Justice has been served!
Back in 2012 Tom Laskowski’s beloved 1968 Pontiac Tempest was stolen from a storage facility in Seven Hills, Ohio. While others told Laskowski and his wife the classic car was long gone, they never gave up hope, even offering at one point a $10,000 reward for the Pontiac’s return. The day of reckoning has come after 9 years and the Laskowskis have their Tempest back.
Learn how a man got his stolen '69 Camaro back after 17 years here.
There’s a long history with this ’68 Pontiac Tempest. Tom Laskowski’s father purchased it way back in 1975, making it a beloved family heirloom and not just another vehicle. His son poured not only love into the car but also $100,000 to make it a showstopper.
When the car was originally stolen, both the Laskowskis and police searched and found zero trace of it. Understandably, many believed it had been snuck out the country in a shipping container and sent overseas, which sadly is a common practice.
However, the reality is the stolen ’68 Pontiac Tempest never left the Cleveland area. But it took an interesting string of events for its discovery, showing that even though criminals might get away with a theft for a time, sooner or later justice will be served.
Tom Laskowski’s theory is that the crooks knew people were looking for the Pontiac, so they kept it off public roads and out of view. After 9 years passed, they figured the heat had died down enough that nobody would still be looking for it.
The man who originally spotted the car on the road was Laskowskis’ mechanic, a man who knew the Pontiac better than most. In an attempt to disguise what it was, the thieves had repainted it the same color it was to hide the telltale stripes and installed GTO badges as well as a GTO front bumper. That was late last year.
After reporting the sighting to the Ohio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft Unit, an investigation was launched. Finally, once the car was tracked down it was determined to indeed belong to the Laskowskis. We just hope prosecutors don’t go easy on the thieves.
Source: Cleveland.com
