Non-Sports Post: Classic Frame Job

Brooklyn - A vandal went on a tire-slashing rampage overnight on Monday, stranding more than three dozen cars on 71st and 72nd streets — and residents say that the carnage came a day after a Park Slope tire shop plastered the area with business cards. Neighbors on the block between Third Avenue and Ridge Boulevard said that the vandals slashed at least one tire on up to 40 cars 24 hours after business cards for Danny’s Rims Tires and Accessories were placed on dozens of car windshields.“It could just be coincidental, but it’s kind of fishy,” said one neighbor who declined to be identified because he feared retaliation by whoever was behind the tire slashings. “Most times, it’s just some kid and they hit one tire. But this time, they did it so that you can’t just throw a spare on.” Neighbors agreed that the carnage was too widespread to be the work of teens out having fun…

Cops said that they were looking into the connection between the slashings and the cards for the shop on Fourth Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. “We are aware that there were some cards found on the area,” said Captain Richard DiBlasio. “The 6-8 detective squad has an open investigation on that.”…

The brother of the tire shop’s owner flatly refused any connection. “It’s got to be a bad coincidence,” said Jolio Moran. “We don’t pay people to slash tires. It’s frustrating that people would even think we would do something like that. We don’t even specialize in fixing flats. Our main thing is [selling] rims.” The shop pays two men to distribute the cards, he said. “My brother would never send people out to slash tires knowing that they’re going to come back here,” he said.



This reminds me of a time in college when I had a friend – we’ll call him Paul – who went into our baseball locker room and painted over everyone’s individual locker locks (including his own) with white out so no one could see the numbers. He left two lockers untouched. Those lockers belonged to two people we’ll call Andrew and Gary, who happened to be pranksters themselves and roommates. The hope of course was that we would all think Andrew and Gary were the guilty parties. Classic frame job.

Without knowing anything about the tire industry in Brooklyn, I’m guessing one tire company pulled a similar frame job here. Company A puts Company B’s business cards on all cars in the area. Then Company A slashes the tires in hopes everyone will think Company B was behind this reuse and in turn all the people who got their tires slashed will got to Company A to get them fixed. Not only will Company A get the business but it could put Company B out of business. Brilliant plan.

And for some reason I have a feeling Paul is behind this whole thing.