Corvette Lovers Come in all Shapes, Sizes and Ages-Stealing Chevrolet Corvettes is a Passion

Criminal behavior is a male thing. It is also a young thing. Younger men, generally commit crime. This is not to say women are as pure as freshly fallen snow when it comes to crime but women commit much less of it than men do. And older folks, generally do not commit much crime either. Unless you happen to be someone who law enforcement and judges call the “Dean of Car Thieves”. 74-year-old Daniel Ott was just sentenced to three years in prison for pursuing his life long passion—stealing Chevrolet Corvettes.

Corvettes are cool, they’ve always been cool. They also have been targets for thieves for years and Ott has been there the whole time, stealing them. He didn’t rip them off for his driving pleasure though, no, he stole them and sold them to chop shops who would literally chop them up for parts and sell them.

Federal prosecutors in Cleveland, Ohio said Ott stole 17 new and used Corvettes, valued at $600,000, over 12 months before his arrest last year. He’d receive an order for a car, the color, year and model and he’d find a car fitting the criteria and steal them. And get this, he only got about $1,200 per car. For a Corvette! They can retail from $50,000 to 100,000.  Well, we’ve all heard the old saying that criminals aren’t rocket scientists, it seems to hold true here.

U. S District Judge Court Dan Polster said, “Mr. Ott, I don’t think I have ever encountered anyone who has racked up more criminal points after age 60. Most people slow down after the age of 60. But nothing seems to have deterred you from doing what you want to do, which is steal cars.”  Ott has had 14 convictions for auto theft, mostly handled in federal court because he transported them across state lines. He admitted to stealing at least 100 Corvettes in his “career”.

Ott was also ordered to pay $533,000 in restitution. The prosecutor in the case said when released, he believed Ott would go right back to stealing cars again. As Ott was handcuffed and started to be escorted out of court to the prison van, he turned around and looked at his wife. She had tears in her eyes. She had experienced her husband being hauled off many times before. But, not at the tender age of 74. She too had to be shocked.