Scott Sullivan shows off the engine of his ?96 Lumina which blew up several hours after his girlfriend Tilly Williams bought the van. According to Sullivan, they bought the van to accomodate their six children. The breakdown left them carless for a week.

By Luke Hegdal and

Karen Hutchinson-Talaski

Staff writers

HERMISTON After less than six months in business, Quirino Quiroga, owner of A-1 Quality Auto Sales, handed over his auto dealer’s license Thursday in the face of multiple investigations into car lot’s business practices.

At the center of these investigations are Kelly Allison and Mike Selz.

“We suspect Selz and Allison are using (A-1 Quality Auto Sales) to sell cars,” David House of the Oregon DMV said. “What we’re looking at is if Mike Selz or anyone else is involved with the business in an inappropriate way.”

In an unusual twist, it is Selz himself who is trying to provoke more investigation into the business.

According to Selz, he and Allison got back together after a divorce several years ago, and had been working together for some time. Together they owned and operated Power City Auto in Hermiston, until they lost their dealer’s license in 2004.

Selz said he and Allison originally lost their license because they had borrowed money from one of the auto auctions in Portland.

“We started using money that wasn’t ours,” Selz said. “We spent money like crazy.”

When they couldn’t pay it back, the auction house refused to send them the titles to the cars they had bought, and the state pulled their dealers license.

DMV records show 28 cases of improper car sales against Power City Auto.

According to House, Selz and Allison’s dealer license was revoked for three years, but because they haven’t paid the $6,800 in civil penalties, they can not get another license.

After they lost their license, according to Selz, he and Allison began illegally selling cars called curbstoning just to make ends meet.

In Oregon, a person can not sell more than five cars a year without a license. A Tri-City Herald investigation found Selz and Allison had sold more than 70 vehicles in an eight-month period.

The investigation also uncovered numerous sales where Allison and Selz gave phony names and sold a number of vehicles that broke down almost immediately.

The Tri-City Herald exposé, in addition to growing pressure by Oregon and Washington state agencies, forced the couple to abandon their curbstoning activity.

It was then that the pair contacted Quiroga, the manager of a Hermiston grocery store, who Selz said was an old friend. The three allegedly formed a partnership, with Quiroga as the “official” owner.

“The bottom line is Quirino doesn’t own it,” Selz said.

Quiroga, however, denied that either Selz or Allison were part owners. When he was questioned by the Hermiston Herald in May, Quiroga said Allison was not working for him, but that he did know both Allison and Selz. The Herald asked about Allison after the newspaper received calls indicating that Allison was spotted working at A-1 Quality Auto Sales. Quiroga said that when he later hired Allison he was not aware of her past, though he admitted Allison had to get permission from her probation officer before she could work for him.

“She came to work for me a couple of months after I opened,” Quiroga said.

In 2006 Allison was convicted of stealing approximately $12,000 in jewelry from her employer I.J. Gems in Hermiston, and was sentenced to two years probation, along with hefty fines.

Selz, however, alleges that all three were partners, and that they each signed a contract that proved co-ownership. According to Selz, that document was buried for safekeeping.

It wasn’t long, however, until Selz and Allison had a falling out. After an argument at home, Selz was arrested for menacing, and Allison filed a restraining order against Selz, both from their home, and the A-1 car lot.

“Her and Quirino weaseled me out,” Selz said. “In one day they made me homeless (and) car-less.

Selz says he is currently living in Hermiston in a house with no electricity or water.

Now Selz wants to get even, and has contacted several newspapers with his story, alleging that not only is Quiroga not the sole owner of A-1 Quality Auto Sales, but that the company deliberately sold junkers.

A customer of A-1 Quality Auto Sales, Scott Sullivan, has reported that Selz contacted him and encouraged Sullivan to take Quiroga to Small Claims Court.

Sullivan reported that the 1996 Chevy Lumina van he and his girlfriend bought from the dealership broke down five hours after they bought it.

“It’s sitting down at my mother’s house, broken down and froze up,” Sullivan said. “They had to know what was wrong with it. When you open up the hood there are bolts missing all over.”

According to Sullivan however, A-1 refused to do anything about the vehicle unless Sullivan brought the van back to the lot, an impossibility, Sullivan said.

There isn’t much the DMV can do after Quiroga turned in his dealer’s license, however. Any investigation concerning other alleged improprieties will have to be handled by the Oregon Department of Justice, according to House.

House also cautioned against buying cars sitting along roadsides in public places.

“Unlicensed dealing is a problem that’s been around, and will always be around,” House said. “It’s a buyer beware situation.”

House added that a consumer should always check on a vehicle history using the vehicle identification number, or VIN.

“If the seller is reluctant to do that and is pressuring you to make a sale, that’s a clue,” House said.