West Seattle dealership group Huling Bros. / Gee Automotive has announced to its 160 employees that unless another sucker (sorry, buyer) could be found by October 7 they would be forced to close up shop and lay everyone off. To refresh your memory on this issue I'm going to quote the Seattle Times article:
Gee Automotive Companies of Spokane which bought the dealership after the incident claimed that they never knew about the scandal until after the arrests. Huling claims that the floundering dealerships have more to do with business model changes made by the Gee's rather than the scandal itself. However a survey commissioned by the Gee's showed that 90 percent of the respondents said they knew of the criminal allegations at Huling.
The scandal originated in July 2006, when a 59-year-old customer who had a history of mental illness came into Huling Brothers wearing feces-stained pants and seeking to buy a truck. The man paid $30,000 for a vehicle, and told a salesman he had far more money back at his apartment, according to police reports. The next day, Dillard and five underlings practically tripped over each other to be the first to steal the remaining cash; Dillard and another salesman, Ted Coxwell, succeeded, according to a Washington State Patrol report.
After being beaten to the cash by co-workers, another salesman, Paul Rimbey, managed to steal the man's new $30,000 truck by getting him to sign over ownership while the man was in Harborview Medical Center's psychiatric ward, according to charging papers.
Gee Automotive Companies of Spokane which bought the dealership after the incident claimed that they never knew about the scandal until after the arrests. Huling claims that the floundering dealerships have more to do with business model changes made by the Gee's rather than the scandal itself. However a survey commissioned by the Gee's showed that 90 percent of the respondents said they knew of the criminal allegations at Huling.
It's unfortunate that innocent employee's are going to lose their jobs, but after such atrocious acts committed by some of the dealership's salesmen it would be very difficult for a business to regain its good name. Let's face it, auto dealerships are already viewed with some suspicion and this story is the nail in the coffin for this particular group.
source: seattle times story
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