[RC45]

Luxury Car Theft Ring Broken Three Westchester Men Arrested Drag Racer Eddie Bello Among Them Mercedes, Porsches, Lexuses (WCBS) (NEW YORK) Mar 26, 2001 6:19 pm There won't be any more laps around the track for a well-known drag racer from the Bronx, who was among three body shop owners arrested in connection with the theft of luxury cars from Westchester, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports. Eddie Bello, 35, who has won fame with souped-up Porsches on the import drag-racing circuit, was arraigned Saturday in Mount Vernon on a charge of illegal possession of a vehicle identification number, District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said. Bello, known as the East Coast Assassin in drag racing circles, owns Bellotech Performance on McQuesten Parkway in Mount Vernon, where he works on his racer and other cars. The owners of two neighboring shops also were charged with the same felony: Robert Benedettini, 42, of Yonkers, owner of Star Auto Body, and Anton Shkreli, 33, of the Bronx, owner of Evropa Motors. Pirro said investigators at Bello's shop seized two Porsche engines and two Porsche transmissions, all with defaced identification numbers. At Evropa, they took two Porsches with defaced identification numbers, plus a Mecedes Benz engine and five air bags, similarly defaced, she said. They also found an illegal 9 mm handgun, the district attorney said. And at Star Auto Body, they seized a partially dismantled and defaced Lexus sports utility vehicle and a small amount of the drug Ecstasy, she said. Pirro said the arrests stemmed from the investigation of a stolen-car ring that had specialized in swiping luxury vehicles from Westchester driveways and parking lots and shipping them to Asia. Eight men were arrested last month. Illegal possession of a vehicle identification number is punishable by up to four years in prison. More charges could be filed, says Pirro, if the men were shipping auto parts internationally. Last year, Today's NHRA magazine, which covers the National Hot Rod Association, said Bello, driving a white Porsche 911, had reached 161 mph while covering a quarter-mile in 9.17 seconds.

MOUNT VERNON: STOLEN PORSCHE RING A race car driver was among three Mount Vernon businessmen arrested over the weekend on charges related to auto theft, the Westchester County district attorney's office said yesterday. District Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro said Eddie Bello, 35, a drag racer of Porsches, stocked Porsche engine parts with defaced vehicle identification numbers at his auto body shop, while two other repair shop owners had parts and entire cars — including Porsches — that appeared to be stolen. David W. Chen (NYT)

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...50C0A9679C8B63

Just because the charges were dropped, doesnt mean he wasnt part of a criminal enterprise, it just menas he made a deal and got away with it.