Larry Clain B/Motion collector dies/cars STOLEN

[mssl72]

Wow. This is sad. My condolences to his family and friends. I can see by the comments in this post that a ton of his friends are here on this site. I'm truly sorry for everybody.

The theft of his cars made the hair stand up on the back of my neck and my stomach tense up. I was robbed just over a year ago. They broke into the house and went through everything and stole a bunch of stuff. Hearing what happened to Larry cars brought all those emotions back. That's just sickening. I would love to choke the life out of the thieves with my bare hands. If there's anything I can do to help beside keeping my eyes and ears open, please let me know.

[sixbrl440]

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Well folks......in the final analysis, it is not what you have but who you are.....and by reading ALL these posts, this gentleman was just that...a gentle man. Our hobby is just the conduit to forged friendships.

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This brings another twist to the thread. As Ed mentioned, Larry died intestate. I'll not get into details, but the surviving, albeit distant, family members are being less than cooperative, regardless of no contact with them in the time I've known Larry. Aunt and her family is it.

At any rate, folks, make sure you don't die intestate. Get the wills written. Hand written, by you, is ok. If drafted, get it witnessed by two and notarized. Don't leave your friends in the awkward position of deciding your estate. We never know when our time is up.

As for the rest of the issues we on the Forum can attend to, it will be to simply think of all publications the theft can be listed in; to do so and keep out eyes open.

There are some bad people out there in the world. 'nuff for now.

Thanks again, on Larry's behalf, for all the kind words.

Perry

[Chevy454]

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Not only were his cars stolen.. but his house broken into and the titles to them taken as well..

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Just re-read part of this thread...that line right there tells me it was an inside job, as someone had to know where the titles were...do Oklahoma titles require notarization? Might be worth someone's time to pass along the VIN #s to Joel Rosen as well...

[MosportGreen66]

I sent a PM to Ed with that exact statement Rob... This had to be an inside job.

[Supergas990]

First, I'd like to say that I'm going to miss his posts and input here. He seemed like wealth of knowledge. Condolences to the family.

Now, I hate to sound like the conspiracy theory guy, but has anyone considered the idea that maybe this happened because someone in the family was told/knew he didn't have a will? I've heard of close family members agree to cleaning out all items of value prior to the governement getting wind of someone's passing. In these cases they're just trying to keep the gov't from taking the stuff via death tax or just having it locked up by the courts for years.

I hate thievery, so if it's that I hope they get their due. If it's a move to screw the gov't, so be it.

Just something to consider.

Blair

[396L35]

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First, I'd like to say that I'm going to miss his posts and input here. He seemed like wealth of knowledge. Condolences to the family.

Now, I hate to sound like the conspiracy theory guy, but has anyone considered the idea that maybe this happened because someone in the family was told/knew he didn't have a will? I've heard of close family members agree to cleaning out all items of value prior to the governement getting wind of someone's passing. In these cases they're just trying to keep the gov't from taking the stuff via death tax or just having it locked up by the courts for years.

I hate thievery, so if it's that I hope they get their due. If it's a move to screw the gov't, so be it.

Just something to consider.

Blair

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Blair lets hope that is the case...

[markjohnson]

That is the smartest thing that anyone has said yet in this post. I visited Larry back in March at this building during a business transaction and he showed me all his cars in this building. This building is located on a very busy street next to a car wash in downtown Tulsa. It would have taken several people, many hours and countless trips to take all these cars as they were buried behind much clutter. Thousands of people had to see this occuring. When one's time is up on this planet, material items lose importance. You can't take them with you. When Larry passed on without a will these cars no longer belonged to him. Sounds heartless but that's the way it is. Everyone should walk away learning something from this thread. That will be Larry's legacy. Those cars would have been tied up in probate court for years to pay for outstanding debt and taxes. We should all hope that the cars were whisked away by family members to safety. Let's face it, these were valuble cars that the government/courts would have loved to get a part of. I've got a feeling these cars will re-surface soon enough.

[sYc]

Even if it were family members, and/or friends, really does not matter in the eyes of the law/courts, to them it is still stealing. I am guessing there was a police report filed, so too late to do things under cover. Regardless, NOTHING was to be moved/taken without a court order.

If there was a will, everything is tied up until the probate courts says who gets what.

In Larry's case, with no will, must go through probate court, if not, who ever took the items could be in serious trouble. To get a clear deed, or to assign a title, will require a court order. Or someone will need to forge Larry's signature, and in many states, must be notorized, which complicates things even more.

If who ever took the cars forge's Larry signature to move the cars, they could be in very big trouble. Also, the buyer(s), who are guilty of receiving stolen goods. Worst case for the buyer is jail time, best case is lose the cars and their $$$.

I see this all of the time, where folks think they can go around the system, but rarly get away with it. Seems someone always feels they got short changed, hire a lawyer, and away you go. Or some innocent party goes to file a deed, or apply for a title and finds out that there is a probelm.

Take my advice, get with your CPA/attorney and get things set up NOW.

[55chevy]

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Even if it were family members, and/or friends, really does not matter in the eyes of the law/courts, to them it is still stealing. I am guessing there was a police report filed, so too late to do things under cover. Regardless, NOTHING was to be moved/taken without a court order.

If there was a will, everything is tied up until the probate courts says who gets what.

In Larry's case, with no will, must go through probate court, if not, who ever took the items could be in serious trouble. To get a clear deed, or to assign a title, will require a court order. Or someone will need to forge Larry's signature, and in many states, must be notorized, which complicates things even more.

If who ever took the cars forge's Larry signature to move the cars, they could be in very big trouble. Also, the buyer(s), who are guilty of receiving stolen goods. Worst case for the buyer is jail time, best case is lose the cars and their $$$.

I see this all of the time, where folks think they can go around the system, but rarly get away with it. Seems someone always feels they got short changed, hire a lawyer, and away you go. Or some innocent party goes to file a deed, or apply for a title and finds out that there is a probelm.

Take my advice, get with your CPA/attorney and get things set up NOW.

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Tom hit the nail on the head. I don't know "all" the details as I am not part of the investigation. But here is what I do know right now.. NOTHING should have been touched.. by anyone. Sometime between I believe it was May 25th I was told that the attorneys video taped everything in Larry's shop and then chained and pad locked everything up .. and 2 days ago when this was discovered ..someone got in and took all the cars.. So that gave these thieves almost 4 weeks to do this.. None of us ever thought something like this would happen..or trust me, I'd have stepped up patrols of his properties myself.. As far as it being an inside job?, Myself, Dee (Larry's widow) and Perry all think that as well. And I know that is being looked into by authorities. Like I said I'm not close to the investigation of this, so all my knowlege is second hand. I know Perry is closer to what's going on.. so if anyone can help with advice or any FBI guys listening or anything, contact Perry (sixbrl440). Or contact me and I'll pass it on.
I've givin Perry copies of all the photos I have from inside Larrys shop to give to those investigating this. Aside from that and getting the word out there to the public of what's occured, I feel like my hands are tied and there's not a damn thing I can do about.. I'm just sick over this and the loss of my friend.. It's like a f-ing bad dream!

[bkhpah]

I am very sorry to hear this news, he was a great asset to the site and the hobby. The stealing of the cars on top of it really turns my stomach. It takes a real piece of [censored] to do that. ..BKH