he displayed no intention of believing Mihkel without proof.

In a circle with a campfire and Mihkel at its center, twenty or so unshaven men in white uniforms sat silently as the leader quizzed Mihkel. It helped immeasurably that the leader, Ahti Heikkinen, during time spent in Tallinn had become acquainted with members of the Estonian freedom movement and, now, recognized Mihkel’s name. With Mihkel having been invited to share his story, the tenor of the conversation relaxed considerably. As he tended to his dog team under the respectful eyes of his new Finnish friends, they shared much about the hated invading Russians and the terror and destruction being visited upon their homeland. Mihkel listened intently as his dogs gathered like children at his feet. The Finnish soldiers’ stories inflamed his Estonian freedom fighter’s soul. He would join their fight.

MOLSHIEM, FRANCE 1939

Earlier in 1939, British automotive journalist John Daley could not quite get his hands around a haunting story of a very special Bugatti alluded to in hushed exchanges he overheard while visiting the Bugatti factory in Molsheim.

Daley, a writer for the widely respected British publication, The Autocar had come to Europe in the summer of 1939 to cover an extraordinary event. British sports car maker MG had boldly come to Germany to set land speed records with a special aerodynamic, supercharged 200 mph MG. After the successful event and before returning home to Britain, Daley had taken a side trip to visit his friend Jean Bugatti at Bugatti’s Molsheim headquarters. Always possessing a good feel for a great story, and a working knowledge of French, Daley while sharing a cup of coffee on the Bugatti factory floor overheard workers referencing a special Royale. Employing a perfect poker face and trained ear he listened for more, to no avail. With his interest piqued, Daley brought it up to Jean Bugatti in conversation. Bugatti acknowledge that in 1939 a Royale had been fitted with a new body for a French politician. Bugatti then abruptly changed the subject and said no more. Having fabricated the Royale re-body story as a cover for the Antonescu special project, Bugatti had no desire to continue the discussion.

Jean Bugatti accident

When Daley, as a naturally curious journalist followed up with the French politician, the politician denied ever owning a Bugatti much less a Royale. For Daley, this whetted his appetite for more information. Sadly for him, this hunger would never be satiated. In one final effort Daley reached out to the Bugatti main office and spoke with Accounts Manager Yvonne Smirnov. She had no information to offer. She had been well compensated to ensure her silence even though she had never actually seen the car. However, Daley’s interest and persistence always struck her as curious. As, frankly, did the hush money. The intensity of Daley’s interest, though, would remain with her for the rest of her life. As to Daley, with Jean Bugatti’s tragic death occurring weeks later, he lost interest and never chose to pursue the matter again.

ESTONIA 1940

A bitter cold wind rattled Jaak Oja’s house. Startled by a knock at the door, Jack’s wife Ann opened it to see the white breath and red face of their closest neighbor Endel. Good neighbor that he was, he had stopped to share some of his catch from ice fishing. Ann sat him down and went about fixing a cup of tea and some still warm freshly baked bread and jam. The three sat around the table catching up. Endel seemed slightly disturbed by an encounter by the lake with a very self-important young Soviet officer, a lieutenant Petrov. The fact that Soviet Russian soldiers had established camp in the Estonian forest caused sufficient concern. Worse, this young officer started questioning him about some warehouse or garage with car parts discovered in the nearby woods. Endel thought the officer must be crazy. Totally bewildered, Endel confessed that he had no idea what a Bugatti was. Jaak’s heart sunk. Ann’s tea cup clattered to the table as she momentarily lost her grip. Recovering quickly she apologized for her clumsiness and wiped up the spill. The conversation carried on drifting from topic to topic, though Jaak and Ann could not dispel the chilling fear that, for both, gripped their very being. Feeling warm and reinvigorated Endel rose to leave and head home. With thanks offered and hugs shared Endel departed through the cold and windswept farm yard. The shutting front door sealed out the blustery wind. Jaak exhaled deeply and looked to the heavens. Turning to Ann he embraced his visibly shaken wife.

FINLAND 1940

Molotov Cocktail

Mihkel had earned the warm acceptance of his Finnish comrades thanks to his passionate commitment to their cause. Mihkel and his dog team, armed with a Finnish creation called the “Molotov Cocktail,” quickly gained stature as a uniquely potent weapon that the badly outgunned and out-manned Finns could deploy against Soviet tanks.

The etymology of the homemade incendiary device called the “Molotov Cocktail”, traced back to the “Winter War” of 1939.  Vyacheslav Molotov, a particularly despised Soviet official of the time found his name attached to a very simple yet potent anti-Soviet tank weapon. A device that Mihkel employed with devastating and deadly skill.

A stealthy outdoorsman, Mihkel would work his way close to one of the lumbering Soviet T-26 and T-28 tanks pinned to the few passable roads by the dense surrounding Finnish forest. Once in close range he would set the tank ablaze by smashing the Molotov Cocktail’s flaming glass bottle against the tank’s vulnerable fuel tank or engine compartment. By the time his presence became know, he had fled the area behind his silent and powerful dog team. Honoring his speed, his silence and his savvy tactics, the Finns nickname him, “Naali,” which meant Arctic Fox.

Destruction of Soviet tank column

The character of Mihkel and his dog team dovetailed seamlessly with the undermanned Finnish strategy designed to leverage the Finns’ few advantages against the outsized Soviet troop strength. The strengths the Finns did have, they maximized. Their familiarity with the forested and rugged landscape as well as their skill as adept skiers provided huge benefits. Unlike the Russians, the Finns outfitted in white uniforms, could move largely unseen with deadly speed and silence while seemingly immune to the bitter winter conditions. Their mobility and cunning when applied with stunningly shrewd hit-and-run tactics equipped them to carve up larger and ineptly commanded Soviet troop formations with devastating results.

Found to be invaluable as well for transportation of needed supplies, reconnaissance and evacuation of wounded, Mihkel and his team’s performance elevated Finnish troop respect for dog teams. One especially dangerous rescue would have a profound impact on Mihkel’s life.

In the years just prior to WWII, a group of Americans had volunteered to fly with Britain’s RAF against the Nazi’s. A much smaller number chose to come to Finland to fight the Soviets. Upon arriving many volunteers found it most disconcerting that all Finnish aircraft wore a blue swastika. The Finns made this  unfortunate choice in 1918 well before it became the eternal emblem of Nazi evil. The Finns feeling that they had adopted the swastika first would continue its use into the early 21st century.

Gloster Gladiator

One American volunteer, Ed Sikes arrived in Finland as a self confident rawboned cocky kid and a gifted flyer since his early teens. Though still a teenager Ed lied about his age and with money from his wealthy and adventurous father came to fly for Finland. And fly he did, like a bat out of hell.

Admired by comrades and feared by foes. Ed had acquired the sobriquet “Wonderfalk’ courtesy of a German pilot who witnessed the American’s daring “dog fighting” tactics. In English the German word “Wanderfalk” translated into “Peregrine Falcon,” the world’s fastest bird known to dive on its prey at speeds up to 240 mph. Fearful Soviet pilots simply referred to Ed as “death from above.”

War hardened Finns, even other pilots shook their heads at Ed’s exploits in a Gloster Gladiator biplane. They marveled at the things he got away with. Until the day that all changed.

Flying above enemy troop encampments and gun placements in Soviet occupied Finland south of the Mannerheim battle line, enemy ground fire brought Ed down in an isolated expanse of densely forested land. Ed’s wingman reported seeing him climb out of the smoldering wreck and wave. Upon hearing the wingman’s account Mihkel harnessed his team. He would find the downed flier before the Soviets did. Blessed with a rising full moon Mihkel set out immediately. He knew the area well enough. Certainly better than the Russians.

Surely brazen. In a different situation, probably stupid. But for Ed in the sub freezing arctic cold, the fire delivered life sustaining warmth. Even better it provided a beacon that brought 12 eager dogs and an Estonian teenager to his rescue. The little English Mihkel had acquired in school together with Ed’s stumbling Finnish supplemented by their shared skill at gesturing provided all they needed to bond as a team on a mission.

The camp exploded in cheers as the dawn brought the return of Ed and Mihkel, very possibly two of Finland’s favorite foreign sons. Sitting near a roaring fire Ed expressed his warmest gratitude in this the coldest damn place. Upon hearing this Mihkel’s nickname of Naali, the Arctic Fox, Ed coined his rescuers the “Fox and Hounds.”

The coming weeks found that, with new and better Soviet leadership commanding fresh troops, the tide of war had begun to turn. The Finns signed a negotiated peace with the Soviets that cost them land but preserved their freedom. Both Mihkel and Ed sensed the time had arrived for them to go. Tomorrow they would plan their escape. The following morning the “Fox and Hounds” and “Wonderfalk” would retreat through a frozen hell in hopes of reaching neutral Sweden.

Having lovingly tended his team, Mihkel found his hopeful thoughts for better days ahead to be interrupted by aching memories of the father, mother, friends and country he loved and left behind in a time that seemed like forever in the past. He exhaled deeply. His dogs gathered by his feet.

 

By |2025-02-06T21:10:53+00:00January 23rd, 2025|2 Comments

Conversations With People We Value #57

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B

No car is theft proof. A couple of good old boys in South Carolina proved that convincingly in 2022.  While these thieves may never have attended the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este by Lake Como in Italy, the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spyder they stole had, and, while there, won Best of Show. Years later in July of 2022 while being transported to a restoration shop in New England, the Alfa sat parked at a Holiday Inn in Latta, South Carolina. There cosseted in a sealed trailer pulled by a Ford F-350 dually pickup the Alfa along with the truck and trailer disappeared. The stolen Alfa possessed an estimated value in excess of $20,000,000.

For a single stolen car that may be a record, however, more than a few organized car theft gangs operating in venues richly populated with highly desirable modern cars have stolen a sum total of vehicles with a value far in excess of $20 Million. Knowing that, it helps to understand what steps you can take to avoid being one of their victims.

Chris Connolly a recently retired 30-year NYPD veteran and past senior member of the New York City Auto Crimes Division has been part of the team that has brought such criminals to justice. In the past Chris has shared stories of his experiences with Drivin’ News readers in Part 1. He now shares more in Part 2.

Automotive Crimes and the Man Who Solved Many of Them, Talks AirTags, Fobs and Much More   Part 2

The story begins with a savvy and determined woman in the Bronx who had her Honda CRV stolen. Chris says, “Hondas rank high on the list of favorite theft targets in the Bronx.” He went on to explain that the woman had taken the precaution of secreting an Apple AirTag in her Honda. With her Honda now missing, she took another family car and went in search of her presumed stolen Honda. At this point in Chris’s story, I, being an Android user with no AirTag experience thought AirTags had a limited range of maybe three hundred feet. Thus, I reached out to two respected sources to confirm the claim of extended range.

AirTag

Adamantly, Bill, the Apple representative said, “Apple makes no claim that its AirTags function as an effective automotive anti-theft device.” My Apple team member did his very best to disabuse me of any belief that an AirTag had any value in tracking a stolen car. Having convinced him that I had no intention of marketing AirTags as discount LoJacks, our conversation relaxed. In broad terms we discussed how in some situations an AirTag’s range could hypothetically be significantly expanded. That afforded me sufficient motivation to reach out to my friend Jonathan, who works as a senior IT security maven for a global enterprise. I cannot be more specific or he will have to shoot me and possibly you. He cut to the chase. He said, “As long as there exists another Apple device within range to allow the information to anonymously leap frog from device to device to device and so on like stones across a pond the range expands as long as the string of devices connects.”  Once an AirTag switches from real-time tracking to periodic updates via the Find My Network, then functioning range can be unlimited. That said you have a much better chance of tracking something in an urban area with many Apple devices than, say, a hiking trail in the Mojave Desert. So, yes, the story rang true.

2002 Honda CRV

Now back to the stolen Honda. Chris says, “The Bronx resident successfully tracked her stolen Honda well across the Pennsylvania border.” Having located the car, she called the Pennsylvania State Police. With the NYPD contacted by the Pennsylvania authorities, Chris drove to the site. He says, “I am driving through Pennsylvania farmland. I make a right down some dirt road and pull up to a bunch of what looks like dairy barns.” His experience did not prepare him for what he found. Chris says, “I’ve been in auto crimes for 24 years, right? I’ve been to a lot of chop shops. I’ve never seen a chop shop like this. While not surgically clean, it smacked of surgical precision.” They only stole Honda CRVs. They dismantled each car in a like manner and inventoried the parts with exactitude. They stacked and segregated all like parts in designated areas. They further sorted the whole inventory, and where relevant, by color. They grouped hoods, doors, hatches, engines, interiors, etc. in rows of burgundy, white, blue, gray, for ease of parts picking. Chris says, “Everything came from late models and was spotless. No complete cars remained on site. They stripped every car to a shell.” Chris in describing a shell, says, “Starting with a complete car, the thieves remove everything even the rubber moldings.” The remaining carcass (shell) gets crushed or chopped up. He says, “This day a legit shell was there, totally stripped. We ran the VIN number. It had been stolen the day before.” The parts inventoried on site represented at least 20 fully disassembled late model cars. Unlike in this case, Chris cautions that AirTags may not always be your friend if you buy a stolen car.

Chris says, “I have one guy I was investigating. He worked off Facebook Marketplace.” Chris holds a very strong view of Facebook Marketplace as rife with crooked deals. Chris says, “The guy, using a fraudulently acquired duplicate key, stole a Honda CRV and created a fake title. The thief would get a bite on Facebook Marketplace and sell the car for a great price. Before delivering it to the unsuspecting buyer he would drop an AirTag in the stolen CRV being bought.

The thief would drop the car off and transact the sale with a faked title. When the buyer went to sleep that night, the seller would come back and steal the same CRV and bring it back home; then reload and repeat. He would create another fake title post on Facebook Marketplace and sell it to someone else biting on a deal too good to be true.

Stolen cars unloaded in Africa

Unlike the Facebook example above, many of the cars stolen that are not parted out simply depart America for distant shores. Chris explains, “For most of the stuff that I worked, the cars were going to Africa especially Senegal. Countries with bad roads provide a big market for stolen SUVs that can deal with the ruts and punishment.” However, other foreign markets for stolen cars have better roads and tastes for luxury cars. Chris recalls, “I had experience with a group specializing in sending cars to China.”

Years back a local auto-theft ring specialized in Audi A6s. As reported in the New York Post, the ringleader had a solid contact with an Asian syndicate eager to purchase every Audi A6 the ringleader could get. The syndicate had an arrangement to supply German luxury cars to the Chinese government. Chris says, “The ringleader and his cohort stole every single A6 not nailed down.” It got so bad that Audi dealers were blocking in their new A6s with other Audis. No problem for the thieves. The thieves would move the other Audis out of the way.

So how did the thieves get caught? Chris says, “This is when LoJack was pretty new on the scene. So an NYPD cop with a LoJack tracker cruising a neighborhood gets a pop on his LoJack. The signal leads him to a warehouse” Doing his job, the patrolman enters the warehouse. Chris says, “The warehouse is filled with cars, many A6s and what turns out to be numerous ring members. Everyone starts doing the moonwalk and stepping out.” At the same time Chris’s Auto Crimes colleagues are on a wire tap of the warehouse and hear the beat cop come in. The patrolman calls in and realizes that he has unintentionally blown the cover on a long time surveillance. Chris says, “My colleagues decided not to waste the effort. They swept in and grabbed everyone. Many of the ring caught had airline tickets in their pockets and were on their way to the airport.

The following is taken from a New York Post article from 2008 covering a court case involving the ringleader. It provides the denouement of the Audi A6 caper.

Audi A6

The ringleader told a Manhattan jury yesterday that he single-handedly stole some 500 autos. Most were ordered by an Asian syndicate that supplied German luxury cars to the Chinese government. “They were mostly Audi A6’s,” he told jurors. “They’d be black, chocolate, gray and dark blue,” He explained. “My main connection, all he wanted was dark-colored cars.” He said they wanted volume. He told jurors he’d pull up at an Audi dealership in Long Island or Westchester in the dead of night in a Dodge Caravan filled with burglary tools and accomplices. “I’d bring a LoJack scanner – a police scanner – a cordless drill, walkie-talkies, bolt cutters,” he said. That, plus enough fake license plates to cover what he’d be taking. Once at the dealership, he said, he’d proceed to break into and start up 10 vehicles, one after another, which his accomplices would then drive off to a Greenpoint, Brooklyn, warehouse. There, the cars would get loaded three at a time into shipping containers, and sent by rail from New Jersey to California. Cars would then take a boat to China.

So how to avoid buying a stolen car or having your car stolen. Chris has some suggestions:

GPS TRACKING DEVICES

Chris says, “Especially with classic cars, spring for the $25 to put a GPS tracker in your $100,000 car. It just amazes me when you see people bring their classic car to some big car show. They have 100, 150 Grand into the car: house it in an enclosed trailer worth 20 grand and pull it with a F-350 pickup worth 70, 80 grand. The story ends when they stop at diner and when they come out and the whole thing is gone.”

Chris continues, “How do you not put a GPS tracker at least in the car. Then when you see it’s missing you can locate that it’s going down Interstate 95 southbound or whatever. Now you’ve something to tell the police. Otherwise you can’t depend on the police to look for it. Depending where you are, the police are dealing with robberies, home invasions, shootings. You have a far better chance of recovering your car if you provide the police with useful locating information.”

CARFAX

A CarFax has value when it starts tracking from when a car is first sold. A CarFax that shows nothing for say the first 20,000 miles and then an oil change at a Jiffy Lube says a lot, all of it bad. Often it indicates some funny business with a bogus VIN number.

FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE

To repeat Chris’s warning, while not all ads on Facebook Marketplace offer stolen goods, Be careful. Crooks can be smarter than the “trusting” you because they do crime for a living. Online ads advertising a great deal that seems too good to be true should set off a warning.  A thief can offer a great deal on a great car when he has stolen the car. Any car offered without a title should be avoided no matter how good a deal.

FOBs

Stolen car packed in container

Chris says, “Keep the fob in your pocket at all times even if you are only going inside for 15 minutes.” Chris shares a very close relationship with his New Jersey counterparts.” He says, “The New Jersey Police describe whole crews of young kids from Newark and the Oranges maybe 15 or 16 years old. These kids drive around in the nice towns where nice cars reside, trying to scan every neighborhood, every block. They log who has what at the house, in the garage, in the driveway.” He continues saying, “They don’t necessarily take your car that day.” He says, “They take notes. Is it blocked in? What time of day is it? They keep track of targeted cars. They may come back another day. This time driving a stolen car and steal the car they have been watching. If the car has its mirrors folded when locked, they will wait till another time when the mirrors indicate it is unlocked. They’re not afraid to take your car in the middle of the day. They do it all the time. Nothing happens to these kids. They are minors.” Chris goes on to explain how much worse it is in New York. Chris says, “With the no cash bail reform laws, a car thief after being arrested, and with no priors, gets a desk appearance ticket and walks almost all the time. Someone can get arrested for stealing a car, get released and steal a car to drive home the same day. It’s gotten that bad.” So keep your fob in your pocket. Look at it this way, it would be unthinkable to leave your wallet lying on your driveway; so why leave your far more valuable car unlocked with its fob waiting to be taken.

It is never good for your car to visit a foreign country without you knowing it.

 

RETURNING NEXT ISSUE!

The  upcoming issues of Drivin’ News will bring new episodes continuing  the story of “In Search of the Lost 7th Royale.”

By |2025-01-10T01:09:04+00:00January 10th, 2025|2 Comments
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