European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse On. A repo Boom scavengers of hard times by Tony Rogers associated press when Wall Street goes bust they walk on easy Street when recession hits their business booms. They Are re possessors and auctioneers scavengers of bad times who clean up the fiscal wreckage when the Economy Breaks Down. Quot this is the Boom time for us definitely Quot said Evan Gabriel an auctioneer in Canton Ohio. Quot its a real big and they have the 1980s to thank for their Success. Then companies and people borrowed freely from Banks to buy and came the crash. In new England the sore spot of the nations Economy scores of Banks were left with piles of bad Loans. Enter the Banks foot soldiers a repo men and auctioneers. A . The repo men take Back cars and boats among other things when their owners no longer can make payments. The auctioneers sell off houses and other things the a Banks foreclose on. Quot repo entrepreneurs Robert and Brian Bethel with a Fleet of repossessed boats in Mendon mass. Quot i done to like to say there lot More business. There a enough bad news in the Economy. We Don t need to make it worse you know what i mean Quot said Robert Bethel who repossessed boats in Mendon mass. Quot but a there a More than a moderate the repo Man s Stock in Trade is expensive cars sometimes though the Booty is bigger Jack Barnes executive director of National finance adjusters an association of re possessors once claimed a Herd of 74 horses in Oklahoma another time he repossessed a helicopter and flew it to Florida. J Quot we be done Oil drilling equipment All sorts of things Quot said Barnes who runs his own repo firm in Tulsa okla Quot right now we be got a computer to test eyes for glasses that was repossessed from an optometrist in sometimes disgruntled owners done to let their valuables go without a fight but Barnes said repo men done to get rough the Way the character in the 1984 movie repo Man did. A v. A a 7v v Quot the repo Guys i know thought the movie was a riot Quot Barnes said. Quot i done to know of any who Carf Iglins they Quot Arentt going to jeopardize their business with stunts like 7 . A a we be come a Long Way from the old image of 300. Pound Guys who shake people Down for their car keys Quot he said. H. A . A an auctioneer s life is More sedate though Competition is growing. A v a Quot five years ago everybody was doing Well so there weren t As Many auctioneers around Quot said Charles Balyozian a Boston auctioneer. Quot now people Are ushing Quot to get into this Quot r a he said auctioneers can make $100,000 or More a year. A. A a Quot a ,. A. A i de Levites of Hingham mass saw an Opportunity to profit from economic gloom. In the Mld-1980s he sold new boats. Then that Market. Dried up and he started hawking used boats. Last year he sold a repossessed boat for a Bank. A Quot then everybody started calling us Quot Levites. Quot we just sort of fell into the repo . Now most of levites1 business comes from repossessions business is better than Ever up 30 percent from the Peak times of the 1980s. Levites usually gets a 10 percent commission to sell boats. The average boat runs $2,000, and Levites said his company May move four or five a week. Quot in the new boat business you have to buy the boat and have it sit on the showroom floor while you pay interest Quot Levites said. Quot in the repo business the overhead is so much less. You done to have to buy the boats Quot. Did Levites Ever think head become a repo Man _ Quot never in a million years Quot keeping you in touch keeping you informed a. A a v a 7v a s. A s so v ,,v,v,�?T View twin res l r ,1, to a Volt Vince Crawley was one of the first two european stars amp stripes reporters to set foot in saudi arable after operation desert shield began. Crawley spent 75 Days Between sept. 2 and nov. 18, reporting and photographing marines soldiers and airmen in the Region. Most of Crawley s stories were about average soldiers and their Day to Day life in the desert. A a with the stars and stripes for the past two years Crawley is chief of the Nornberg news Bureau in Germany. Before joining stripes he served six years As an army journalist. Crawley Halls from Logansport ind. Quot a saturday december 8. The stars and stripes Page 17 \
