Shop Manager Embezzles More than $600,000 from Business

The now ex-shop manager of Greenwich Automotive Services in Greenwich, CT, embezzled more than $600,000 between 2005 and 2008. According to an article in the Greenwich Time, the manager took cash that was generated from vehicle repairs and gas station sales. He regularly accessed the shop's computer system and altered the amounts of money the shop received.

The now ex-shop manager of Greenwich Automotive Services in Greenwich, CT, embezzled more than $600,000 between 2005 and 2008. According to an article in the Greenwich Time, the manager took cash that was generated from vehicle repairs and gas station sales. He regularly accessed the shop’s computer system and altered the amounts of money the shop received.

Below is the article as it appeared on the Greenwich Time website.

Greenwich gas station owner opens up about workers’ wrongdoing

Frank MacEachern, Staff Writer
June 5, 2011

Chris Canavan, owner of Greenwich Automotive Services, stands outside his business, which is now located in Port Chester, NY. A former manager pleaded guilty Thursday, June 2, 2011, in connection with the embezzlement of more than $600,000 from the business between 2005 and 2008. Photo: Frank MacEachern / Greenwich Time.

What’s it like working with an employee who you suspect of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from your business?

"It was awkward; it was very awkward," said Chris Canavan, owner of an auto repair business formerly located in Greenwich.

It turned out Canavan was right to be suspicious of the worker. Eugene Ceriello, 47, of Stamford, pleaded guilty last week to failing to pay taxes on more than $600,000 in funds embezzled from Canavan’s Greenwich Automotive Services on West Putnam Avenue between 2005 and 2008. Ceriello was the manager of the shop, which is now located just over the state line in Port Chester, N.Y.

Canavan went to Greenwich police in February 2010 when an initial audit turned up thousands of dollars missing, but kept Ceriello as an employee.

"I couldn’t believe he did this, and I wanted him there for any questions I had on how he did it," said Canavan, a former Greenwich resident.

He eventually fired Ceriello in April 2010.

To read the entire article on the Greenwich Time website, visit http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/Greenwich-gas-station-owner-opens-up-about-1410926.php.

When Your Shop Is Worth Much More Than You Thought

Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.

Case Study: Owner of San Francisco-based Import Service Shop Delighted to Discover Just How Valuable His Business is to Qualified Buyers
I sometimes share case studies of the clients I have been able to assist in my role as an aftermarket business broker and provider of intermediary and advisory services. I do that when I think the story will provide a reader in similar circumstances with new insights or helpful information.
In the case of Cowden Automotive, Inc., I acted in a consulting capacity assisting the owner and his broker in valuing the business, creating a marketing plan, finding a qualified buyer, and arranging financing for the sale.
Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.
Needless to say, delivering that kind of good news to a shop owner is a rewarding experience. Discovering that the sale of his business would result in his retirement nest-egg being substantially larger than he had ever thought was a fitting tribute to someone who had spent his entire working career as a busy automotive service shop owner.

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