Courtroom will decide fate of Behms in auto embezzlement case (by Peter Children)

Op-ed by Peter Children –

Well, it happened for the first time a few days ago, I had a phone call from someone who reads N. I. T. First of all my phone number is unlisted….but that’s another story. This woman took issue with what I wrote in response to an article in the Globe. In the end I think the moral of this story is to let sleeping dogs lie….if not they might wake up and bite you.

This call had to do with the small piece I wrote about a yet to come legal proceeding which involved an alleged accusation of theft that took place at the Mason City Ford dealership.  As I remember it one day the police showed up and took away several people. Let’s pause here; we live in a democracy where you damn well better have an iron clad excuse for actions such as that. I would think that well before that incident took place, there was a gathering of evidence that revealed what was going on at that agency. That evidence had to be overwhelming in order for the authorities to actually file charges against these individuals, who by the way happen to be the Behm family….a father and his sons who are well known in this community as car salesmen.

Let me say this to you; when the police come to your place of employment and physically remove you from the premisses….you’ve got trouble, a lot of trouble. To add to that when your are transported to the police station and formal charges are filed against you for fraud, your troubles are rapidly accelerating. In other words “if” you had a scheme that involved collaboration with the bookkeeper to cook the books, you left it in the oven too long and the stench drew the attention of those who weren’t really invited…..like the police maybe. The name of the former bookkeeper is Linda Rahm. Her name does not appear on the incident report because it is believed she “cut a deal” by turning state’s evidence and is expected to testify against the Behms. How does it go; you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. If either expected to find honor between the two of themselves they had to be delusional.

I have to believe that this scheme had been going on for a long time, and that it involved numerous automobiles, we are not talking about a couple of cars, we’re talking about numbers that broach $1,000,000.00 and was thought to have reached back to when the Lafrenz family owned the dealership. This just might have been what forced them to sell. And if after the forth coming trial, if this is proven through courtroom testimony a lawsuit to recover whatever may still be of value is certainly a possibility.

I have included a link to the arrest report of the father and his two sons, which of course is public information, if it wasn’t we wouldn’t have it. The terminology can be confusing, the word “discharged” only implies they were released from jail, it does not imply that these felony charges were dismissed….or if you would, discharged.

Tragedy

What is so sad in this situation is the fact that this involves a father and his two sons who have been charged with conspiracy and theft/first degree over $10,000. Make no mistake, these are very serious charges that could result in long prison sentences. For a man seventy-five it could mean chances are good he could die in prison. His two sons – ages 48 and 51 – could come out of prison as old men, their life behind them, their families robbed of their presence, so many family milestones lost….for what? Money. The real richness in life can’t be found in your bank account, I know it’s better to have money than not, but at what price?  If the owner of the dealership demands reimbursement – which is their right – maybe property will need to be sold and other drastic measures will come into play in order to pay the fiddler now that the dance has ended. When you work side by side with others, including the owner, a family atmosphere begins to emerge, you become enmeshed in each others triumphs and tragedies, good times and bad. Yet all the while this gathering place you all come to each day is the tree from which each of you pick the fruit each week that sustains your families, pays your mortgages, puts food on the table, buys that prom dress your daughter needs and your son’s first bicycle. This is a place you collectively protect because it gives you the very sustenance that is so critical to your existence. Contributing to it’s demise is like eating your own flesh. If you want to gamble, go to a casino.

Everyone in this country is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of their peers in a court of law….don’t forget that.  I was once the victim of a false arrest, I was charged with a horrific offense by an over zealous police force who in their haste failed to check the evidence of my innocence. The result was life changing. It reverberated throughout my relationships, my personal friendships, my credit, my business, and it fed the veracious appetite for hate of those who were ecstatic with joy.  My continued condolences go out to these malcontents yet today. My arrest went on the UPI and AP wire services, it was in the Des Moines Register across the state. Eventually the person who perpetrated the offense I was charged with was caught.  I am no stranger to what this father and his two sons are living with each day they wake. The fact that I can commiserate with them in that context is worth exactly zero. If they are eventually found guilty any resemblance between us immediately evaporates. There is a wide gap between innocence and guilt.

All of this is of course contingent upon conviction.  When asked to comment on this story, the Skarlis family, who owns this dealership declined comment.

Peter Children