TLW
02-04-06, 10:01 PM
Angry Customer Torches North Miami Dealership
Upset With The Price For A New SUV
As Customers Watched, He Torcched The Business
11 Cars Destroyed, Damage Approaches $1 Million
(CBS4) NORTH MIAMI A man unhappy with the deal he got at a South Florida Ford dealership went on a rampage, setting the dealership and the car he had just purchased on fire, as stunned customers watched. 11 Cars, including the one he had just purchased, were destroyed, and police say damage could approach a million dollars.
Gerald Gorgetti, a performance art theatre manager for the City of Miami, has been charged with arson after he apparently snapped when he couldn�t get a price he liked for his new Ford Escape SUV.
An arson investigator told CBS4�s Shomari Stone �He came hear last night and purchased a new vehicle, and he was not satisfied with the final number, the final agreement.�
Police investigators say Gorgetti went home, and returned today to try to run the numbers again. Apparently, according to Miami-Dade Arson Investigator Alfonso Najera, he did not like what he heard. �He still was not satisfied, and he decided to drive his new vehicle through the windows of the showroom. Then, he doused gasoline or some kind of flammable fluid, and he set it on fire.�
Denise Cruz was in line at the body shop, and was standing near Gorgetti when he lit the match. �And the next thing you herad was BOOM, and you saw flames all over the place,� said Cruz. �And I said to him, and I said sir, why would you want to do that?�
The fire quickly spread throughout the dealership, destroying cars, computers, and business paperwork. While the fire burned, Gorgetti, now without a car, was unable to �ride it like a Ford, and apparently calmly walked off down the street, where police officers found him a short time later. Officers claim Gorgetti was yelling � Kill me, Kill me�, but officers took him into custody without incident.
Gorgetti was charged with First Degree Arson, which is a felony, and with felony criminal mischief. Because of the nature of his crime, which involved setting fire to an occupied building, he will not be allowed to post a bond and will remain in jail until a trial.
The dealership has had no comment on the attack on their business, but Miami-Dade police estimate that damage to the dealership could exceed $800,000.
Upset With The Price For A New SUV
As Customers Watched, He Torcched The Business
11 Cars Destroyed, Damage Approaches $1 Million
(CBS4) NORTH MIAMI A man unhappy with the deal he got at a South Florida Ford dealership went on a rampage, setting the dealership and the car he had just purchased on fire, as stunned customers watched. 11 Cars, including the one he had just purchased, were destroyed, and police say damage could approach a million dollars.
Gerald Gorgetti, a performance art theatre manager for the City of Miami, has been charged with arson after he apparently snapped when he couldn�t get a price he liked for his new Ford Escape SUV.
An arson investigator told CBS4�s Shomari Stone �He came hear last night and purchased a new vehicle, and he was not satisfied with the final number, the final agreement.�
Police investigators say Gorgetti went home, and returned today to try to run the numbers again. Apparently, according to Miami-Dade Arson Investigator Alfonso Najera, he did not like what he heard. �He still was not satisfied, and he decided to drive his new vehicle through the windows of the showroom. Then, he doused gasoline or some kind of flammable fluid, and he set it on fire.�
Denise Cruz was in line at the body shop, and was standing near Gorgetti when he lit the match. �And the next thing you herad was BOOM, and you saw flames all over the place,� said Cruz. �And I said to him, and I said sir, why would you want to do that?�
The fire quickly spread throughout the dealership, destroying cars, computers, and business paperwork. While the fire burned, Gorgetti, now without a car, was unable to �ride it like a Ford, and apparently calmly walked off down the street, where police officers found him a short time later. Officers claim Gorgetti was yelling � Kill me, Kill me�, but officers took him into custody without incident.
Gorgetti was charged with First Degree Arson, which is a felony, and with felony criminal mischief. Because of the nature of his crime, which involved setting fire to an occupied building, he will not be allowed to post a bond and will remain in jail until a trial.
The dealership has had no comment on the attack on their business, but Miami-Dade police estimate that damage to the dealership could exceed $800,000.