Two men indicted in stolen car caper

CARSON CITY -- Two men have been indicted by a Clark County Grand Jury on three counts of trying to cheat an insurance company out of nearly $40,000 in a stolen car caper.

Arthur J. Rosenthal, one-time owner of AJ's Fitness Center in Las Vegas, and Ronald L. Rose of Encino, Calif., are charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and a District Court arraignment is set for July 6 before Judge Michael Douglas.

The indictment said Rosenthal reported his 1988 Cadillac Allante was stolen from the Lake Mead Marina on July 22, 1990. Allstate Insurance Co. paid $37,931 to General Motors Acceptance Corp., the leasing agency.

An investigation found that Rose, at the request of Rosenthal, came to Las Vegas and drove the car to his home in California where the vehicle remained until it was discovered in December 1994. Rosenthal was initially charged with the fraud but a justice of the peace threw out the case. It was then refiled but attorneys for Rosenthal asked for a continuance.

Deputy Attorney General Gregory Hojnowski said it was decided to take the case to the grand jury and add Rose as a defendant. Both Rosenthal and Rose are 57.

"The success of this investigation illustrates the continued cooperation between our office and private industry," Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Friday.

The investigation involved the National Crime Bureau, Allstate, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice and the state attorney general's Insurance Fraud Unit.

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