Former owner of Blue Marlin Motors found guilty of grand theft, racketeering and tax fraud

Paul Ivice | Special to TCPALM

Show Caption Hide Caption Crime rate in Martin County - 2017 Every year the Florida Department of Law Enforcement collects data for seven areas of crime. According to their statistics, crime in Martin County rose 14.6 percent overall from 2016 to 2017. GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM

STUART — The former owner of a now-bankrupt classic car dealership was found guilty Friday by a Circuit Court jury of 54 charges of grand theft, and one count each of racketeering and tax fraud.

Craig Danzig, 58, who was owner of Blue Marlin Motors in Stuart, was remanded into custody after the jury delivered its verdict Friday afternoon following about 4 1/2 hours of deliberation.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger, the chief judge of the 19th Circuit who presided over the nearly month-long trial, set Danzig’s sentencing for 9 a.m. July 31.

“It was a long trial, but it was a very big case,” said Assistant State Attorney Lev Evans, one of two prosecutors on the case.

Flying witnesses in to testify, even with low-cost airlines and hotels, was expensive, Evans said, “but it was important to the community to put this criminal behavior to a stop.”

The racketeering charge and one count of grand theft that is for an amount more than $100,000 are both first-degree felonies, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

ADDITIONAL COUNTS

Danzig also was convicted on 25 counts of grand theft for amounts between $20,000 up to $100,000 and the tax fraud charge, which are second-degree felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and 28 counts for amounts less than $20,000, which are third-degree felonies with a maximum five-year term.

ORIGINAL STORY: Blue Marlin Motors of Stuart owner arrested on 51 grand theft charges

Danzig was arrested in November 2015 by Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies after a seven-month investigation prompted by complaints from at least 10 people who claimed they lost thousands of dollars doing business with Danzig at his dealership, which was at on the northeast corner of Gran Park Way and U.S. 1.

He was originally charged with 60 counts, but prosecutors dropped one and three others were dismissed after those witnesses did not appear to testify.

Though state guidelines based on a pre-sentence investigation that will be conducted will undoubtedly call for less prison time, Metzger conceivably could give Danzig a prison sentence of 590 years.

David Seltzer, managing partner of the Miami law firm that represented Danzig, said he is confident the verdict will be overturned, saying he believed he had numerous grounds for appeal.

“We respect the jury and we respect their verdict, though we vehemently disagree with it,” Seltzer said. “Mr. Danzig got in over his head in his business, and had no intent to steal from anybody.”

Seltzer said a friend of Danzig’s made an offer that still stands to pay $990,000 in restitution, an amount he said would make the victims whole and cover the state’s costs for investigation and prosecution.

“They rejected it, and I don’t know why,” Seltzer said.

Assistant State Attorneys Anastasia Norman said the amount Danzig stole from his victims exceeds $1.3 million.

“The evidence was pretty overwhelming that Craig Danzig stole the money,” Norman said, adding that the state will seek restitution as well as prison time.

“He’s claiming he doesn’t have any assets, but I guess we’ll see,” she said.

During the 11 days that Norman and Evans presented the state’s case, they called nearly 80 witnesses, including dozens of people who were never paid after Danzig sold their vehicles on consignment.

OTHER WITNESSES

Other witnesses included former employees of Blue Marlin Motors, who testified only Danzig negotiated all deals with customers and consigners; buyers who said they paid Blue Marlin for vehicles they received, a forensic accountant and the trustee for the bankruptcy cases for Danzig and his businesses.

In addition to Danzig’s testimony, his attorneys presented witnesses including some consigners who said Blue Marlin paid them after selling their cars.

Evans, who did the cross-examination, said he thought Danzig did not help himself.

“He laid fault on everyone but himself; he showed very little remorse,” Evans said.

Evans said Danzig “came across as very self-centered and narcissistic,” claiming at one point that he was instrumental in the national health care plans and was an advisor to the president, though he did not say which president.

At another point, Evans said Danzig made what sounded to him “like a full-blown confession,” when he was asked why he did not immediately pay consigners when their cars were sold, he said, “That’s not the way my business operated.”

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