A blue Corvette with a fake New York plate reading “MAFIA” spun donuts through a downtown Stroudsburg intersection late Saturday as people and vehicles crowded Main Street.
Three 911 calls about the sports car came into Stroud Area Regional Police within roughly a minute, between 11:49 and 11:50 p.m. on Aug. 29. Eight more calls concerned loud music and noise from the crowd gathered nearby.
The first officer reached the area at 11:58 p.m. and stopped at Main and Seventh streets to watch the crowd and vehicles. At 12:08 a.m., the officer stopped two vehicles and issued citations as additional officers arrived. Police remained until about 3 a.m.
The Corvette was still not finished. Two nights later, New Jersey troopers encountered it on Interstate 80. The car got away during a pursuit before turning up abandoned — and police then learned it had been stolen from a Rhode Island dealership.
Round And Round
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Stroud Area Regional Police identified the car under investigation as a blue Chevrolet Corvette Stingray carrying the fictitious “MAFIA” registration.
The department’s account does not tie the two vehicles stopped and cited that night to the Corvette, and it does not say the other vehicles in the gathering were stolen.
Police also addressed the flood of posts that followed the incident, saying many circulating on social media contained inaccurate information. Their timeline placed the first responding officer at the scene nine minutes after the original dispatch, with officers remaining in the area until the crowd dispersed.
The department continued investigating the Corvette and other vehicles associated with the gathering.
One More Run
That investigation crossed into New Jersey on Aug. 31.
At about 9:58 p.m., Hope Station troopers with New Jersey State Police encountered the Corvette on Interstate 80. According to the Stroud Area Regional Police update, the driver eluded the troopers during a pursuit.
The Corvette was later found abandoned on the interstate.
What police discovered about the car gave the fake vanity plate some company: the Corvette itself had been stolen from a dealership in Rhode Island.
The department did not identify the dealership in its public update.
Case Still Open
The discovery did not close the Stroudsburg investigation. Police continue to list the Main Street incident as an active criminal case.
Anyone with information about the vehicles or drivers involved, including anyone with independent video from the gathering, has been asked to submit a tip to Stroud Area Regional Police.