Ontario Says No to 'Fire' Sales, Refuses to Give Convicted Arsonist Dealer License

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

If we were all judged solely by our mistakes, we couldn’t elect anyone president. Having said that, maybe it’s good to give a little time between jail terms and licensed professions — especially when you were convicted in a firebombing directly related to that same profession.

An Ontario Superior Court overturned a lower court’s ruling to grant a vehicle sales license to a man just four days after his release from a federal prison, according to the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. The man was sentenced to jail for hiring another man to set fire to a New York State Department of Motor Vehicle office and a DMV inspector’s car while the applicant was a car dealer in Buffalo, New York.

According to the court, the man lied about his jail term and the circumstances regarding his case. Prior to the Superior Court ruling, the man was rejected by local authorities for a license, but successfully appealed the ruling in a lower court.

“This was an individual who’d been convicted and jailed for firebombing the offices and vehicle of a U.S. regulator and then tried to mislead OMVIC in order to gain registration here,” Mary Jane South, Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council registrar, said in a statement. “There was no way in hell we thought this man was entitled to registration.”

The Ontario Superior Court said it wouldn’t send back the decision to the lower court, adding that its ruling would be final.

That’s probably best for everyone.


Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Jan 25, 2016

    Mad Man Mooney: Jack, get rid of this heap. Come out here! Sweetums: What? What? Mad Man Mooney: That's my jack. Kermit: Oh, hi Jack! Sweetums: Jack not name! Jack job! Mad Man Mooney: [whispering] How many times have I told you not to talk to the customers?

  • TDIGuy TDIGuy on Jan 26, 2016

    The font in the sign behind the guy is very similar to what Ford used in that era.

  • Geo Geo on Jan 26, 2016

    I recently found that I wasn't the only one who thought the jingle contained the words "pussy cow".

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jan 26, 2016

    Back in the 1960's in Houston there was a Dodge dealer named Art Grindle who would come on during the old Tarzan movies on a Saturday afternoon. He would line the used cars up and pound his fists on them and sometimes get on the hood and roof and jump up and down. "I'm Art Grindle and I want to sell you a car" "$50 dollars down will get you this beauty." There was always someone in the background that if the car didn't start or if it broke down would push it away and then the next bargain car would pull up and Art would work his magic. Eventually Art left for Florida. http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2012/06/art-grindle-1923-2012/

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