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OWNERS OF FIVE UNLICENSED MOVING COMPANIES CHARGED WITH RACKETEERING IN CONSUMER SHAKEDOWN SCHEME; ALLEGEDLY DEMANDED EXCESSIVE CASH PAYMENTS ON MOVING DAY AND HELD HOUSEHOLD GOODS HOSTAGE FOR RANSOM WHEN CUSTOMERS REFUSED TO PAY

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by NYPD and State and Federal Department of Transportation officials, today announced that the owners of five unlicensed moving companies have been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from scores of unwary customers by demanding unlawful and excessive cash payments to complete moves and, when the customers refused to pay, carting away their household furnishings, holding them hostage in locked storage and refusing to release them without the additional cash ransom payments.

The prosecution is believed to be the first in New York in which moving companies and their principals have been charged with racketeering under New York State’s Organized Crime Control Act under which penalties of up to 25 years in prison can be imposed.

District Attorney Brown said, "The defendants are alleged to have baited customers with ‘low-ball’ household moving estimates and then on moving day to have demanded excessive cash payments. When the customers refused to pay the exorbitant charges, it is alleged that their household possessions were carted away and held hostage until they paid a ransom ranging between $2,000 and $5,000, an amount many times greater than the agreed-upon moving price. It is alleged that scores of consumers were ripped off and that the defendants reaped illegal windfall profits of hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, "This case clearly illustrates our commitment to the people of this City. We will not relent in our efforts to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to victimize innocent citizens with their illegal schemes. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of this investigative team, this illegal operation and their employees will no longer reap the profits from holding customer's property hostage."

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph H. Boardman said, "The arrest of these individuals sends a strong message that the Department of Transportation under the leadership of Governor Pataki will continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to protect New Yorkers from this type of exploitation."

Federal Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead commended District Attorney Brown and the state and local law enforcement agencies for aggressively pursuing the investigation stating: "This sends a strong message to those who would take advantage of consumers with such unscrupulous tactics that this type of crime will be dealt with severely. Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about making sure your household goods arrive." Inspector General Mead also urged consumers to learn more about their rights through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/factsfigs/rights.htm. He further noted that people who believe they have been victimized by movers can now call FMCSA's toll free consumer hotline at 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238).

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Daniel Mantoza, 37, and his wife, Ronit Mantoza, 35, both Israeli immigrants, of 148-47 61st Road in Flushing, Queens and Morad Alfar, 32, a Palestinian immigrant, of 196-36 50th Avenue in Fresh Meadows, Queens. They have been charged with Enterprise Corruption, Grand Larceny, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and other offenses and if convicted face up to 25 years in prison.

The District Attorney said that investigation, dubbed "Operation Moving Day," began in September 2001 when the NYPD, State Department of Transportation and the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau met to discuss numerous complaints that has been received involving the defendants’ moving companies. The following month the United States Department of Transportation joined the investigation and the four agencies set up an investigative task force.

The investigation disclosed that the defendants had set up five separate corporations and had been running all of them as a single, interchangeable operation, using the same employees. They placed advertisements in the Yellow Pages and mailed out flyers which stated that three of their companies –- Allstate Moving and Storage, On Budget Van Lines and Eilid Moving and Storage -- were located at 131-11 Atlantic Avenue in Jamaica and that two additional companies -- Online Moving and Storage and In & Out Moving and Storage -- were located at 1940 Deer Park Avenue in Deer Park, Suffolk County. Investigators learned that the Deer Park address was actually a mail drop.

The investigation further revealed that the defendants maintained several separate telephone lines at their three-story Jamaica office/warehouse, each line purporting to represent a different moving company. An employee used one of five moving company names when answering phone calls from prospective customers.

According to the District Attorney, the use of multiple corporate identities enabled the defendants to mislead customers about service complaints and made customers believe that they had reached a moving company with no connection to the customer’s moving company, its operations or its owners. The deception, in many instances, prevented customers from filing damage or loss claims or enforcing judgments.

District Attorney Brown said that, the alleged scheme operated this way: "On moving day, after all of a customer’s household effects were loaded onto a company van, the defendants or their employees would tell the customer that the cost of the move would be at least three to five times more than the amount estimated. The customer would be told that if the additional money were not paid, in cash, that his or her belongings would be placed in storage and that payment of costly additional fees would be imposed.

District Attorney Brown said that under existing law a licensed moving company is permitted to collect on the day of a move up to an additional 10% of the original estimate for interstate moves and up to an additional 25% for intrastate moves. While the law allows licensed movers to retain a portion of the items moved to protect their lien, it prohibits movers from withholding delivery of all moved items pending resolution of fee disputes.

A few of the many cases where the victims’ household belongings were -- or still are -- allegedly being held as hostage for ransom by the defendants are:

• Last September, one of the victims received a quote of $1,700 from On Line Moving to move his property from Norwalk, Connecticut to Maple Valley, Washington. On Labor Day, a moving truck arrived and after the customer’s belongings were loaded, the driver informed him that the cost of the move would be $7,000 in cash immediately or $3,500 in cash to unload the truck. He refused to pay and the truck drove off with his belongings. He has not seen his property since.
  
• In another case, a woman contacted Eilid Moving for a Port Chester to South Carolina move in July 2001 and received an on site estimate by defendant Alfar for $1,904. On the day of the move, with the truck loaded with her belongings, the price went up to $7908 in cash. After negotiating, the price tag dropped some -- $5,000 for the move or $3,000 to unload. In this case the customer paid the $5,000 for the move.
  
• One woman contacted On Budget Moving and received a $2,288 estimate for a move from New York to Florida in June, 2001. Additionally, she also paid $200 for insurance. On moving day, after her property was loaded onto the truck, the price went up to $5,798 in cash for the move. The woman gave in and when her property was delivered, many items were broken. The woman made repeated calls to the movers for the name of the insurance company in an effort to collect money for the damaged items. Her calls were never returned.
  
• In another instance the move was from Brooklyn to Georgia and the contract price was $1,200. Once the customer’s property was loaded onto the truck, she was told that the move would cost her $8,900. When she protested, a $3,000 cash payment was demanded to unload her possessions.
  
• In another example a Flushing to Florida move in July 2001 was quoted as $800 but once movers loaded the contents of the victim’s one bedroom apartment onto the truck he was told that the price would be $4,500.

According to the District Attorney, the State Department of Transportation regulates moves within New York and that the Federal Department of Transportation regulates moves to and from other states. Sanctions for violations of state and federal moving regulations include fines up to $5,000 per violation of State regulation, fines up to $50,000 for Federal violations and license revocations.

District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to NYPD Intelligence Division Detective William Whelan and Sergeant Michael Libertore who were supervised by Deputy Chief Edmund Hartnett, Inspector John W. Cutter, Captain Francis Darsillo and Lieutenant John Billet; State Department of Transportation Investigators John Van Tassell and Jonathan NiCastro who were supervised by Counsel Robert Rybak under Commissioner Joseph Boardman; and United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Special Agent Matthew Farrugia and Investigator Anthony Jacaruso who was supervised by Special Agent in Charge Ned Schwartz. District Attorney Brown also commended the assistance of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant District Attorneys Diane M. Peress and Allen L. Bode and Consumer Representative Michael Albanesi of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Brian J. Mich; Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M. Communiello and David S. Zadnoff of the District Attorney’s Civil Forfeiture Bureau and Lieutenant Robert Burke of the District Attorney’s Detective Squad under the supervision of Chief Edward T. Brady and Deputy Chief Lawrence J. Festa under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco, Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Mansfield and Investigations Counsel Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that criminal complaints are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.