The Region - News from Jan. 31, 1986

Hawthorne police said they have broken an auto theft ring involving stolen luxury cars whose tires, wheels and interiors were removed and sold over a two-year period. Joe’s Tires & Wheels, an auto shop at 3508 Rosecrans Ave., was allegedly used as a warehouse for housing the remains of hundreds of cars, primarily BMWs and Porsches, Hawthorne Police Lt. Steven Frazier said. Frazier estimated that more than $500,000 in stolen property was recovered from the shop. Police arrested the shop owner, Joseph Bento, 53, of Los Angeles; Harold Samuels, 36, of Lynwood; Robert Brown, 23, of Gardena, and Ignacio Enriquez, 36, of Hawthorne. All four were booked on multiple counts of receiving stolen goods, and Samuels also was held on multiple counts of auto theft.