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Man guilty of stealing royalty's old Rolls-Royce
PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS STORYRelated Topics: SEATTLE
SEATTLE (Map, News) - A federal jury has convicted a Seattle man of stealing a Rolls-Royce once owned by the Saudi royal family from a U.S. Customs warehouse.
Eric Rangeloff, who was convicted Wednesday, faces up two years in prison and a $250,000 fine for removing goods from customs custody.
The 47-year-old had been accused of breaking into the locked warehouse at the Port of Seattle and using a forklift to steal the 1983 Silver Spirit in October 2004. Rangeloff owns several businesses that operate at the port.
The U.S. attorney's office said U.S. Customs had declined to let the Rolls-Royce into the country because it did not meet U.S. safety and emission standards. The owner planned to wait until the car qualified for antique status and would be exempt from the standards.
Rangeloff was acquitted of making a false statement to an immigration and customs enforcement agent, while the jury could not reach a verdict on a charge of smuggling.
Sentencing by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour is scheduled for Nov. 14.
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Information from: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www.seattle-pi.com/
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