It sickens me to see him still trolling RAMVA for new victims. Here's an e-mail I got from a recent victim. Newbs read his posts on RAMVA and just read enough to think he's good at restorations, but do not read further to see Mario's history.
"Hey there,
I was reading around on the samba, and your name repeatedly continues to come up. I=92m wondering if you can help me with my major problem.
Let me explain the situation, and then hopefully we will see where this leads.
In 2003 I was living in Wilmington, North Carolina and was a senior in high school. My mom had purchased a 1978 Vert years earlier that was in near mint condition. Smooth running fuel injection, great top, no rust (rare for the beach), etc. Her brother was on his way down to visit at the beach for a week, but his jeep broke down on I-40. He called, and she let him borrow the convertible for the week while he was at the beach. Needless to say, he did not take care of it, and even ran it on the packed sand on the beach. Of course, he never told anyone about this. The car was brought back to us without being washed, but we had no clue about the sand/saltwater. To make a long story short, due to illness the car had to be parked and quickly deteriorated.
In 2003, I really had the =93bug=94 to get this car going again, but didn=92t know where to turn. There were a few guys in Wilmington that did work, but I wanted professional restoration. I contacted several clubs, etc, and the Raleigh Volks Club recommended a guy named Mario Gavazzi that lived in Mebane, NC. I contacted Mario, he sounds up and up, and I went to visit.
We traveled from Wilmington to Mebane and visited his shop. It wasn=92t the cleanest of shops, but what shop is, but the work was exquisite. I also met a gentlemen named Gary while at the shop. Mario showed me around, showed me publications where his work was showcased, and did the =93I don=92t use bondo, but only replace with metal=94 spiel demonstrated by using a magnet. He even showed me a car that he was working on that a man from Puerto Rico had sent over to have restored. It was a Carolina/Egg Shell Blue and it was gorgeous. After seeing his work, and talking to him, I decided that I would have the work completed by him.
A few weeks later, I was able to get the car running and hesitantly ventured up to Mebane in the Vert. Of course along the way, the engine started smoking and we had to have it towed 100 miles to his shop. When I arrived, he greeted me, and we outlined a plan for how the work would progress. First, he would start with the body work and the floor pans, then we would paint, then do the interior, etc. He told me that I should be thinking about color schemes, but I didn=92t have to have it finalized until after the body work was completed. We agreed on a rough estimate, and I gave him a $1000.00 check for a deposit. I thought everything was fine.
BOY WAS I WRONG. About two weeks went by and I had not heard anything so I decided to call. Feeling uneasy about being 3 hours away, but feeling that he was doing wonderful work as showcased on the day of my initial visit, I was relieved to hear him tell me that the body work was almost done and the 1000 dollars had covered the parts and labor, and there was some left over. I told him to PLEASE keep me updated and he agreed that he would.
Another two weeks went by and I did not hear anything so I called. Except this time I got a disconnected number recording. Not knowing what to do, I contacted 411 and was able to get a phone number of his new place. I called, left numerous messages and never once did he call me back. Finally, I went on a little snooping trip to Mebane and asked around. No one had heard or seen from the guy. After consulting with the police, they told me where his new shop was and that his old one had been shut down because of his paint booth. I found the new shop and my car was there, JUST AS UNTOUCHED AS THE DAY I HAD DROPPED IT OFF. No work had been completed. I confronted him, and he told me that all of the work was under the seats and with the floor pans, etc. I checked and nothing had been done. I told him that I was in the process of moving to Virginia and I could not take the car with me right now, but I would be back to pick up the car and my money as well. He agreed that =93I had that right=94 and told me that he would give me the deposit back. I WAS FURIOUS.
Anyway, I moved to Virginia and got settled. I again, made the trip back to Mebane to get my car, but his shop was gone once again. This time, no one had any information, not even the police. I finally was able to track him down at his personal residence, which was a run down trailer. I found the trailer, knocked on the door, and of course there was no answer. I left a not to please call me ASAP and got in my truck to leave. As I was leaving, my mom was with me on this trip, she noticed that there were some Volks parts behind the trailer in the woods. I stopped, and went looking and sure enough, there were the fenders to my car just sitting and rusting behind the trailer. Not wanting to get in trouble for stealing, I took tons of pictures for documentation. Of course, the main guts of the car was not there.
Since then, I have been unable to track him down and I have no way of contacting him. I continue to run in to roadblocks every where I turn and even the police say they cannot do anything else. They have looked for the car, but if they can=92t find it, they can=92t prosecute. At this point, I don=92t care what shape the car is in, I just want it back. I don=92t care about the deposit, or any work that has not been done, I just want the car back. I am hoping that by some chance you have some information that might help me. I know my car is in a million parts, and that=92s fine. I just want whatever is left back for sentimental reasons. INCLUDING THE BRAND NEW EMPI 4 SPOKES THAT I PUT ON THE CAR RIGHT BEFORE IT WENT TO HIS SHOP!!!!!
If you can help me at all, or supply me with any information/advice I would greatly appreciate it. I hope that I have not bored you with this e-mail!
Thanks so much for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely
Benjamin *********
"