The owner of a New York body shop is being accused of stealing the Porsche of a deceased customer, NBC-New York reports.
According to NBC-New York, Patrick Torpey of New Windsor, New York, was charged with with grand larceny, perjury and other crimes related to the alleged forged documents. He was released on bond later on Wednesday.
Police said that Torpey was repairing the car in 2012 when the car's owner suddenly died. Instead of handing the car over to the deceased man's estate, Torpey allegedly tried to use falsified documents to take ownership of the vehicle.
Authorities told NBC that they have been looking for the car for eight months after the wife tried to finalize her widow's estate.
But Torpey claims he is innocent.
He said that he has owned the 1978 Porsche for nearly 20 years. Torpey said that the case against him is retribution for dating a local builder's daughter.
He told NBC-New York that the widow has known all along that he has possessed the Porsche, and the Torpey family even received a Christmas card from the widow hoping that Torpey's son was enjoying the Porsche.
