(Season 13, EP 39)
Programming note: Painter legend Butch Brinza will be sitting in the studio with us.
Our guest will be Joseph Ford.
Joe’s career would make a great TV show. He searches for stolen rare automobiles. Tracking talented thieves throughout the black market. Joe is tough, smart and never gives up.
His latest find is a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Teardrop Coupe that was stolen from a little garage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s current estimated value is over 7 million dollars.
In 1967 the car was purchased by Roy Leiske, founder of Monarch Plastic Products located in the Milwaukee. He didn’t keep it a secret that he had this rare vehicle. Collectors, like Jay Leno, stopped by to see it. Many tried to buy the Talbot but Roy wouldn’t budge.
In 2001, the Talbot-Lago disappeared. It was learned that a couple of men in an unmarked truck were parked outside the garage. Cutting the telephone lines so police couldn’t be notified, they loaded the teardrop, including dozen of parts, into the truck using the garage’s overhead crane. They even took the documents and receipts for the car. It was a well-planned robbery.
While working on another case, Joe discovered information regarding the whereabouts of the stolen Talbot-Lago and found evidence that the car had been stored on another continent. It remained there – as a well-planned stay – past the term limits of an old Wisconsin State statutes that allows for different interpretations as to who the real owner is.
However, the story has taken a nasty twist. The car was never returned to the heirs of Roy Leiske because of this state law stature and is caught up in on-going legal tussles.
Hear more about the Talbot-Lago disappearance from Milwaukee warehouse, where it is now and what does it mean to the relatives of Roy Leiske. Joe will be on our show to tell us more. Joe is a licensed lawyer and a classic car dealer.
What a story.
This is one mystery you will want to hear.
