A £350,000 Rolls-Royce stolen from a leading chef was recovered after bungling thieves abandoned it in a private parking space.
The gleaming white Rolls-Royce Wraith was illegally parked in Edinburgh after members of a criminal gang drove it 50 miles from the Glasgow home of pizza king Domenico Crolla. The furious owner of the private plot then mistakenly sent a message to another member of the Crolla family asking: “Why is your Rolls-Royce parked on my parking space?”
The family member recognised the flash car and phoned Domenico – who is currently in the middle of a business trip to the US – to tell him it had been found. The Record revealed last week that a crime gang had broken into Domenico and wife Genny’s home in Glasgow’s south side. The thieves ransacked it and took the Rolls-Royce and a black Ferrari Scaglietti, worth more than £100,000.
A family source revealed how Domenico finally got his car back, saying: “Domenico was shocked to hear from another Crolla that the car had popped up on Brunswick Street in Edinburgh, complete with two parking tickets and a furious owner of the parking space.
“Because the car has a registration with the ‘Crolla’ name, the chap assumed it belonged to the Edinburgh Crollas and he phoned them up. He thought it was just a Flash Harry thing to do but it ended up being a completely unexpected twist in the story.”
Domenico, 57, is renowned as one of the world’s top pizza makers and has made famous pizza art in the image of celebrities, including the Queen and Simon Cowell. He had assumed that the cars would be shipped off abroad and had been stolen to order by a major crime gang. Police have now confirmed both cars have been recovered in Edinburgh.
The source said: “The fact the cars were both found with their proper registrations possibly suggests that the thieves got cold feet. It’s hard to think they were going back to retrieve the car at any point.
“It looked like the outset like a very professional job, as they used a grinder to get through security gates and they got away quickly after finding the car keys in the home. But at the end of the day, they were driving in Edinburgh with a very rare, sparkling white Rolls-Royce, which would be utterly impossible to sell in the UK. It looks like it was a highly professional job up to the final stages.”
Domenico, owner of Glasgow’s Oro restaurant, earlier told the Record he was shocked at the crime, which happened the day after he and Genny flew to New York. He became aware of the theft after an alarm on the Rolls-Royce security app on his mobile.
Police have confirmed both cars have been recovered in Edinburgh. Detective Inspector Gary Cassidy said both cars were seen on the M8 heading to Edinburgh around 9pm on Tuesday. He appealed for witnesses.
It’s understood the vehicles will be thoroughly searched and analysed by forensics experts at specialist car crime facilities.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
