Swiss man charged in 2001 Talbot Lago car heist is extradited to Wisconsin, says he's got an alibi
Federal prosecutors in Milwaukee finally have custody of the Swiss man they say masterminded the 2001 heist of a rare sports car he sold 14 years later for $7.6 million, setting off a legal fight over its ownership.
Christopher C. Gardner, 66, had been wanted by the FBI since his May 2019 indictment. Authorities arrested him in Italy last summer, but say he absconded from house arrest there and was rearrested in Switzerland in December.
He was extradited in June and is now held without bail at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun.
His attorney, Jason Luczak of Milwaukee, wants Gardner released pending trial, citing his poor health and what he calls the government's flimsy case.
More: Rare $7 million car taken in 2001 heist is back from Europe but parked by a court fight
According to the defense, Gardner's passport will prove he wasn't in the United States at the time of the theft. Luczak also notes much of the government's case seems to rest on claims from Gardner's longtime personal enemy.
Roy Lieske had stored the unrestored, disassembled 1930 Talbot Lago T150C-SS "Teardrop Coupe" in his old plastics factory on Marshall Street since the late 1960s. In March 2001, thieves took the car and related documents after cutting the phone line at Lieske's home a few blocks away.
The car had not been recovered when Lieske died in 2005. Eleven years later, a wealthy Illinois car collector tried to register the Talbot Lago, which was still listed as stolen. That alerted Milwaukee police who informed Lieske's heir, Richard "Skip" Mueller.
In 2013, Mueller had sold a stake in any future ownership of the Talbot Lago to Joseph L. Ford III, a Florida man who had previously tracked down stolen collectible cars and had worked with Gardner.
When the 2015 buyer, dental tycoon and noted car collector Richard Workman, declined to turn over the car to Mueller and Ford, they sued. The case went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and remains pending.
In his request for Gardner's release, Luczak lays out his client's health history, including cancer, facial surgery, and lung problems he says cold conditions in prison will only exacerbate. He said Gardner left Italy in November because he wasn't getting needed health care.
Luczak also questions the basic logic of the government's position: If Gardner is as rich and successful as a car restorer and collector as prosecutors say, "why would he ever engage in such a theft and scheme?" the motion asks.
"He would plainly know how rare this type of vehicle is, how difficult the sale of such a car would be if it was stolen and that such a purchase could be easily identified by the alleged victim of the offense."
"It makes no sense that Mr. Gardner would risk his life and career and go to such lengths to commit this crime which would have been undoubtedly discovered the moment he put the car up for sale or discussed its purchase in a publication viewable to authorities and the general public alike."
According to the defense motion, Gardner's charges don't support detention because they don't involve violence, drugs, minor victims, guns or a possible life sentence.
Furthermore, Luczak says much of the government's case developed at the urging of Ford, who, according to Gardner, was his former attorney.
Ford, who has a law degree and argued much of his and Mueller's civil case, maintains a law license in Louisiana, but says he does not practice. He says he and Gardner were once friends and business partners but never had an attorney-client relationship.
Their last business endeavor looked a lot like the Talbot Lago saga: Gardner invested in an effort to recover a rare Ferrari Ford also believed was stolen. It ended with long, acrimonious litigation between the two men.
"Since that time, Mr. Ford has engaged in a campaign to destroy Mr. Gardner’s reputation and hurt him in any way possible, including driving this prosecution against him," Luczak said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Scully says Gardner should be detained because he is a serious flight risk. They note he's lived in Switzerland for 20 years, has no Wisconsin ties and "substantial financial resources."
They believe the evidence against him is very strong, and he could face nearly 10 years in prison if convicted.
As to Gardner's passport alibi, prosecutors say he used a different one from 1998 through 2001. About his claimed health problems, Scully says Gardner was hiking in the Alps when he was arrested in December.
Luczak says Gardner would surrender his passport, post $100,000 bail, and live on house arrest with his daughter, a tattoo artist in Denver, who would also sign a surety bond.
Gardner's motion for release has not been set for a hearing. At a status conference in the case Thursday U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph said she has agreed to designate the case as complex, and allowed extra time for the defense to go over voluminous discovery provided by prosecutors.
Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Defendant in Talbot Lago car heist extradited to Wisconsin
