Motorcycle seizure event at GOTL in 1999 results in boycott of The Strip

By CARL E. FEATHER
Lifestyle Editor

ASHTABULA — If you’ve been going to Geneva-on-the-Lake (GOTL) every summer for several decades, you’ve probably noticed that in the past four years, the number of motorcycles on The Strip has decreased.

“The motorcycle crowd that used to come here, that still comes here, they’re not in unison like they used to be,” says Bob Pschirer, who co-owns Dian’s Poolside Motel with Dian Wilt. “Five years ago, both sides of the road in front of Annie’s would be loaded with motorcycles. Now, it’s not that way.”

The reason is a perception among riders that this once-popular resort town put away the red carpet several years ago, says Steve Zimmer, executive director of Ohio’s ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education) chapter.

“Our motorcyclists have chosen not to go up there anymore,” Zimmer says of the 6,000-member ABATE Ohio group. “There seems to be a decision by a lot of motorcyclists that they don’t want to have to deal with that situation.”

The situation to which Zimmer is referring is an incident involving the seizure of a homemade 1973 Harley Davidson FX-1200 Super Glide in the early morning hours of June 13, 1999. The bike was owned by Sam Sacconi, now 45, of Rogers,Ohio. Sacconi, who is now the ABATE coordinator for Columbiana County, rode to GOTL on June 12 with a group of friends for an overnight trip. Around 5am the next morning, there was a knock on his motel room door from Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Joe Niemi, who informed Sacconi and several of his friends that their motorcycles were being seized.

Sacconi says he was told that his bike had stolen parts on it. According to court documents, Niemi’s initial inspection of the motorcycle, as it sat in the parking lot of the North Wind Motel, led him to believe that the vehicle identification number (VIN) had been ground down and a new VIN had been stamped in its place. The bike was seized pending further verification of the VIN.

Sacconi was not arrested. Niemi says he could have arrested Sacconi for possession of a stolen vehicle but did not because he felt that Sacconi had purchased the bike in good faith.

Sacconi maintains that his “self-assembled” bike was custom-built from various sources and cost him more than $8,000. He says he was able to prove that the engine, transmission and frame had valid serial numbers and was able to provide a trail of ownership going back six owners, who signed statements as to the source of the parts.

However, Niemi says that his examination of the bike in the motel parking lot convinced him that the original VIN had been ground off and altered from the original Harley Davidson factory number and that the ID number on the motor was in the wrong place, providing probable cause for the seizure.

But Sacconi’s bike was impounded more than eight months before Niemi was able to track down information through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which linked the vehicle to a stolen motorcycle. The date of the theft, in Orange County, N.C., was Nov. 16, 1977. Neimi says information about that case had been purged from the computer system, which is why it took so long to track down the theft. But it was not determined whether the unit had been recovered.

Niemi also insisted that one character in the VIN had been altered from an “8” to an “X,” which was disputed by Sacconi, based upon the crude stamping methods used by Harley Davidson at the time of manufacture.

Sacconi sued the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff William R. Johnson and Niemi, claiming that his civil rights had been violated. But the Northern Ohio District Court judge ruled that the seizure did not violate the Fourth Amendment and that no due-process violation had occurred.

Francis Manning, who represented Sacconi in the action, believes his client was the victim of an effort to discourage motorcyclists from visiting the county.
“Our approach has been that these guys just didn’t want bikers at Geneva-on-the-Lake,” he says. “And what better way to scare them off is there than to confiscate their bikes in the middle of the night And for a while, it worked.”
Out of money, Sacconi chose not to appeal his case. He last saw his bike, during the summer of 2000, at the sheriff’s impound lot. He said it had been stored outside and was showing damage from the weather.

Sheriff William Johnson says the bike has since been dismantled and the offending parts destroyed. “The VIN had been altered — we proved it was altered — and the law says it has to be destroyed,” he said.

Detective Jeff Brown, the deputy who oversees the impound lot, says he oversaw the bike’s dismantling and destruction. He says accessories without serial numbers were sent back to Sacconi.

But Niemi says they are confusing Sacconi’s bike with another one that was seized and that, to his knowledge, the motorcycle is still held by the department.

“My honest opinion is that he absolutely got robbed,” says Francis Manning, Sacconi’s attorney.

Impact of case

Sacconi has put out the word among other ABATE members and riders that Ashtabula County is an unfriendly destination. In a Web page dedicated to the incident, he refers to local law enforcement as “the gestapo in Ashtabula.”

“They are constantly talking about it. Even in the southern part of the state, everybody knows about it,” says Ralph C. Buss, an attorney who specializes in motorcycle cases. “People are afraid to go there, especially the ones who have self-assembled bikes.”

“Hairy” George Nitzsky is Legislative Director for ABATE of Ohio. He says, as a result of what happened to Sacconi in Ashtabula County, ABATE has pushed for passage of HB103, which will modify the guidelines for holding seized property in Ohio. The bill has passed the house in Columbus and is in senate committee. Buss says it requires law enforcement agencies that seize property to prove within 30 days that is stolen or return the item.

“That’s the impact that this situation (Sacconi’s case) had, to galvanize this action,” Buss says. He says riders throughout the state worked with lawmakers to draft and pass the bill.

Motorcyclists are also voting with their dollars. Nitzsky says Geneva-on-the-Lake used to be a frequent destination for his weekend rides, but he’s boycotting it, along with a lot of other ABATE members.

“I’ve got a personal boycott on Geneva-on-the-Lake,” Nitzsky says. “I’ve not been there since Sacconi’s bike was taken, and I will not go back.”

Nitzsky says the entire county has a reputation as being unfriendly to riders.

“The climate of hostility in that neck of the woods is going up, and I don’t understand why,” he says. “Motorcyclists are high-dollar people.”

Nitzsky says statistics from the Motorcycle Industries group shows that the average rider is in his late 30s to early 40s and makes $35,000 to $45,000 annually. The one trait among them is they like to fish. It sounds like a match made in biker heaven for Ashtabula County.

“I never have understood why a place or town would want to refuse or intimidate us when we are starting to come around,” says Nitzsky.

“Everybody tries to court motorcycle riders because they need everything,” Pschirer observes. He points out that if a rider wants to play golf, he has to rent the clubs. If he wants to fish, he has to rent most of that equipment, as well. And they depend upon area hospitality businesses to feed, water, entertain and house them.

Zimmer estimates that a rider on a weekend trip will spend between $100 and $125 a day. When multiplied by the hundreds or even thousands of riders who can be present in an organized event, the potential economic impact is enormous.

Pschirer believes most businesses on The Strip are receptive to motorcyclists, and he feels that most of the families who go there are at least tolerant of the motorcycle traffic. He says tourist traffic at The Strip is down across the board.

“Boat people, motorcycle people, families,” he says. “There’s a whole myriad of people who need to come back and take a look at the place again.”

Sacconi, who has since refinanced his house and bought another motorcycle, says he won’t be going back, nor will the Bikers Regime, a 150-member group that does an annual Great Lakes tour that included a stop in Ashtabula County. Sacconi says that, after his incident at GOTL, the tour was re-routed to ignore the county.

“As far as I know, there ain’t nobody going up there,” he says.

The Sacconi incident was a lose-lose proposition for everyone involved. According to the Ashtabula County Auditor’s Office, it cost the county $XXXX to defend the sheriff and deputy, Sacconi spent in excess of $9,000 on attorney fees and still lost his $8,500 bike.

“My honest opinion is that he absolutely got robbed,” says Francis Manning, Sacconi’s attorney.

Recieved 10/15/00

Hey everybody!
I just want to let everybody know that I may have to drop the case to get my bike back. I just got a bill from my lawyer for $5385.00. I don't know how i'm going to pay the bill. I've got over 9000.00 in it now.I don't think I can keep up with the bills.

Thanks Sam

Updated Sept, 14, 2000

Hey everybody!
This is Sam Sacconi as everyone knows June 13th,1999 the gestopo in Ashtabula stole my bike and for twelve months we couldn't get anyone to talk. Then on June 8th,2000 we seen bike. They say the (x) was changed to an (8), but there are no (x's) in that series of bikes and that (8) is factory (8). Thi was all proven by a state inspector that Cycle Source refered us to. Now on August 4th,2000 we went court and now they say there are stolen parts on it and the serial numbers were ground down. The parts are from North or South Carolina I was so upset to know from which state they said. So besides the 2nd Amendment now the Gestapo are after are 4th Amendment. All they need now is are 1st and not only me but all of us are screwed.
I would like to thank everybody that has tried to help me!
Thank-You
Sam Sacconi

Updated July 2,2000

06:59 AM 06/28/2000
>Hey everybody!
> This is Sam, the one with the stolen bike. Well, this is where we
>stand-----In my VIN number (* # A # # # # # A # *) the middle # on mine they
>say is a (X) and somebody made it a (8)..... We took pictures and rubbings
of it and sent it to an expert that Cycle Source gave me. He said that there
are no (X)'s in that series of motorcycle and that it is a factory (8). But now
>they say it's to late for independent inspector to look at it....so much for
>justice.
> Sam

Update...posted June 12,2000 !!!

Hi all!!!!!

GOTL update: Sam had his meeting thurs. He did see his bike.It has been stored outside for the last year,so you can imagine what it looks like. They're saying now that the 8 in the vin was altered, that it should be an X. So the battle still goes on.....Monday 13th will be 1yr since the bike was took and seems strange that they now think a number was altered, which wasn't even the reason they took it. As of right now looks like they're going to court. I'll keep everone updated of any new news.

Thanks

Kris

“Another Injustice in Ohio... All Bikers Beware”
Please read and forward to every motorcycle rider you know. This is also happening in other states lately as well.

On Saturday June 12th, 1999, a few friends in Ohio got together for an overnight trip. All of the riders were headed north for a night on the town in Geneva-on-the-Lake in Northeast Ohio. They had on their minds the feel of the open road, the beautiful scenery they would encounter on the trip, and the friendship they would share along the road as they visited this “one time biker paradise” on the shores of Lake Erie on their overnight trip.

To throw in a twist, the motorcycle riders in this story were members of ABATE of Ohio, Inc. (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education) which is a statewide group of over 7,000 riders from all backgrounds that came together for the same causes that we all believed in. Those causes are dedication to protecting the rights, improving the image, and promoting the safe operating practices of all Ohio motorcyclist. They also are dedicated to promoting the awareness of motorcyclist and seriously involved in raising funds for both local and nation charitable causes and those in need.

Soon this friendly trip taken by honest upstanding brothers and sisters of the motorcycling community would take an ugly turn. The same people who dedicate the majority of their time and efforts to helping others and protecting the rights of all motorcyclists would have their own rights seriously violated. In a way we have not seen until recently.
In a town that’s economy is mostly based on summer tourism, and the vast majority of which is from the biker community, they all had their rights seriously abused and were left stranded far from home.

These riders had already spend much money in the community and had parked their motorcycles and were asleep in their hotel rooms when officers from Ashtabula County Sheriff Department and Geneva-on-the-Lake Police began inspecting bikes in the parking lot and then later awoke them from their slumber in the early A.M. hours on June 13th, 1999.
According to police, the reason for this unwarranted harassment was “probable cause of stolen vehicles.” According to an officers statement at the scene the probable cause for one motorcycle was that the (vehicle Identification number) VIN numbers matched perfectly, but the letter A “was a little too pointed for it to be that of a Harley-Davidson” VIN. The other bike was a home built (and stated such on the title) and was therefore immediately considered probable cause because of that fact alone. As far as we know a total of three bikes were taken that night from that lot alone. One of the bikes was not an ABATE member and so far we have no further information it yet.

The two bikes owned by ABATE members were completely legal with all of their legal paperwork intact upon inspection. No arrests were made at the scene, and since no charges have ever yet been filed to this day. Although the riders were all threatened with arrest at the scene every time they spoke up or questioned the officers actions. After some alleged verbal abuse and threats of arrest by the officers, all of the bikes were loaded onto a trailer and soon taken away by the Ashtabula County Sheriff Department with the assistance of the Geneva-on-the-lake Police Department.

No receipts were ever given at the scene (although requested) and the owners were only told to call the Department Monday morning. When the out of town riders inquired about how they were to get home without their only form of transportation, they were simply told “that’s your own problem, not ours.” When they inquired about how the bikes would be treated during transport and inspection one of the officers replied “well, shit happens.” When the bike owners then tried to obtain badge numbers or names of the officers present and on scene, they were not given any. Out of 8 officers on the scene, they were only able to obtain one name.

Monday calls were made to their local Congressman and State Representative. No response was received at that time.
Later the Sheriff Department returned a call and stated that one bike would be released. Tuesday when the bike was finally released they were not given any receipt, records, or reports. They had to sign a release form before they were allowed inspection. Advised by an attorney not to do so the owner had no choice -because the officers would not let them inspect the bike before released. They were told they could not even "see" the bike until they signed the form... which I assume released the department from any damage liability.

As of this writing, over 8 months later the other bike has still not been released and the owner has endured much hardship and hassles in the process of proving the legality of his home built motorcycle. He has spent much time, effort, and finances researching the history and of the previous owners. In fact, he has researched the history of his bike back to 6 owners. Proven it completely legal... And still to this day his bike has not been released to him! At the time of this letter he is still left without his transportation, still fighting to get back his bike, and still under the threat of outrageous storage fees for the many months his bike was unjustly impounded... even though he’d already given much proof that his bike is legal. Some of us might wonder if they still even have the bike, and if so is it damaged?

As of current, lawsuits have been filed to redeem the motorcycle which our legal system let the police department legally “steal” from it’s rightful owner. In another unusual turn of events, it seems that since the lawsuits were filed, we have found out that the County Prosecutor has a very intimate relationship with the one officer who seems to be at the heart of this. In fact, they are married. How can a person get justice under these circumstances?

Since then ABATE of Ohio, Inc. is trying to work with some Ohio legislators to prevent this travesty of justice from happening to others in the future. The practice of “legal theft” of a persons rightfully owned property has got to be stop. How many times has this happened and the legal owner of the vehicle could just not effort to fight it and just gave up their property? That we do not know.

The owners of the bike still being held have unfortunately had to mortgage their home and gone into debt to fight this and get their legally owned bike back. They are seriously struggling to do so, but they will fight this one and make a stand here -for all of us. Contact any of the individuals below to get information on how to donate to their legal fund to help them and try to put a stop to this corrupt practice. This time we need to fight back and make a stand! We need to help them in their fight considering what they are giving up for all of us.

Besides any personal donations to help them in their legal battle, I would personally recommend a call to all of you local government representatives telling them you thing this probable cause “legal theft” issue needs to be seriously addressed now in Ohio, and every other state for that matter.

As for the Geneva-on-the-lake and Ashtabula County Ohio, I have heard reports from a number of riders that this type harassment is still ongoing, and I would hope all motorcycle riders and supporters of basic freedoms would stop spending their money in the area until they start treating bikers, and honest citizens fairly once again.

For more detailed information about this incident, or if you had a similar experience in Ashtabula County, Ohio please contact any of the following ABATE of Ohio, Inc., Region Zero, Columbiania Co. members.

Chuck & Kris Bable 330-482-0128 or KB3165@aol.com
Sam & Debbie Sacconi 330-227-9900
Willie Wilson 330-332-8571 or williew@raex.com

Thank you for your time.
Ride safe and ride free,
Kevin Frost
ABATE of Ohio, Inc.
Region Zero (N.E. Ohio)