Saturday, June 8, 2002
Another victim paid more than $94,000 for scrap tires.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A Tennessee man thought he was buying slightly used automobile tires, but what he got were scrap tires from a junkyard.
Now the man who sold him the tires will stand trial on charges of theft by deception and deceptive or fraudulent business practices.
Arthur Webb, 49, of West Edison Avenue, appeared Friday before District Justice Melissa Amodie at a hearing that was continued from May 17.
The hearing was continued to Friday because Webb's attorney was not available for a full hearing May 17, but prosecutors wanted to accommodate the victim who traveled from Tennessee, said Matthew Mangino, Lawrence County district attorney.
Mangino rested his case Friday without calling any other witnesses to testify. District Justice Amodie decided to send the case to trial.
Webb will have a formal arraignment in the next month, and then a trial date will be set.
This is the second set of charges of theft by deception and deceptive or fraudulent business practice Webb faces. In March, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the same charges involving a man from Trinidad.
According to affidavits, Webb operates A & amp;A New and Used Tires in New Castle.
What happened
Kenneth Dunn of Ken's Used Tires in Tennessee agreed to buy 1,400 used tires of various sizes with a guaranteed 80 percent tread life left on them from Webb at a cost of $1,600, according to the affidavit.
Dunn wired $1,705 to Webb and hired a contractor to ship the tires to his business, but when they arrived, he discovered they were scrap tires, the court document said.
Mangino said investigators discovered Webb obtained the tires from a junkyard that paid him $1 per tire to remove them.
Police estimate Dunn lost nearly $6,000 in labor fees, shipping and truck rentals.
The second victim, Carlton Rattansingh of Trinidad, paid more than $94,000 for the tires, taxes, fees and shipping costs, court records said. Mangino said those tires were also scrap.
If convicted, Webb could face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine for each charge, Mangino said.