Dream Ferrari torched in gravel pit

KITCHENER — A Kitchener man’s dream of owning a Ferrari turned into a nightmare.

Stephen Wilson was watching a movie at Landmark Cinemas in Kitchener last fall when someone stole his Italian sports car from the parking lot, took it for a spin and torched it in a gravel pit.

The 2002 Ferrari, capable of going about 300 km/h, was a writeoff.

“Toast, burnt, destroyed,” Wilson’s defence lawyer, Sean Safa, said on Tuesday.

Police initially pointed the finger at Wilson, charging him with insurance fraud and public mischief, Safa said. Those charges were dropped, he said.

Wilson bought the Ferrari on Kijiji for $60,000, but sank a lot of money into it. It was appraised at almost $200,000. The insurance company will pay only $110,000, Safa said.

Wilson, 34, hasn’t received a penny, Safa said. The dispute will be settled in a civil court case. “Headache, eh?” Safa said. It wasn’t the only headache. Wilson was in court on Tuesday to plead guilty to uttering a forged document to the Ministry of Transportation.

The safety certificate he got to put the Ferrari on the road in 2016 was signed by someone who did not do inspections, Crown prosecutor Jonathan Thompson said.

Wilson admitted he “either knew or was wilfully blind” to the fact the document was bogus.

He was pulled over by police in March 2016. An investigation revealed the car did not have a catalytic converter and the certificate was improper.

Thompson used an analogy to reinforce the dangers of forged safety certificates.

“I went snowboarding last night. As I’m going up the chairlift, I’m looking up at the cables and I’m just assuming that somebody inspected this thing,” he said.

“When people ... subvert the regulatory function of the state, they put the risk of the community at stake. The stakes are too high when you’re driving a two-ton missile at freeway speeds.”

Defence lawyer Tom Brock, who represented a woman who saw charges dropped, is on the board of directors at Chicopee Ski Club in Kitchener and assured Thompson the chairlifts are inspected regularly.

“I rely on my friend’s assurance,” Thompson replied, “and I should be able to rely on the state’s assurance that the vehicle is roadworthy.”

Thompson sought a big fine for Wilson to denounce the crime and deter others.

Justice Karey Katzsch agreed, fining him $1,000.

“There is a need for everyone to abide by the rules and to not try to circumvent them or go around them,” the judge said.