Audio By Carbonatix
Aston Martins and dry martinis: two James Bond trademarks that — for us civilians — should never be mixed and should be enjoyed only in moderation. Or else the consumer might take his spy schtick past the limits of international law.
This warning may come too late for the staff of a Long Island Aston Martin and Bentley dealership, which is accused of “corporate espionage” for peeking into the email network that linked a Plainview, New York, Ferrari dealership with the one on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.
We will take a closer look at this case after the jump, but not before letting the Ferrari and Aston Martin battle it out on the big screen.
If I have to pluck out a favorite passage from the FBI statement, it’s this one:
In one
instance a dealer associated with Universal Autosports emailed a
customer who had been negotiating with Ferrari Maserati to buy a
rare Ferrari Enzo worth more than $1.3 million in an effort to
“help or get in the middle” of the deal.
How does that work? “My dear sir, being with Aston Martin, I have spy powers, so I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been emailing with those cretins at Ferrari. Can I help or get in the middle of this deal?” Creepy.
Also, I know the lawyers are supposed to be skeptical of the prosecutor’s case, but these lawyers take that approach to hilarious extremes. From the Bloomberg article:
“I’m used to real espionage cases,” said Vuksanaj’s
lawyer, Stanley Cohen. “I’ve seen the complaint. I’m rolling my
eyes.”
So what, Stanley, you’re a spy lawyer snob? But then, I don’t blame you either. This is the worst Bond sequel yet.
