Crime & Safety

Dispute over a Rolex as a BMW Downpayment Results in Arrest

The owner of GMV Auto Sales at 151 Main St. was arrested on larceny and breach-of-peace charges; in an unrelated incident, a car was burglarized on Gillies Lane.

Mario Brancato, 43, the owner of GMV Auto Sales at 151 Main St., was arrested Thursday on larceny and breach-of-peace charges after a dispute with a customer who wanted to back out of buying a used car, police said.

Here's how Norwalk police described the circumstances leading to the arrest:

A customer at struck a deal with Brancato, who liked the man's Rolex watch: The customer would use the watch as a $3,000 downpayment for an $11,500 Mercedes.

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No paperwork was filled out, but Brancato held onto the watch for two days before he customer returned to complete the sale. At that point, the customer asked Brancato to give him a for a Carfax report on the vehicle. Brancato refused to give him one.

The customer spoke to some friends over the telephone who said he should back out of the agreement to buy the car if he didn't have the report, and the man told Brancato he was stopping the transaction, and he wanted his watch back.

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Brancato got angry at that point, told the customer he had held the car two days for him and refused to return the watch. He told the customer to give him the rest of the money and he would hand over the car.

The customer told police that Brancato started cursing and yelling at him, and the customer saw a woman at the business who seemed alarmed at Brancato's reaction and left with her child. To end the confrontation, the customer left.

On the advice of his friends, the customer then went to Norwalk police, who investigated. Brancato told police he thought he had a gentleman's deal and he thought that should be honored. Police told him the watch would be his property only after the victim received his car, and only then would the transaction be completed.

Brancato then told police he sold the watch to someone at a flea market in Westchester County.

The customer and Brancato later met again, and the customer agreed to accept $3,000 for the watch. Brancato then gave him $2,200 and said he'd get the rest to him later. The customer then contacted police, telling them he only accepted the money because he was scared of Brancato and only agreed to take the money to avoid further contact with him.

Because the customer said he accepted the money out of fear for his safety, and because the customer described the woman appearing alarmed at Brancato's behavior earlier at the business, police charged Brancato with second-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace. Brancato was arrested Thursday on a warrant.

Car burglarized on Gillies Lane

A car owner told police that an iPod and Nuvi 255 Garman navigation system were stolen from his car sometime before 9:30 a.m. on March 14.

When the owner went to the car in the morning, he found a door wasn't fully closed, the center console open and papers strewn around the inside of the vehicle. The owner said that earlier he had left the doors unlocked and failed to set the car alarm.

The owner was away on business for a time, then reported the theft to police on Thursday.


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