Man gets probation for selling stolen cars

Aug. 8—DANVERS — A New Hampshire restaurant owner was spared any jail time and will pay back just a portion of what he took from customers who thought they were getting a deal on luxury vehicles, under the terms of a plea agreement accepted Monday by a Salem Superior Court judge.

Robert Pagliarulo, Jr., 53, of Kingston, New Hampshire, who runs Saddle Up Saloon and The Clam Bar, is also obligated under the deal to testify against his co-defendant, Elvis Francois of Miami — if Francois ever turns up.

Francois, who is out on bail, failed to appear on a hearing date in April.

Pagliarulo pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of selling used cars without a second-hand dealer's license. Eight other charges including conspiracy, money laundering, selling vehicles with defaced serial numbers, receiving stolen vehicles and passing forged instruments were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The scheme worked like this: Between January and September 2017, Pagliarulo, who did not work for any dealership, would approach people browsing cars at dealers along Route 114.

He gave various accounts of how he came to have a luxury or sports car that he wanted to sell at a steep discount.

Customers would pay Pagliarulo for the cars, including BMW 3- and 5-series models, Infiniti SUVs, and a Ford Mustang. He in turn obtained them through Francois, and would have them delivered to Danvers on a car transport truck — along with phony titles and altered vehicle identification (VIN) numbers.

Prosecutor Alexander Grimes said Pagliarulo took part in replacing VIN numbers with stickers, sometimes filing away the old numbers.

Pagliarulo's lawyer, Carmine Lepore, disputed that, saying his client believed the vehicles were legitimately available for sale and that Francois showed him titles and temporary plates for the vehicles.

"He was victimized by Mr. Francois," Lepore said.

All of the vehicles were stolen either from car rental agencies or in a couple of cases, off the street, it turned out.

One of the customers was driving his vehicle for months when he was pulled over by the police — who promptly seized the stolen car, Grimes said.

Other victims learned about the situation when investigators showed up at their homes to take back the vehicles.

Judge James Lang acknowledged that the $20,000 restitution figure agreed to between the prosecutor and defense, which will be split among four of the victims, "is well short of the very significant financial impact this has had not only on the four victims but others as well."

But a decade-old Supreme Judicial Court ruling that requires courts to consider what a defendant can afford to pay makes it difficult for a judge to force someone to pay more, the judge said.

Pagliarulo will be required to pay $555 a month for the three years he is on probation, the judge ordered.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis