No Mystery Driver at Ferrari's Wheel
Richard Winton and David Pierson
Los Angeles Times
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It started with a traffic report of a one-car crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 6 on a cool February morning. No injuries, only moderate traffic backup.
But then, deputies at the scene learned the car was a rare Enzo Ferrari, one of only 400 in the world. The only person on the side the road was a former European video game mogul who said he was a passenger in the car and that the driver, a man who only knew as "Dietrich" had fled into the hills.
So began a mystery that detective in California and Scotland Yard have been trying unravel for three months, a twisted case that involves Swedish mafia, fake "homeland security" officers and an $3.5 million exotic car collection.
On Monday, prosecutors charged that "Dietrich" never existed.
It was former gaming executive Stefan Eriksson behind the wheel of a rare Enzo Ferrari last February when it crashed into a power pole going 162 mph on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, according to charges filed by the Los Angeles Dist. Atty's office.
Authorities said was legally drunk at the time. 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 car collection to the United States even though he only leased them from British financial institutions, which prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.
Apr 17, 2006
Richard Winton and David Pierson
Los Angeles Times
_____________
It started with a traffic report of a one-car crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 6 on a cool February morning. No injuries, only moderate traffic backup.
But then, deputies at the scene learned the car was a rare Enzo Ferrari, one of only 400 in the world. The only person on the side the road was a former European video game mogul who said he was a passenger in the car and that the driver, a man who only knew as "Dietrich" had fled into the hills.
So began a mystery that detective in California and Scotland Yard have been trying unravel for three months, a twisted case that involves Swedish mafia, fake "homeland security" officers and an $3.5 million exotic car collection.
On Monday, prosecutors charged that "Dietrich" never existed.
It was former gaming executive Stefan Eriksson behind the wheel of a rare Enzo Ferrari last February when it crashed into a power pole going 162 mph on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, according to charges filed by the Los Angeles Dist. Atty's office.
Authorities said was legally drunk at the time. 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 car collection to the United States even though he only leased them from British financial institutions, which prohibited him from taking the vehicles out of England.
Apr 17, 2006
