spot_img
HomeCar CultureCommentaryStolen Talbot Lago worth $7M at center of big US court fight

Stolen Talbot Lago worth $7M at center of big US court fight

-

A rare 1938 Talbot Lago T150 C teardrop coupe purchased for $7 million is at the center of an U.S. court battle after it was learned the car had been stolen in 2001.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the car was stolen from a Milwaukee business when it was owned by Roy Leiske, an elderly man who wanted to restore the disassembled vehicle to its former glory.

The thieves apparently knew what they were doing. Leiske locked up his Monarch Plastic Product factory one night and returned the next day to find the car — along with parts and paperwork that had been hidden in various parts of the building — gone. There were no signs of forced entry and someone had cut Leiske’s home phone line. 

Leiske originally asked the police to not spread the word about the car that he had bought for $10,000 in 1967. Instead, he first turned to the relatively small world of Talbot Lago owners to ask if anyone had seen it. When that failed, law enforcement launched a full investigation.

Leiske passed away in 2005 without any word about the car.

News of the missing Talbot Lago was hard to come by until after Leiske’s death. His cousin, Richard “Skip” Mueller — to whom Leiske left his entire estate, including the car — was contacted by Joseph L. Ford, an architect and lawyer who helps track down rare vehicles that have been stolen.

“I told (Mueller) what I do, recovering stolen niche cars, what I know, and that it’s a crap shoot,” Ford told the newspaper. “We’re going to need to chase international car thieves around Europe, and it could be life and death because these guys are very serious.”

Two years ago, they got a break in the case. A company tried to register the now-restored Talbot Lago in Illinois. Lieske had convinced officials to keep the car in a national database of stolen cars for longer than the typical 10-year limit.

Dental-company founder and respected classic car owner Rick Workman had purchased the car from a European seller in what he believed to be a legitimate deal, but Mueller and Ford filed a suit demanding the Talbot Lago be returned.

Thus, a complex court battle began. The case was originally dismissed after a Milwaukee Circuit Court judge ruled the suit was filed too late under state statues. However, that ruling was overturned by the state Court of Appeals, which sided with Ford’s argument that the right to sue began when Workman refused to turn over the car and said their is no legal precedent for such a case.

“As the parties and the trial court acknowledged, no existing case addresses a fact pattern like this one,” the opinion read.

But the case has more twists and questions marks.

When it was first located, the Talbot Lago was at Paul Russell and Co., a high-end restoration shop in Massachusetts with a sterling reputation for honest work. It was unknown if Russell helped broker the recent sales deal, and he declined to comment on both the car and his role in it returning to the country.

His company is holding the car until the lawsuit is sorted out.

It also appeared that Mueller may have inadvertently helped export the Talbot Lago. About a year after Leiske died, Mueller was approached by a man who wanted to buy a different Talbot Lago frame and body left in Leiske’s estate.

His signature was on the export paperwork, which was likely forged.

“This guy came to get my name on something, and sure enough, my signature showed up later,” Mueller said.

The questions and stories around this Talbot Lago undoubtedly will continue to circle well after the court case wraps up, whenever that may be. It was expected to be heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, though there was no timeline for that to begin.

spot_img
Carter Nacke
Carter Nacke
Carter Nacke is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He began his career at KTAR News 92.3 FM in Phoenix, the largest news radio station in Arizona, where he specialized in breaking news and politics. A burgeoning interest in classic cars took him to the Journal in 2018. He's still on the hunt for his dad's old 1969 Camaro.

5 COMMENTS

  1. I had a similar car stolen from me around 1980. It is now restored and was last shown restored at pebble beach. I bought it mostly complete and sold it for $20g. The buyer a transplanted New Jersey developer then in Californi, drove a trailer cross country to pick it up. We had contracts and he was represented by a local car restoration shop. After he saw the car, he called me the next day and asked me to meet him in the other direction from where the car was and return his deposit, $10G. Instead I drove to the car where he and his friends were pushing it on his trailer. They fled without it, ramps flopping in the wake. Later he died for his money. Apparently borrowed from his pal the police chief nearby. I countercsued for him to complete our contract. The judge, again his pal, did not join the suits. He heard his first and ordered me to return his $10G, then heard my counter suit and ordered him to pay me $20G. But he was in California beyond the court’s jurisdiction while I was in NJ as was the court.
    Corruption won the day.

    • If your judgment is within statute, file your judgment in the county in California as a foreign judgment and you can proceed to collect.

  2. Someone knew this car was stolen, probably anyone in Europe that touched it. They didn’t plan on the car still being on the stolen car registry after 10 years, and thought they were home free. I wouldn’t be surprised if the buyer here knew it was stolen. It’s a Talbot, not a Mustang. Everyone still alive or rebuildable is accounted for. If one just popped up there would have to be a good story and a hidden barn in Europe somewhere that escaped WWII. You don’t spend $7 mil without spending good money on research first, I would think. The new owner, seller and maybe auction house if there was one, need to put together a few million and make this go away.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -