Seized Muscle Cars being Auctioned

[Black Pearl]

It’s not the owner’s choice to auction off these vehicles, particularly when they’ve been acquired through other-than-legal means. David Nicoll amassed quite a collection of cars during his time as president of New Jersey’s Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services (BLS); now, with Nicoll facing 17 to 22 years in prison for a guilty plea on bribery charges, his automobiles will be crossing the block at a September 12, U.S. Marshal’s Service auction in Lodi, New Jersey.
David Nicoll purchased his car collection with the blood of others – literally. During his time as president of BLS, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office maintain that Nicoll received $33 million in payments from a medical blood test bribery scheme that he personally ran for seven years, and which netted more than $100 million in total revenue. Per prosecutors, BLS would bribe physicians to send their patients for medical tests which were oftentimes unnecessary, to be paid for by insurers. Far from being sly and frugal with his ill-gotten profits, Nicoll was an extravagant spender. It’s on record that he spent $154,000 at a gentleman’s club, over $400,000 on sports tickets, $700,000 on an apartment for his “female companion,” and, most importantly, over five million dollars on cars.

70 CHEVELLE SS 396.jpg
70 CHEVELLE SS396

Nicoll, however, did not spend that five-million dollars of blood money on new gold-coated Lamborghinis or diamond speckled Rolls-Royces (although his automobile collection did include a few Ferrari models). Instead, the bulk of his money was spent on some of the finest, rarest, and most coveted muscle cars ever created, and the inventory list of the A.J. Willner auction reads like a “best of” list for the years 1967-1970. For sale are a 1967 Shelby G.T. 500, a 1969 Yenko Nova, a 1969 Yenko Camaro, a 1969 Yenko Chevelle, a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 L78/L89 convertible; and a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429.

69 YENKO CHEVELLE.jpg
1969 Yenko Chevelle.

69 YENKO CAMARO.jpg
1969 Yenko Camaro.

69 YENKO NOVA.jpg
1969 Yenko Nova

Among the most valuable vehicles set to cross the auction block is a Rally Green 1969 Yenko Nova. One of only 37 produced and believed to be one of only seven Yenko-built Novas remaining, the car was said to be the quickest of the Yenko supercar trio due to its light weight, by comparison able to make the run up to 60 miles-an-hour in just four seconds. Just like the other two Yenko Supercars, the Nova is powered by the formidable L72 427-cu.in. Chevrolet big-block. Nicoll purchased the Nova for $580,000, but supercar prices have been volatile in recent years; a comparable Yenko Nova sold at the 2012 Mecum Indianapolis auction for $475,000, so it remains to be seen what Nicoll’s Nova will bring at auction.

[Black Pearl]

70 SUPERBIRD.jpg

70 Plymouth Superbird

Nicoll did not limit his purchases to Chevrolets; rather, he bought the most valuable muscle cars from each of the big three. For sale on the Mopar front is the most Looney (pun intended) muscle car of them all, a 1970 Tor Red Plymouth Hemi Superbird, one of only 135 produced with the legendary 426 Hemi, and one of even fewer sold with a four-speed manual.

67 SHELBY GT500.jpg

67 Shelby G.T. 500

Finally, two great Blue Ovals are also going up for sale, a 1967 Shelby G.T. 500, finished in what looks to be Lime Gold Poly, and a 1970 Mustang Boss 429 in Grabber Green. The Shelby G.T. 500 is powered by Ford’s 428-cu.in. V-8, driven through a 3-speed automatic; while the Boss 429, perhaps the most valuable Mustang ever created with only 859 produced, is powered by Ford’s 429 cu.in. “semi-hemi” V-8 running through a four-speed manual.

Those in the market for a blue-chip muscle car will certainly want to be in Lodi, New Jersey, on September 12 for the U.S. Marshal’s Service auction.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Sounds like he MADOFF with some serious money....

[bluesrt]

certainly was blood thirsty for rare cars