The worst of them all
A lot of you know Peter Gleeson and you’ve probably heard by now that someone broke into his garage and stole a prize guitar and a trophy from the Pebble Beach Concourse.
We were sickened to hear about it and, of course, wish the safe return of the prized possessions and bad things on the perpetrator. I could list all the bad things, such as never-ending rash, but this is not the time for that list. As I sit here thinking about it, it’s long.
Peter was with us from almost the very first day we started E@RTC. He also happens to be a close friend of my personal assistant’s father, so small world, and this was long before we began E@RTC. I was thrilled when he came out to show his early support for us and he’s always been wonderful to all car enthusiasts. Peter is one of those guys we all wish to become.
Furthermore, he’s a completely self made guy, and all from his love of cars. He’s one of those rare individuals who’s taken a passion and turned it into a successful profession. Therefore, this break-in of his garage hit us all especially hard. It’s a gut punch to all of us.
A list of the signatures.
There are a lot of private garages around the Puget Sound area with some of the most breathtaking car collections found anywhere in the world. Many bring some from their collection out to E@RTC and many will invite groups to tour their garages. Those tours come with a high level of trust. Many of the garages won’t share any information about location and many won’t let anyone in they don’t already know well. The ones that do allow unvetted groups are especially kind to do so.
Stolen trophy
When clubs tour garages, it’s with the complete understanding that the groups screen their own members before they go and don’t just open up participation to just anyone who claims to, “love cars.” Damn near every perp “loves cars.” These collectors run the risk that someone is stalking.
When clubs don’t track who goes on these tours, the garage owner assumes an even bigger risk. No club should ever tour a garage without providing a list of names of who’s attending. It’s a privilege to go on these tours and there is a high level of trust involved, and a responsibility for everyone who attends to maintain the privacy of the garage owners.
What’s maddening for everyone is that this perp was likely someone connected to a tour because they had a target in mind and the speed in which they moved. They knew what they wanted and went for it. In other words, a privilege was extended to this individual and they broke the trust. This is the very reason E@RTC has never put together garage tours.
We’re posting this because we need everyone’s help in locating these stolen items. If you have any information that you think may be helpful please contact Peter, or get in touch with us here or call the police in Lynwood.
How you can help. If you attended one of these tours, help put a list together of everyone who attended. If you’re looking at ads, be on the lookout for any mention of an autographed guitar or Pebble Beach trophy. Last, don’t even ask to tour someone’s garage without knowing exactly who’s going and the strength of the character of those attending. Leave the sketchy friend at home and tell them you went to the Zoo. It’s the very least we should be doing.
I personally pray that the perp has endless miserable days because of a badly timed spastic colon until the day they are arrested and convicted. I know I’m wishing unusually bad karma on this perp. Let’s hope detectives are hot on their trail.
Sorry Peter.