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5 Porsche Theft Suspects Seized by Newport Police : Crime: Officers say at least a dozen of the luxury vehicles were stripped and the parts shipped to Australia for sale there.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

An international “chop shop” ring that allegedly stripped down at least a dozen stolen Porsches worth more than $1 million and shipped the parts to Australia was uncovered after an investigation by Newport Beach police, authorities announced Thursday.

The luxury sports cars--including a limited-edition Porsche 930 Turbo valued at $130,000--had been stolen from businesses and shopping center parking lots in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa since July, said Detective Joe Thrasher, auto-theft investigator for the Newport Beach Police Department. Some of the cars were found stripped bare, with only a small hunk of the chassis left abandoned on neighborhood streets.

Two Australian nationals living in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach were arrested in the theft operation, along with a visiting Australian who allegedly acted as the middleman for the ring and two Americans employed by the Australians. Police believe that the ring may have been shipping stolen Porsche parts to Australia for as long as a year.

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The investigation into the thefts began when anonymous tipsters told Newport Beach police that auto parts were consistently being moved from the home of Steven Wayne Spaliviero, 25, an Australian national residing on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach, Thrasher told reporters at a police impound garage. Thrasher was surrounded by the remains of four Porsches, a stolen truck used to transport them and a truckload of stolen parts strewn around the garage.

Thrasher said detectives placed Spaliviero under surveillance Dec. 18 and trailed him to the Costa Mesa office of Australian Cellular Exports (ACE), a firm that billed itself as an exporter of cellular telephones. Thrasher said the stripped shells of four stolen Porsches--including the $130,000 model--had been recovered in the area around ACE’s Superior Avenue office in the past month.

A day later, detectives followed a truck from ACE to Direct Express Inc. in Carson, a shipping firm. They later investigated the shipment, which was bound for Australia, and found thousands of dollars worth of parts from various models of Porsches, including an engine from a Porsche reported stolen in Newport Beach. Thrasher said Direct Express was not aware that it was shipping stolen parts.

Based on the stolen parts found in Carson, investigators said, they obtained a search warrant for Spaliviero’s address and discovered a dismantled Porsche in his garage. Spaliviero apparently was rebuilding the car, a Porsche Carrera, for his personal use. Police also discovered auto parts and tools in the garage, which Spaliviero listed as a business called America Porsche Exports, Thrasher said.

“Mr. Spaliviero has made monthly shipments to Australia for approximately a year,” Thrasher said. “Whether (the shipments) were illegal or not, I don’t know.”

Asked if America Porsche Exports was a legitimate business, Thrasher said, “His (Spaliviero’s) business is shipping stolen car parts to Australia.” Spaliviero was carrying a 9-millimeter handgun when he was arrested last Friday, Thrasher said.

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Police also returned to Australian Cellular Exports last Friday, where they discovered auto parts and two stolen Porsche 911s. They arrested Rick James Ryan, 29, of Hermosa Beach, and Abraham Lahdo, 23, of Lynwood, Australia, a town near Perth.

“Lahdo was here in the U.S. from Australia to purchase the (stolen) parts,” Thrasher said. Ryan was a mechanic hired by Australian Cellular Exports, he said.

The operators of ACE, Giuseppe Russo, 27, an Australian national, and John Scott Sanders, 25, who share a residence in Costa Mesa, drove up while investigators were at the businesses and sped off when they saw police, Thrasher said. Russo was found hiding in a garage during a police manhunt, and Sanders was located later and gave himself up after police called his home. A handgun was recovered from their vehicle.

The investigation continued until Christmas Eve, when Thrasher discovered two engines, transmissions and other Porsche parts in a Costa Mesa public storage facility that was leased by the suspects. Thrasher said some of the parts were linked to the thefts in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

Thrasher said at least 12 Porsches reported stolen in the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa area since July are believed to have been taken by the ring.

“They (the suspects) were bypassing alarms,” he said. “The vehicles were generally stolen from businesses . . . and out at Fashion Island, South Coast Plaza” and other public parking lots, he said. Four vehicles stolen since November have been recovered.

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“We have information from sources that other cars were involved,” he said.

It was not known if the Australian suspects have criminal records in their native lands. A spokesman for the Australian Federal Police at the Australian Consulate in Los Angeles said that Australian Customs and police officials had been “looking at the activities (of the suspects) for some time,” but refused to elaborate.

All five suspects were arraigned Wednesday in Harbor Municipal Court on charges of conspiracy to commit grand theft auto and possession of stolen property. Spaliviero and Russo were both held on $250,000 bail, and Lahdo’s bail was set at $100,000. Bail for the American suspects, Sanders and Ryan, was set at $10,000 each.

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