Stefan Eriksson

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Bo Stefan M. Eriksson (born 14 December 1961) is the Godfather of the Swedish mob from Uppsala in The United States who ran the Gizmondo gaming company until it became insolvent in 2005.

Contents 1 The Uppsala mob 2 Gizmondo 3 Car crash 4 Police Investigation 5 Reference 6 External links

The Uppsala mob

Eriksson became known by the Swedish police as Tjock-Steffe ("Fat Steve") or as The Banker by the local mob in the city of Uppsala, some 50 km north of Stockholm. An auto body shop worker, he started his criminal career with thefts and a three-month prison term in 1981, he got another 3.5 years for cocaine and arms related convictions in 1988.^[1] In the late 80's, he was also involved in a fatal car accident with a Saab Turbo, borrowed for a test drive from a dealership. One passenger broke his spine, and a young girl was killed.

In the early 90's, Eriksson became the head of a group the Swedish press dubbed Uppsalamaffian (the "Uppsala mafia" or "Uppsala mob"),^[2] responsible for some high-profile violent crimes rarely seen in the country. A playboy, Eriksson showed off on a 1,200 horse power, Sea Ray 63' offshore race boat, capable of 56 knots, called Snövit (Snow White), absurdly docked downtown Uppsala on a small river.^[3] He was also seen driving a Mercedes SL with the license plate reading "GEO" (in Swedish pronounced similar to the Cuban slang llello for cocaine, used by Al Pacino in the 1983 movie Scarface.) With a legal front Kanoninkasso ("Cannon debt collection"), the group collected debt using threats and violence. Establishing a reputation, they started to dress in expensive suits and hold "business meetings" in exclusive Stockholm hotels. Attempting to defraud the Swedish Bank Giro Central of 22 million Kronor, Eriksson and Peter Uf, the other future executive of Gizmondo, were found guilty of fraud and counterfeiting. In 1993 and 1994, Eriksson was sentenced to ten years in prison, only to serve half his sentence. Court documents show Eriksson and a partner broke into a man's home, smashed his apartment and punched him repeatedly in the face, that Eriksson held a knife to the man's throat and threatened to cut off his fingers, and finally shoved a gun into the man's mouth.^[2] The Swedish police had great difficulties in finding people who dared to testify, and the head witness later survived two bomb attacks.^[4]

In the summer of 2000, again collecting debt, Eriksson paid a business visit to Carl Freer who had failed to deliver stolen Ferraris to Sweden.^[5] In his career, Freer had initially been convicted for cheque fraud and forging his parent's signatures as cosigners in 1988, then during the 90s escaped a dozen police investigations in Sweden alone by quickly flipping names and countries (among them Spain, France, Germany and the UK)^[6][7] Teaming with the shrewd Freer, the group moved on to white collar crime.^[2]

Gizmondo

In 2001, Eriksson joined Freer in Great Britain in the company Gizmondo, which intended to rival Nintendo and Sony for the handheld videogames market. Through some innovative financial transactions, Freer could take his Swedish electronics company onto the Nasdaq exchange and raise millions. Eriksson's salary in 2004 £1.1million with bonuses that totaled to another £145,000 and received a car allowance of £5,000 per month. Eriksson's wife, Nicole Persson, was paid £90,000 for 'marketing and public-relations services' for just over one year. In an attempt to promote the product, Eriksson competed at the 24 hours of Le Mans in the Gizmondo sponsored Ferrari 360 Modena GTC in 2005 but would retire into the morning with mechanical troubles. In October 2005, a Swedish paper revealed irregularities and an ex-con and on-the-run from prison management at Gizmondo.^[4] Eriksson, Freer and others resigned, and the company filed for bankruptcy after using up $300M, 90% in its last six months. The company was also involved in various litigation: Swedish Ogilvy Group, MTV, and the Jordan Grand Prix all filed million dollar suits.^[8] However, in August, Gizmondo relocated Eriksson to California for its US launch with question marks around how the felon Eriksson could enter the country at all. In 2006, with a setup similar to now defunct Gizmondo, the virtual mobile operator (MVNO) XeroMobile [1][2] was started through Eriksson's earlier partners, and he was facing a bright future.

Car crash

On February 21, 2006, Eriksson lost control of a Enzo Ferrari sports car, valued at over USD$1,000,000 while allegedly driving at high speed and intoxicated along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. The car careened off an embankment outside Malibu and hit a pole at about 199 mph (320.61 km/h) as recorded on a speedometer by passenger Trevor Karney, videotaped inside the car. The impact of the crash was so violent, it split the car in half.^[9] Eriksson and the Irish-born American Karney were found at the site. Eriksson claimed to be a passenger of the Ferrari, and that a man he only knew as "Dietrich" was the driver. Karney claimed to be the passenger of a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren that was racing the Ferrari. Neither Dietrich nor the Mercedes were to be found, and the police concluded at the time that Eriksson was the driver and Karney the passenger, and that neither "Dietrich" nor the McLaren existed. Further, the extent of Eriksson's injuries amounted to a cut lip, and blood was found on the driver's side airbag.

Investigators confirmed the existence of the videotape of the accident shot from inside the car. The video showed the speedometer giving the 199 mph reading right before it malfunctioned due to the crash. The tape is believed to be with Karney. [3]

Eriksson brandished a business card claiming to be a deputy police commissioner with the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority (whose founder was later arrested for perjury in connection with the case),^[10] and Karney borrowed a phone in a bypasser's car where he tucked away a pistol magazine.^[11] Two men showed up to speak with Eriksson, claiming to be from the Department of Homeland Security.^[12]

On March 29, 2006, Nicole Persson, Eriksson's fiance, was pulled over for driving without a license in a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The police found the car to be unregistered, carrying British license plates, and illegally exported from Britain - along with the crashed red Enzo, a second black Enzo, and two other Mercedes-Benz cars.^[13] It was found that all five cars valued at $3.8million were leased in Britain. Moreover, lease payments for them had ceased; and that after the export, the Mercedes was reported stolen in Britain with insurance pay-out. Footage of Erikson in his black Ferrari Enzo, shot by the founders of a car enthusiast website, car-parazzi.com, was held as evidence against him by European authorities.

Police Investigation

Police raided Eriksson's Bel-Air home and on April 8, 2006, Eriksson, preparing to leave the US, was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, grand theft auto, drunken driving, cocaine possession, and weapons charges stemming from a Magnum handgun encountered during the search. He is facing up to 14 years in prison. In May, misdemeanor hit and run and driving without a California license and insurance were added in relation to a Porsche Cayenne allegedly driven by Eriksson rear-ending an SUV near his Bel-Air home on January fourth.^[14]

On April 26th, Eriksson's accomplice Carl Freer was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a police officer, perjury, and other unspecified charges stemming from the discovery of 12 rifles and four handguns during searches of his estate and his 100-foot yacht docked at Marina del Rey.^[15]

On May 9th, police raided the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority (a car body shop), arresting its owner and confiscating guns, badges and a vehicle equipped to be an unmarked police car.^[16]

On November 3, 2006, a mistrial was declared, when the jury was deadlocked 10-2 toward convicting Eriksson. The prosecution has indicated their intent to retry the case. [4]

Eriksson accepted a plea bargain for three years in jail and deportation. He pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement and one count of illegal gun possession. He avoided an auto theft charge. With allowance for time served and good behavior, he should be out of prison in about a year.^[17]

Reference

External links

• LA Times Life in Fast Lane Long Before Ferrari Crash, Published May 15, 2006
• Xero Mobile Eriksson's latest venture
• (Swedish) kong.se on Gizmondo and the criminal connections
• Jalopnik.com accident pictures