Texas plumber sues dealer after company pickup appears in Syria militant photo
Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas plumber whose company pickup truck with logo and name clearly visible appeared in a photograph of a militant wielding an anti-aircraft weapon in Syria has sued the dealer he sold it to, saying the harassment it generated has damaged his business.
Mark Oberholtzer, the owner of Mark-1 Plumbing of Texas City, said he sold the pickup in October 2013 and was shocked to see the photo on social media.
Mark Oberholtzer said in a lawsuit seeking $1 million damages that he has been forced to carry a gun for protection and was grilled by investigators from the Department of Homeland security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The photo was tweeted in December 2014 by a group called the Ansar al-Deen front and describes the truck as being used against the Syrian government in Aleppo, the lawsuit said. The precise affiliation of the participants at the time of the photo was unclear.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-plumber-sues-dealer-company-pickup-appears-syria-203143100.html
mike_c
(36,281 posts)Of course, that's someone else's fault.
LiberalArkie
(15,727 posts)madokie
(51,076 posts)you can simply heat up and peel it off.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Afraid of paint damage.
yardwork
(61,690 posts)I'm not sure if his lawsuit has any merit. If we sell objects with our logo and name on them, we give up control.
It seems like selling a computer or phone with files still on the device.
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)If the Feds haven't pursued a connection, it wil be tough for him to prove they knowingly did it. I would guess the dealer didn't think it was worth cleaning off his crap from a work truck, and just sent it to auction as is.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)he claims the dealer said they had a better way to remove the decals.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)christx30
(6,241 posts)when those pictures started. John Oliver did a clever riff on it: "I'm not a terrorist, but if you want to make a pipe bomb, I can meet you halfway."
uppityperson
(115,678 posts)Historic NY
(37,452 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)edgineered
(2,101 posts)Had he not removed the tools and inventory could we also place odds on whether he abetted the militants by providing material support? I can hear the screams about how the government is too big if that were the case.
Javaman
(62,532 posts)vkkv
(3,384 posts)So fear and a reactionary response directs them..
Like in S. Carolina where southerners believed that solar panels soak up ALL OF THE SUN!.. Nope, no sun for you !!
Please SECEDE ! ! ! !
Myrina
(12,296 posts)Of who, over here, is selling equipment to "the enemy"? Isn't the gov't sort of upset about that possibility or do they know who it is (wink, nudge, Texas ...)
ozone_man
(4,825 posts)That is the question we should be asking.
Munificence
(493 posts)purchased at auction in TX and then shipped to Turkey.
Who shipped it to Turkey and who received it in Turkey? And how did this vehicle get from Turkey into ISIS's hands.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)There tends to be a glut of them and used Toyotas, in particular, are very popular in other markets. (Domestic SUVs and vans, on the other hand, have very little demand elsewhere but are very much wanted in Mexico, so they tend to go there. Luxury cars go all over, and tend to have weird pockets of demand where specific models or option packages aren't otherwise available.)
Toyota pickups also the vehicle of choice in conflict zones: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-toyota-pickup-truck-is-the-war-chariot-of-the-third-world-ea4a121e948b#.ah03lacig
There's no reason a truck traded in at a dealer in Texas wouldn't wind up on a lot in Turkey, and there's even less reason to be surprised that somebody in Iraq or Syria went to Turkey and bought a used truck then drove it back.
BlueCollar
(3,859 posts)I doubt this will go anywhere
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)who complained that ISIS fighters run prices up when they come to town because they're paid in dollars and are willing to pay high prices for American goods like candy bars, Axe body spray, Red Bull, etc.
I forget the point of the story but that was a real eye-opener.
.......................
"When ISIS Comes To Town, Everything Changes"
Updated December 10, 201511:27 AM ET
KHEDR: There are two kinds of goods.
SMITH: Two kinds of goods.
KHEDR: Goods for ISIS members and goods for civilians.
SMITH: Khedr says that ISIS fighters had stacks and stacks of American dollars. That's how they're paid. He saw one guy pay 50 bucks for a candy bar. And shop owners realized they could charge crazy prices for the things ISIS fighters liked. And what they liked were Western goods, the kind of things a teenager might buy - Red Bull, Twix bars, pizza.
KHEDR: They're asking for French perfume. They're asking for Axe spray...
SMITH: ...Axe body spray? Like, Axe body spray? Really?
KHEDR: Yes, yes.
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/459169812/when-isis-comes-to-town-everything-changes