By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 15, 1992
The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | Page B03
A mechanic and his son-in-law face charges following a yearlong dispute with a Teaneck man over a used car that disappeared and a check that bounced.
Theft charges have been filed against George Nicolaou of 26 E. Madison Ave., Dumont. Nicolaou was released Saturday on $2,500 bail from the Bergen County Jail, said a spokeswoman for the county Sheriff’s Department. His son-in-law, Anthony Mamalian, who faces fraud charges in the case, also is out on bail.
Dumont Police Detective Sgt. Robert Fischer said Nicolaou, 53, who owns G. N. Auto Electric in Dumont, sold a 1971 Mercedes-Benz to Carmello Bellia in December 1990. The car, for which Bellia paid $3,000, was supposed to have a rebuilt engine and transmission, Fischer said.
Bellia told police that after he got home, “he went to his own mechanic to check the car out,” Fischer said. “He found out that the car did not have a rebuilt engine or transmission. ”
Bellia returned it the next day and asked that it be repaired or that his money be refunded, Fischer said. About a month later, Bellia was given $1,000, but a $2,000 check written by Mamalian bounced, Fischer said.
Fischer said Bellia told police he tried three times but was unable to cash the check because of insufficient funds. A civil court awarded Bellia, 51, a $5,000 judgment in June, but he has not collected, Fischer said.
Then, Fischer said, Bellia noticed that the car, which had been sitting in the lot at G. N. Auto Electric during the dispute, was missing. Bellia signed complaints against Mamalian and Nicolaou. .
Mamalian was arrested Dec. 28 on a complaint of fraud for the bounced check, and Nicolaou on Jan. 11 on complaint of theft for the missing car, Fischer said. The men will appear in Dumont Municipal Court at a date to be determined, Fischer said.
ID: 17365984 | Copyright © 1992, The Record (New Jersey)
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