Jun 25, 2018 6 min read

CARMICHAELS – The owner of a Cumberland Township car dealership is facing more than 1,800 criminal charges for allegedly receiving payments from customers for car titles and never submitting the required paperwork and fees to the state Department of Transportation.

People who purchased vehicles from Sam’s Auto at 426 Route 88 just outside of Carmichaels said despite paying the necessary fees for their car registrations, they never received a permanent registration, meaning they could not legally drive their vehicles after 90 days. These victims did not have their vehicles registered in their names and did not receive their titles, according to police.

Samuel R. Calabris III, 55, of Morgantown, W.Va., was charged Thursday after a nearly nine-month state police investigation. Court documents indicate the offenses date to at least 2014.

Police said 227 victims gave Calabris a combined $37,437 for taxes, title fees, county fees and registration. He kept that money for his personal use instead of submitting it and the necessary paperwork to PennDOT, police said.

“His conduct has resulted in numerous victims being stopped and/or cited by the police for having no registration/expired registration, and on one occasion, one of the victims had their vehicle impounded by a local police department in New Jersey,” investigators wrote in court documents.

One couple described in the court documents told state police Trooper Ralph Parise they purchased a 2002 Ford Explorer from Sam’s Auto, and also spent an additional $300 on a warranty. They never received paperwork for the warranty, and when asked, Calabris told them it would be coming in the mail.

“The vehicle purchased in this incident almost immediately broke down and has never been repaired,” Parise wrote.

Workers at the neighboring Kelly’s Auto Parts said there had been little activity at Sam’s Auto for some time. Calabris’ wife was spotted about a month ago, one worker said, but Calabris himself had not been seen at the location for several months.

A call to the number listed on the sign hanging outside of the business did not connect and no one answered the door Monday. Tires were stacked along the outside of the shop, with three unregistered cars on the property. A cat scratching post could be seen inside the small shop window, along with a “bad check wall of fame” with photos.

PennDOT claimed Sam’s Auto was in violation for late title submissions 261 times within the last three years, Parise said. The investigation started in mid-November when Parise began to receive several complaints from people who had purchased vehicles from Sam’s Auto.

Customers did not receive their titles or registration, and their temporary registrations had lapsed beyond the maximum 90 days. When they brought this to Calabris’ attention, he would issue another, and sometimes a third, temporary registration for another 90 days, which police claim was an effort to hide that he had not submitted their fees and paperwork to PennDOT.

PennDOT’s requested report on the dealership showed 261 late submissions and 227 current deals where Calabris never submitted the necessary forms, documents and fees. Parise served a search warrant at the business in early December after he had received complaints from over 30 victims.

Parise said the search found a “disheveled and unorganized” office and numerous “vehicle deals on the office desk” that were incomplete. Parise said he attempted to find records, which are supposed to be kept in a specific way according to the vehicle code, but discovered missing files, little order to the files that were there and documents that were thrown about the office and other surrounding storage spaces.

Within weeks of serving the search warrant, Parise said he received many more calls from victims that did not receive their title and registrations. Other customers also contacted the Carmichaels office of state Rep. Pam Snyder to complain. Due to the number of victims, PennDOT assigned Parise an assistant, “who began and is still assisting the 227 victims” with their titles, the criminal complaint states.

After the Observer-Reporter published its story online about the situation Monday afternoon, nearly two-dozen people who said they were victims contacted the newspaper to tell their stories. Customers had a variety of experiences with Calabris, many of whom noted their previous dealings with Sam’s Auto were positive and only recently began encountering problems.

Several said they were fearful of being pulled over, making sure they have all the documentation they could gather to explain their situation. Others with outstanding title transfers said they were hesitant that someone else might be driving a car that was still technically in their name.

Some said Calabris was evasive to their questions, giving various explanations and excuses for the missing titles. Others said Calabris told them their titles were lost by previous owners or at the state level. Many went to his dealership in person or called his office in an attempt to get an explanation, with no success.

Donna Prevost of Aleppo said she bought her husband a truck for Christmas and one for herself in January, neither of which they have received titles for.

“What a Christmas gift, right?” she said. “Why not believe him? My last truck was OK.”

She saw on social media that other people were starting to have issues with their titles, and when she reached out to Calabris, he assured her that her titles were on the way.

“I’m not mad,” she said. “I would just like to have my title.”

Others weren’t so forgiving.

Nathan Salisbury of Mt. Morris put $5,000 into restoring an older vehicle he’s still fighting for. He bought the car in a private sale in West Virginia and brought it to Calabris for the title transfer last June. Because of his situation, PennDOT has limited options for Salisbury, which are to contact the original buyer or petition the court. Now, he’ll need to invest time and effort into getting his title.

“I don’t really have the money for another vehicle,” he said. “I just don’t understand why he did it.”

Charges range from tampering with public records, theft, deceptive business practices, engaging in unprofessional conduct/incompetency, failing to pay taxes to the commonwealth and failing to deliver titles, to more than 1,000 misdemeanor and summary violations related to the motor vehicle code.

Calabris is free on $75,000 unsecured bond while awaiting his preliminary hearing before District Judge Lee Watson at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Anyone who purchased a vehicle from Sam’s Auto and is now dealing with title issues can bring their pink slip, proof of insurance and driver’s license to Snyder’s office. The documents will be scanned, sent to PennDOT and a new, temporary 90-day registration will be sent overnight.