Ex-Gizmondo exec arrested
Story behind crash of rare Ferrari gets even more bizarre; police say "this is the beginning of the investigation."
It's been said that watching a car crash is a grimly compelling sight: One simply can't turn away. That was almost certainly the case when former Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson went sailing off the road in a $1 million 2003 Ferrari Enzo at more than 160mph in February and walked away from the totaled wreck with little more than a bloody mouth.
But as compelling as the wreck itself might have been to watch, it's hard to imagine it outshining the twisting saga surrounding it, which includes ties to the Swedish mafia, Homeland Security, a clip of ammunition, and one person apparently fleeing the country on a luxury yacht. The latest turn has seen the 44-year-old Eriksson arrested and held without bail on charges of grand theft.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Eriksson was taken into custody Saturday night after a six-hour search of his gated Bel Air, California, home. Authorities told The Times that the wrecked Enzo, another Enzo found at the estate, and a rare Mercedes-Benz in Eriksson's possession were owned by foreign financial institutions. The cars were reportedly purchased by Eriksson last year when he lived in Britain, though the title holders told police that he had stopped making payments on them.
"This is the beginning of the investigation," a police spokesman told The Times. "All three cars have now been confiscated."
A San Francisco Chronicle report over the weekend raises a number of the questions that investigation will look to answer. For instance, a spokesman with the Malibu police told The Chronicle that Eriksson presented ID at the crash scene saying he was the head of an antiterrorism police unit. Two friends of Eriksson's arrived after the crash, presented similar ID, and claimed to work for Homeland Security.
It turns out Eriksson's ID was for a security position with the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority. The SGVTA is a nonprofit outfit that provides free transportation to elderly and disabled people in that area. The Chronicle reports that Eriksson was granted the position and title of his choosing within the SGVTA's security operation in exchange for outfitting its buses with surveillance systems.
The owner of Homer's Auto Service, the business that operates the SGVTA, told The Chronicle that it's perfectly legal for transit authorities to set up their security outfits as "police" and issue ID cards. He said background checks on drivers are easier when they're being requested by police.
The article mentions another man who was with Eriksson when Malibu police arrived at the scene of the crash. It was not "Dietrich," the German man who Eriksson said was driving the car at the time of the crash and hastily fled the scene, but Trevor Karney, an Irishman who said he had been trailing Eriksson as the ex-Gizmondo exec raced against a silver Mercedes-Benz. Authorities have not confirmed that there was a race, or even a Mercedes-Benz present at the time of the crash.
Police discovered that Karney asked to use the cell phone of another motorist who stopped at the scene. The spokesman told The Chronicle that Karney made a call from the front seat of that man's vehicle, and that the driver later contacted police to say he found a loaded Glock handgun clip under the seat. Police attempted to reach Karney at the address he'd given them, only to find that it belonged to a luxury yacht that had set sail. Police said they believe he left for Ireland.
According to the Times, Eriksson is currently being held without bail after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a hold on him. Future charges could be brought against him if he is determined to have been driving the Ferrari at the time of the accident. Eriksson tested above the legal limit for alcohol at the scene of the crash, and the car was not road legal in the US.
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166 Comments
lol he was using his gizmonda as a gps roadmap when it screwed up and sent him flying. PWNED
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I didn't even know who this person was until I saw this article. Even then I had to google him.
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Homer's Auto Service? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LMAO
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WTF... this guy won't stop
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lol you cant make this stuff up
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This story couldn't be more non-important even if it wanted to be.
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Yawn....This kinda of stuff happens to me all the time. Seriously, this is just too crazy, what a life.
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you don't who dietrich is man then what are you doing here
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Wow..... this is so confussing. Irishman? Transit Authority? Dietrich? It sounds like a really bad episode of 24.
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The sceen opens on soild snake being brefed by the colonel
Colonel: Hey snake been awhile huh
Snake: What is it this time another metal gear?
Colonel: Straght to the point as always I see, I'll be blunt this mission is going to make you wish it was just another metal gear.
Snake: Sounds like a tough one
A picture of Stefan Eriksson appears on the screen
Snake: Whos that?
Colonel: This man former Gizmondo executive and head of tiger tel Stefan Eriksson
Sanke: Gizmondo?
Colonel: A gizmondo is a device that he created it was made to look like your run of the mill game consel but it holds a much more sinister purpose under it 's cover
Snake: Like what?
Colonel: Oh say a working nukeular bomb, we have also caught word of this being called the C.A.M.E.R.A project
Snake: What? Your telling me that toy is a nuke?
Colonel: Thats right your mission is to infultrate tiger tel and disarm their nukeular capability, but before you go I have to give you some information on the type of people you will be encountering when you get there.
1st is a man know only by the name Dietrich he is a master of stealth they say no one has ever seen him and lived to tell about it he is also rumored to be immortal because he surived a car crash competely unharmed.
2nd is a man named Trevor Karney giant and shaman, he is said to be the only only one to beat Eriksson in a race.
Last but not least is a man that doesn't have a name they only call him the "irish dude", he is said to have never lost a fight armed with his trusty table leg
Snake: Alright I've hear enough colonel I'm heading out
Colonel: wait Snake there is one last thing I must know Stefan Eriksson is your brother
END OF THRALIER
After credits roll it shows Paul Walker juguleing revolvers
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Sweden in on the top front of the VideoGame industry, too bad these kind of charecters appear, as a sort of a "collateral damage".
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we have to wonder if he is just lucky or if god saves the stupid.
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lol
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enzo...CRASH!!!! this makes me die a little inside
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He can't run a company, he cannot drive a car. But he can BS with the best of them!!
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What the heck!
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hehe,
*Jack Thompson*
"Now see! Games make mobsters out of people!! I KNEW IT!!!"
HAHAHHHAHHAAHAHHAA
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"The Legacy of Deitrich", haha, seriously, this is so wacky XD And I never knew there was a swedish mafia, and I live in Sweden but hmm, apprently they exist to some extent ^^
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wow, my life seems so boring now
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I love video games. I love the people who develop them. I want a real 2003 Ferrari Enzo.
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Whoa Nelly!
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wow, that guy is awesome to bad he wrecked the enzo though
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Damn, where was the video camera?! That would be sweet to see!
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I like what it says in the Last Word box at the bottom of the front page:
Dietrich!
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Needs more Deitrich
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Ha ha ha, I was driving the Mercedes, and I have Dietrich sitting here next to me, and we're off back to Germany Yay!. Eriksson was a Noob.
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like gta....cool
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"Police said they believe he left for Ireland."
rofl!!
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He should get the chair for crashing that Enzo.
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haha great smurfa1 really great!
so, wasn't it one more common case of overdose of need for speed most wanted? hehehehe
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Haha. I'm proud of him. He puts Sweden on the map.
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Man, this guy totaled a 1 million dollar Enzo that you can't even buy anymore, let alone find parts for. Oh well, I'll bet he regrets it now.
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This guy is so stupid.
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what a noob lol
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Outstanding. When he gets free I'm gonna have to send him a resume for a job.
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This really would make a great movie!!!
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"Eriksson presented ID at the crash scene saying he was the head of an antiterrorism police unit. Two friends of Eriksson's arrived after the crash, presented similar ID, and claimed to work for Homeland Security. It turns out Eriksson's ID was for a security position with the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority. The SGVTA is a nonprofit outfit that provides free transportation to elderly and disabled people in that area."
What a douche! I hope he gets the book thrown at him.
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Swedish Mafia??? who knew! ... good new game title though!
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Cool Guy!
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a great script....
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Should have enough money to buy his way out
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what a f***** crazy story.
i wish i had two enzos...
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Its game over for him, lol
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How can somebody let this happen... the dude is amazing
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This is all video games' fault. If only games like Project Gotham and NFS didnt teach our nations impressionable billionaires how to drive like maniacs, events like this would never happen. I say we push to pass legislation to keep dangerous content like these games out of the hands of bad drivers. Whos with me?
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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
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What a crazy story; it would make a good movie, doubt I'd watch it though because it sounds like every other Hollywood big budget action movie out there. The only bad thing about the movie would be that they would have to wreck another perfectly sweet Ferrari.
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Poor Ferrari. Never saw it coming.
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maybe he is advertising the dead gizmondo!!!!!
what a crazy guy, if my mom read this article i'll kiss my videogames goodbye
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guess since teh GTA was never released on his gizmondo he thought he'd play for real.
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