John Z. DeLorean is arrested in $24 million cocaine deal, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-z-delorean-is-arrested-in-24-million-cocaine-deal. The first DeLorean DMC-12 was produced 35 years ago, on Jan. 21, 1981 AP. Tamir Ardon is a DeLorean car enthusiast and historian, as well as a bit of a fanboy of the late John DeLorean. John DeLorean was arrested for conspiracy of money laundering involving dirty money supposedly in an effort to keep his car company afloat in an elaborate government sting operation. Doc purchased the DeLorean DMC-12 from a seller named Robert, who had advertised it in the classifieds section of the August 11, 1984 issue of the Hill Valley Telegraph. I'm a businessman, so I'm gonna make hay while the sun's shining. See the article in its original context from. You gotta be out there hustling. ''He is not the typical sort of person we see in narcotics cases any more than John DeLorean was a typical person to see in such a case. If convicted on all counts, he could have been sentenced to 67 years in prison and fined $185,000. Not long after, Biff uses the sports almanac … He declared bankruptcy in 1999 and forced to give up his lavish lifestyle. Even worse, Marty's sister, Marlene, then tries to break him out of prison, and is subsequently sentenced … The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and stood out for its gull-wing doors and brushed stainless-steel outer body panels. While the DeLorean’s instant celebrity did not do much to revive its creator’s fortunes, it granted him a permanent footnote in pop-culture history. By Robin Platzer/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. It became widely known for its disappointing … In the more than 30 years since Stephen Lee Arrington was released from prison for a cross-country cocaine smuggling trip prosecutors tried to connect to automaker John DeLorean… This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. DELOREAN CASE FIGURE GIVEN PRISON SENTENCE OF 10 YEARS. The Guildford Four, convicted of the 1975 IRA bombings of public houses in Guildford and Woolwich, England, are cleared of all charges after nearly 15 years … The British Government spent ten years trying to sue DeLorean’s auditors but, in 1992, it settled out of court for just £18 million. Despite the fact that fires had ravaged the same area three times earlier in the century, people continued to build homes there. All three were charged with possession of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute it. The New York Times Archives. John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, and founder of the DeLorean Motor Company. Mr. DeLorean was held in custody and is to be arraigned Wednesday by a Federal magistrate in Los Angeles. In this timeline, there are temporarily two Biffs, two Martys, and three Docs (one long dead). A 'Broken' Man, Mr. Hetrick stood silently before the judge in a crowded courtroom and heard himself described by his attorney as ''a man who is broken'' and by the prosecutor as ''a man who may border on genius.''. On October 19, 1982, the automaker John Z. DeLorean is arrested and charged with conspiracy to obtain and distribute 55 pounds of cocaine. Toll Free: 1.800.872.3621 Phone: 1.281.441.2537 Fax: 1.281.441.2813. The company’s financial trouble, DeLorean’s attorneys argued, was the reason the FBI had been able to entrap him in the $24 million drug deal–the authorities knew he would do anything to save his business. As a number of unrelated events conspired to tank global markets, the Dow dropped 508 points—22.6 percent—in a panic that foreshadowed larger systemic ...read more, From its beginnings in the early 1980s, it was clear that MTV, the Music Television Network, would have a dramatic effect on the way pop stars marketed their music and themselves. The defense’s case rested on the assertion that yes, DeLorean had made a bad decision in his efforts to save his foundering company by smuggling drugs, but … His career was a promising one: He worked his way up the corporate ladder at General Motors, where he is credited with designing the GTO and the Firebird, and became a vice-president in 1972, but he left the company just a year later to pursue his own business interests. Judge Takasugi also ordered the 53- year-old defendant to serve five years of special parole to be added to normal parole after he is released from prison. That didn’t stop him from taking an unsparing look at the automotive entrepreneur in the newly released Framing John DeLorean, starring Alec Baldwin as DeLorean.Ardon is the film’s producer, and Hagerty contributor Don Sherman (who was on the original DMC-12 press launch) is … Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. 78-year-old-Biff is present with flying DeLorean B. DELOREAN CASE FIGURE GIVEN PRISON SENTENCE OF 10 YEARS. While DeLorean avoided prison time, he did get some punishment. Nevertheless, DeLorean occupies an important place in automotive history: Thanks to its starring role in the 1985 film “Back to the Future,” his gull-wing sports car is one of the most famous cars in the world. Aside from 10 days spent raising sufficient bail, he never went to jail as he was aquitted of all charges due to entrapment. They were much too expensive: Each one cost $25,000, compared with $10,000 for the average car and $18,000 for a souped-up Corvette. In 1956, DeLorean took a position at General Motors as an engineer at the Pontiac division. On October 19, 1982, the automaker John Z. DeLorean is arrested and charged with conspiracy to obtain and distribute 55 pounds of cocaine. James Walsh, an assistant United States attorney who headed the unsuccessful prosecution of Mr. DeLorean, urged the judge to consider Mr. Hetrick's past as an aviation engineer and his ''outstanding accomplishments'' before he turned to drug smuggling. That's an accomplishment in itself. The largest-ever one-day percentage decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average comes not in 1929 but on October 19, 1987. Before long, he became a rising star in the company—and in the industry. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Get in touch. He finally spent 10 years in prison for sale of cocaine and fraud. The Delorean DMC 12 has a V 6, Petrol engine with 2849 cm3 / 173.9 cu-in capacity. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was founded by John Zachary DeLorean (1925 – 2005), an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors. At a time when most video stores were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed on shelves around the store and a ...read more, On October 19, 1991, a fire begins in the hills of Oakland, California. DeLorean was acquitted of the drug charges in … Federal District Judge Robert M. Takasugi, who presided over Mr. DeLorean's trial, imposed a series of concurrent sentences on charges that include conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, cocaine possession with intent to distribute and income tax evasion. Old Biff then takes the DeLorean and returns to 2015, leaving the almanac with his younger self. How much does a Delorean DMC 12 weighs? 78-year-old Biff gives the Grays Sports Almanac to 18-year-old Biff. The essay typified the nasty, ...read more. The heaviest sentence was for the charge of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. The DMC DeLorean (often referred to simply as the "DeLorean") is a sports car and was the only automobile manufactured by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 to 1983. DeLorean grew up in Detroit and began to work for Chrysler while he was still in college. What is the top speed of a Delorean DMC 12 ? Following the rejection of his Continental System by Czar Alexander I, French Emperor Napoleon I invaded ...read more, The Guildford Four, convicted of the 1975 IRA bombings of public houses in Guildford and Woolwich, England, are cleared of all charges after nearly 15 years in prison. The 1981 Delorean DMC 12 has 132 PS / 130 bhp / 97 kW. DeLorean had labor issues with the plant where the cars were built in Ireland, which brought about issues with build quality. While the DeLorean Motor Company made one of the most beautiful cars of all time, with its DMC-12, the company itself was a bit more troubled. For a DeLorean, that’s 1981, at a time, for example, when airbags were not yet required. Phocion turned out to be former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. After it shut down, the DeLorean Motor Company was bought by Big Lots. While radio remained a necessary engine to drive the sales and chart rankings of singles and albums, ...read more, One month after Napoleon Bonaparte’s massive invading force entered a burning and deserted Moscow, the starving French army is forced to begin a hasty retreat out of Russia. Its stainless-steel body was unpainted; its doors opened up, not out; it had a 130-hp Renault engine and could go from zero to 60 mph in eight seconds. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Mr. DeLorean, who once produced a sports car bearing his name, was acquitted last month of charges of conspiracy to distribute $24 million worth of cocaine. After the German advance through Belgium and ...read more. In 1978, he started the DeLorean Motor Company in Northern Ireland—the British government, along with investors like Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis, Jr., paid the bulk of his start-up costs—to build his dream car: the DMC-12, a sports car that was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. ''This is a man who may border on genius in the area of aviation engineering,'' Mr. Walsh said. Rex Weiner recounts his coverage of auto industry magnate John DeLorean's trial ... DeLorean is facing more than 60 years in prison. 15023 Eddie Drive Humble, Texas 77396 USA. Jennifer Henderson, the former wife of Skylar Deleon, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the murder of Tom and Jackie Hawks in 2004.. This was a massive victory for those wanting to own their replica Cobra, Morgan, or even 1955 Corvette . He is credited with creating the first "muscle car", the Pontiac G.T.O. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. But not many people actually bought a DeLorean car. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! John DeLorean and Cristina Ferrare arrive at an opening at The Met in New York, 1981. Lord Cornwallis was one of the most capable British generals of the ...read more, On October 19, 1796, an essay appears in the Gazette of the United States in which a writer, mysteriously named “Phocion,” slyly attacks presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson. '', See the article in its original context from. DeLorean was already mired in legal problems by the time director Robert Zemeckis chose a DMC–12 to serve as Marty McFly’s time machine in “Back to the Future.” Spielberg had originally planned to use an old refrigerator instead of a car, but had changed his mind at the last minute. ASK A QUESTION Fires had previously ...read more, Union General Philip Sheridan averts a near disaster in the Shenandoah Valley when he rallies his troops after a surprise attack by Confederate General Jubal Early and scores a major victory that almost destroys Early’s army at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia. Through the ...read more, On October 19, 1914, near the Belgian city of Ypres, Allied and German forces begin the first of what would be three battles to control the city and its advantageous positions on the north coast of Belgium during the First World War. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. It went on to burn thousands of homes and kill 25 people. The Delorean DMC 12 weighs 1244 Kg / 2743 lbs. On October 5, 1974, an IRA bomb killed four people in a Guildford pub frequented by British military personnel, ...read more, Hopelessly trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution. A media celebrity since the 1960s, DeLorean had long been moving in show business circles, and met Ferrare at a charity event. Marty Jr. is arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store opens, in Dallas, Texas. William Morgan Hetrick, an admitted drug smuggler who was indicted with the automobile maker John Z. DeLorean in a cocaine-conspiracy case, was sentenced today to 10 years in Federal prison after prosecutors said he had ''cooperated handsomely'' with the Government. I've been self-employed for 23 years. (The director liked the DeLorean’s futuristic look, but more than that he was worried that young fans of the movie might accidentally get stuck in refrigerators and freezers while playing make-believe.) He soon went on trial for fraud and over the next two decades was forced to pay millions of dollars to creditors and lawyers. John DeLorean: The man who fooled the world John DeLorean, who died on Saturday, was an American idol. It's well known that John … Marty A and 35-year-old Doc are present with DeLorean A. How many horsepower (hp) does a 1981 Delorean DMC 12 have? DeLorean Motor Company went out of business for a couple of reasons. His wife left him and he lost custody of his kids. DeLorean was acquitted of the drug charges in August 1984, but his legal woes were only beginning. All Rights Reserved. LOS ANGELES -- Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt was sentenced Wednesday to 60 days in prison for using obscene language before the U.S. Supreme Court, and, in a … Ferrare's sole leading role in motion pictures would prove to be the B-horror movie " Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975), a cheapen shot in Mexico featuring his beautiful, young wife as a bisexual vampire. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC.