Uniontown businessman sues, claims malicious prosecution
A Uniontown businessman filed suit against the state police trooper who arrested him earlier this year, claiming he was maliciously prosecuted for crimes that he did not commit, and which were ultimately dismissed.
Louis “Joby” Cantalamessa filed the federal lawsuit against Trooper Timothy S. Karpiak on Tuesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. Karpiak charged Cantalamessa, owner and operator of Joby’s Gulf on Beeson Avenue, with theft by unlawful taking and fraudulent removal of a vehicle from a garage after the granddaughter of an employee alleged Cantalamessa wrongly scrapped her car. The suit alleged that because the case received publicity, Cantalamessa has suffered damage to his business and reputation, and has been dropped from the list of towing companies used by the state police.
Attorney Joel S. Sansone alleged that on April 12 Chuck Sanner, the boyfriend of Holbert Victor’s granddaughter, Brittnie Victor, called him to say he had been in an accident. Holbert Victor works at Joby’s Gulf and has for more than 30 years, according to the suit.
Sanner was driving Brittnie Victor’s 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse and asked Holbert Victor to send a tow truck to the scene and to tow the vehicle to Joby’s Gulf, according to the filing.
Sanner told Holbert Victor that he could not pay for the towing, the suit indicated. At that point, Holbert Victor told Sanner that Cantalamessa would be willing to accept title to the car as payment for towing and storage, the suit stated. The filing alleged that because of the damage, the value of the car was considerably less than those costs.
The next day, Brittnie Victor and Sanner came to get belongings from the car, and Brittnie Victor said she would return with the title to the car, the filing alleged. Two days later, she returned to get additional items, and again reiterated she would bring in the title, according to the suit.
At some point later, a tow truck driver came to Joby’s Gulf to transport junked vehicles to a salvage and recycling center to be crushed and sold as scrap metal, the suit indicated. At that point, Holbert Victor told the driver to include his granddaughter’s vehicle, the suit stated.
“Because Ms. Victor, the granddaughter of a trusted, longtime employee and friend, had made the promises described above, and because the plaintiff believed that title to the vehicle would be forthcoming more or less immediately, rather than waste the resources described above, the plaintiff directed that the subject vehicle be transported to the salvage/recycling facility at that time. It was plaintiff’s intent to provide the title to the vehicle to the towing service … at the earliest possible time. It was never the plaintiff’s intentions to wrongfully withhold or otherwise improperly convert the subject vehicle to his use,” wrote Sansone.
Karpiak came to question Cantalamessa about the car a short time later, the suit contended, when Brittnie Victor alleged Cantalamessa scrapped the vehicle without her permission, according to the filing. Sansone alleged that the trooper did not let Cantalamessa explain what had occurred and instead charged him with theft and fraudulent removal of a vehicle from a garage.
Cantalamessa alleged in the suit that Karpiak arrested him “in retaliation for the actions of plaintiff’s stepbrother, Francis Palumbo.” The suit alleged that Karpiak told Cantalamessa that he was “going to get your buddy” when he arrested him, and gestured toward Palumbo. Sansone alleged that Karpiak believed that Palumbo was illegally selling vehicles in Pennsylvania.
Cantalamessa alleged that his arrest “was a direct and proximate result of (Karpiak’s) desire to punish (Cantalamessa) for his association with Mr. Palumbo.”
Magisterial District Judge Michael M. Metros dismissed the charges during a July 17 preliminary hearing.
“During that hearing, the defendant gave false, perjurious and otherwise inaccurate testimony against the plaintiff in an effort to wrongfully convict the plaintiff on the aforementioned charges,” Sansone alleged.
The publication of the charges was “humiliating” and damaged Cantalamessa’s reputation among friends, neighbors, customers, associates and the general public, the suit alleged. Additionally, as a result of the arrest, Cantalamessa’s business was removed from the state police list of available towing companies, causing a loss of revenue, the suit alleged.
The filing asks for damages of $75,000 on all three counts of the suit.