Reunited, and it feels so good

Filed in archive on January 18, 2006

A fantastic story in today's (1/18/06) Los Angeles Times by staff writer Bob Pool tells the story of a stolen 1968 Corvette which has been returned to its owner. The catch? The car was stolen on January 22, 1969 -- and it was returned last month, 37 years after the initial theft. Pool writes:

...the return of his 1968 sports car Tuesday in Carson was a sweet moment for the Petaluma man who long ago gave up hope he would ever see it again.

"It's unbelievable. It's absolutely beautiful," said (Alan) Poster, 63. "Now I've got to figure what it means --- why this came back to me."

The answer to the second part of that is easy.

The stolen two-seater was discovered last month in a Sweden-bound shipping container at the Port of Los Angeles by customs and California Highway Patrol officers conducting a routine check of cars being exported. When its vehicle identification number was run through an insurance industry data base that lists cars stolen in this country since 1968, the Corvette popped up as having been swiped Jan. 22, 1969, in New York City.

New York police traced Poster to California. Then they phoned him with the startling news.

"I thought it was a joke when they called and asked if I had a car stolen in 1969 and then told me it had been recovered," Poster said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and CHP officials returned the car to Poster in a ceremony staged behind a Carson export warehouse. They said it is the oldest of 68 stolen cars they have recovered over the last three years from containers destined to be shipped overseas.

"Both the Vette and Mr. Poster are somewhat older now, but I'm sure they have many more miles left in them," said Kevin Weeks, the customs agency's field operations director for Los Angeles. Added CHP Assistant Chief Warren Stanley: "We're returning the only car he says he ever loved back to him."

It just goes to show -- I don't know what it goes to show. But I'm very glad that Mr. Poster got his 'Vette back.