Posted on 04/21/2006 1:00:49 PM PDT by SmithL
STOCKHOLM -- News that Swedish businessman Stefan Eriksson is facing charges ranging from embezzlement to grand theft after the crash of a rare Ferrari on a California highway came as no surprise to police back home.
It was Eriksson's extravagant lifestyle and penchant for fast cars that drew the attention of the Swedish justice system, which put him behind bars for 5 1/2 years for assaults, threats and extortion.
"He made about the same mistake he's made now: nice cars and big boats," said one detective who investigated Eriksson in his home town of Uppsala in the 1990s. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation from Eriksson's former crime partners.
Known in Sweden as "Tjock-Steffe," which roughly translates to "Fat Steve," Eriksson now faces embezzlement, grand theft, drunken driving and weapons charges in Los Angeles following the Feb. 21 crash of a million dollar Ferrari Enzo — one of only 400 made.
Prosecutors say he brought two Enzos and a Mercedes McLaren SLR — altogether worth an estimated $3.8 million — into the United States even though he had only leased them from British financial institutions.
Eriksson, 44, has pleaded not guilty to felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft and possession of a gun by a felon. He also pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of drunken driving. Bail was set at $5.5 million.
In the early 1990s, police in Uppsala identified Eriksson as a leading figure in a crime gang involved in a counterfeiting scheme. Dubbed the "Uppsala Mafia" by the Swedish press, Eriksson's gang members were also known as enforcers and debt collectors in the Swedish underworld, said Lars Nylen, a former chief of police in Uppsala.
"By American standards, they were no mafia," Nylen said. "There was nothing Cosa Nostra about them.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Somehow, the "Uppsala Mafia" seems less menacing than, say, the Russian Mafia. But maybe that's just me.
Looks like even the police officer was ticked off!He is likely thinking,damn,one of those tires cost more than a year of my pay!
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