Spark EV headed for "vindication"?
This is how Michael Papp is trying to reintroduce himself to the alternative vehicle world. Papp made headlines about a year ago when he was arrested for not delivering electric vehicles to two companies. Papp was (and is) the man behind Spark EV, and he recently updated his site to say that:Fifteen months of time, the complete ruination of his name, his business, his future. The loss of his family, friends, and his children. All of this needed to happen before someone actually picked up the phone & called the Port of Newark, as well as the shipping company, to find out – the cars were there all along. Just like the man said they were. A simple phone call that should have been made 15 months ago.
This page will get very interesting in the next month or so.
This page will get very interesting in the next month or so.
The whole thing is a sort of dramatic and angry, but what's even better is that Papp has reached out to the AutoblogGreen community and said he's willing to answer our questions. So, if you've been wondering what happened, let's hear some Qs in the comments.
[Source: Spark EV]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
organic 8:55AM (6/02/2009)
Did the guy just get out of jail and decide to start things back up? What about the guys who gave SparkEV money? Did any of them get it back after he folded up the company? Has ANYONE seen a single one of the cars?
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MikeB 9:29AM (6/02/2009)
Wait, 'someone' needed to call the Port of Newark and the shipping company?
Why on earth didn't Papp call these guys in his own defense? If a phone call would have sorted things out 15 months ago, it makes Papp look like a complete moron for not calling them himself, or having his lawyer do so, but instead deciding to sit in jail until someone *else* took some initiative.
Sure, I'm willing to believe that the police and distributors may have over-reacted, but you don't sit in jail for 15 months without standing before a judge, and that's the perfect time to demonstrate that the missing cars are, in fact, not really missing.
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catbeller 10:56AM (6/02/2009)
You can sit in jail if you are destitute and have no lawyer. That is the Other America, the one that sits in jails.
We'll see. If he is right, it'll be difficult to get anyone to clear his name, since that would imply that the reportage was shoddy if not non-existent. Why would blogger-reporters flip the card over if doing so makes them look like incompetent bullies?
Chris M 7:13PM (6/02/2009)
You got it exactly right, Mike B. But perhaps the reason why he didn't call back then or have his lawyers call or even tell the prosecution to call and investigate is that the cars
weren't there. Are the cars there now? If they are there, are they a recent arrival because he ordered them after he was convicted? Could they actually belong to someone else and he is just pretending they are ones he ordered? If not, will he claim that they were mislaid, or sold to pay shipping fees, or sold because they were unclaimed?
Some scams are well known for going on and on and on...
Catbeller, the problem with your theory is that Papp wasn't destitute, and even those who are destitute can get a court appointed lawyer, gratis, paid for by the government.
Spark-EV 10:21PM (6/03/2009)
Final paragraph on www.spark-ev.com is being misunderstood, then conclusions being drawn on those misunderstandings.
Prior to any charges being filed, verifiable documentation was given to investigators (Chief Nace & Detective Krause, Wilson Boro Police) regarding the vehicles in question. This documentation included shipping documents, container numbers, port contacts, etc.
I was asked one question for the entire investigation. Let me state that again - I was asked only one question for this entire investigation, and it was asked by Chief Nace;
"How much do these cars weigh each?" - to which I answered XXX lbs each.
"Ah Ha!" he said "We have a problem - This container document you gave me says there are 4 units inside, so it should weigh 4 times that weight. This document shows a total weight of half that, so it is obviously not the cars you state"
To which I answered "That document is in Kilograms", to which he said "oh".
That was it.
Point is, however, that the verifiable documents were in the right hands way back then. I HAD ASSUMED SOMEONE CHECKED THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE DOCUMENTS! I only found out now, 15 months later, that nobody had. When we requested they do so last week, they did confirm the documentation.
I do not know the whereabouts of all of the vehicles. The ones that I HAVE confirmed final disposition, they were crushed. They could not be sold because they had no MCOs. They had no MCOs because all the documents were seized.
ALL of this can and should be confirmed not by asking me, but by asking the authorities involved.
Matt 9:52AM (6/02/2009)
Why is it called spark? I thought the whole point of EV's was to eliminate the spark needed for internal combustion (yeah, yeah, glow plugs in diesels). If your EV is sparking there is something wrong.
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catbeller 10:42AM (6/02/2009)
If the facts are as he says, you all do him an apology, as well as a mandatory course in journalist practice.
WERE the cars in a container all along? DID the distributors panic and seize the paperwork, dooming the venture and their own money as well?
If so, why didn't any of the "new media" bloggers make a phone call or two? Sometimes the crowd is *wrong*. You can't crowdsource reporting if no one in the crowd has any facts.
A newspaper reporter would have made a few phone calls.
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organic 12:51PM (6/04/2009)
Lots of storys online about this guy, A few of them did call around. The whole thing about the wife and kids....He was devorced and living alone long before the sparkEV deals went sour. Look at the long history of other scams. Michael J. Papp should move on to HHO Browngas or what not.
Luke 2:57PM (6/02/2009)
A newspaper reporter would have made a few phone calls.
I wish I shared your optimism about professional journalists. I recommend watch Fox News or CNN, and just reading the AP for a while before claiming that Journalists do journalism....
catbeller 10:56AM (6/02/2009)
One more thing: Has anyone made any phone calls yet, to see if his story is true?
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Kelly Erin O'Brien 11:09AM (6/02/2009)
"The whole thing is a sort of dramatic and angry, but what's even better is that Papp has reached out to the AutoblogGreen community and said he's willing to answer our questions. So, if you've been wondering what happened..."
I'm not in the slightest bit interested.
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KenB 4:27PM (6/02/2009)
Has he returned the money or the cars to Electric Transportation of Arkansas? Those folks were ripped off big time.
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meme 1:42PM (6/02/2009)
Second.
The guy has a long history of scams, predating his EV scamming. Let's not dignify him with further attention.
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FitFan 2:07PM (6/02/2009)
No interest. If the vehicles exist, let's see 'em.
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Dave 3:51PM (6/02/2009)
If all vehicles that reached port have been seized to pay storage / container fees, then where are they now? There must be some record of sale!
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rogwild 1:01AM (6/03/2009)
One 'SMALL' point that Michael Papp omitted;
He informed "Electric Transportation of Arkansas" that their shipment had arrived and was ENROUTE to them (even provided a shipping company and shipping document number); NOT that they were still in port at Newark. When ETA checked with the 'shipping company', they were informed that they had no dealings with Michael Papp, or Spark~EV, and that the shipping document number was BOGUS. That is when the owners of ETA traveled to Easton, PA confronted Papp in person and contacted the Police.
I traveled to PA also and took possession (with police escort) of the 2007 Zooom EV Scooter that Papp owed me. Unfortunately it had no batteries, a broken throttle, and he could not provide the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin (confiscated by police with his other paperwork).
If anyone has an address for Mr. Michael J. Papp, please provide it (since he has moved from Easton, PA; and 'disappeared'), since I would like to get the MCO/MSO from him.
Don't expect him to answer many (or ANY) questions, since his 'open forum' on his Spark~EV site last year lasted all of three days, until he shut it down when he could not answer reader's questions or provide ANY photos of 'Actual Vehicles' that he really had!
Whatever you believe.......DO NOT send this guy any MONEY!!!!!!!!
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rogwild 9:26AM (6/03/2009)
I guess we will be 'waiting' a long time for a public response from 'The Vindicated One'. I got an email from Mr. Michael Papp stating; "Never did I tell Autobloggreen or Sebastian Blanco that I wanted to answer people's questions on their forum."
I figure 'someone' is not being completely truthful, what say you Sebastian?
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Spark-EV 10:42AM (6/03/2009)
Yes, Sebastion, what say you?
FYI - Roger Wildemuth (aka Rogwild) at rogwild@cox.net, located Florida, has his own motivations for slamming Spark-ev at every opportunity, which he as acted upon whenever presented same.
picasso 11:22AM (6/03/2009)
Good! and THANK YOU Roger Wildemuth (aka Rogwild)
I'm sure this ass hat Michael J. Papp stole money from him too.
Dave 11:38PM (6/04/2009)
Mr. Papp why don't you send a Email to Contact@eaaev.org (the Electric Auto Association) and ask them to place a small article in their CurrentEVents magazine asking if anyone knows where the cars are now? I'm sure the EV community will hunt high and low to find your cars (or ex cars). If they are driving around, I'm sure one of the members of the Group has seen them. Give them as much information as you can, I'm sure they will get to the bottom of things! I'll be looking for your atricle!
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