The widow and son of a deceased 32963 man who collected classic cars have accused a local dealer of selling four of the man’s vintage cars and keeping more than $240,000, according to court documents.
A suit was filed in Indian River County Circuit Court by Robert Bruce Carnevale, the man’s son, against Jay Storch, owner of Delray Motorcars, located at 1143 18th Place in Vero Beach.
On Aug. 29, Carnevale’s attorney contacted Vero Beach 32963 stating that Storch and Carnevale had reached an agreement in which Storch would pay what he owes for the vehicles. The settlement agreement will be finalized in three to six weeks, the attorney said.
Carnevale confirmed that his family has reached a settlement with Storch but declined to provide any details.
A. Robert Carnevale moved with his wife, Judy, to Indian River Shores in 2009 after retiring from the Bradford White water heater manufacturing company, where he had served for 50 years and was its president and CEO when he retired.
His passion for classic cars continued in retirement – in fact, Carnevale’s extensive collection included the 1955 Ford Thunderbird that he drove when he courted Judy on their first date in 1961.
Carnevale died on March 26, 2019, leaving his son a 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 J2 convertible. A couple of years later, the younger Carnevale decided to sell the Oldsmobile. He trusted Storch to broker the sale since Storch had been a close friend to his father and had helped his dad sell vehicles in the past, the suit says.
Storch agreed to sell the vehicle, and to keep 10 percent as his commission, the suit says. In December of 2021, Storch found a buyer, Interstate Fleet Services, located in Colmar, Penn., which agreed to purchase the Oldsmobile for $80,000. Interstate also agreed to buy another car from the elder Carnevale’s collection – a 1947 Mercury Eight convertible – for $48,000.
The Mercury was owned by Judy Carnevale, as manager of the elder Carnivale’s estate.
A Delray Motors invoice showing the sale of the two vehicles to Interstate Fleet Services for a total of $128,000 was stamped “PAID Dec. 31, 2021.” A wire transfer on the same date shows a transfer of $128,000 to Delray Motorcars from Firstrust Bank to Bank of America.
Both documents are included in the court file.
A spokesperson for Interstate Fleet Services confirmed that the company purchased both vehicles for $128,000 and donated them to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a charity that raises money for homeless veterans, which auctioned the vehicles as a fundraiser.
The suit filed by the younger Carnevale seeks $72,000 – the net proceeds from the sale of the Oldsmobile only – plus interest and court costs. However, a footnote in the complaint says that Carnevale “reserves the right to amend this complaint to add Plaintiff’s mother as co-plaintiff” to assert claims for the Mercury, and for two other cars from the estate collection that the Carnevales say Storch sold and did not pay for – a 1933 Packard Model 1004 convertible and a 1960 Ford Thunderbird convertible, which together sold for $171,600.
Storch said that the suit by Carnevale was the result of a missed communication.
In text messages between Storch and the younger Carnevale starting on Jan. 6, 2022, Carnevale asked multiple times when he would be paid the proceeds from the sale of the Oldsmobile. Storch made several excuses, claiming a “minor crisis with inventory” and “have had multiple deals fall apart,” and saying on Oct. 16, 2023, “This is extremely embarrassing and frustrating. I apologize!!”
On Feb. 14, 2023, Carnevale wrote: “We have to find a resolution to this … payment plan, inventory that I might be interested in, etc. Please advise your thoughts.” Storch replied, “Agreed. I have a few things working, if they don’t pan out we can look at inventory. I would rather pay you.”
Finally, on June 7, Carnevale wrote: “Needless to say, we are very disappointed. My mom is very hurt to think that my dad put so much trust in you. Do you want to have a conversation about putting together a plan to pay her and me before we go further with the lawyers?”
Storch told Vero Beach 32963 that he did not receive the June 7 text. But he also did not reach out to Carnevale after his last contact on Feb. 14.
Separate court documents show that Storch also owes the state more than $34,000 for delinquent sales and use taxes including penalties, interest and fees. Storch said he did not receive notice from the Florida Department of Revenue that his business had been audited.
