T.W. Conroy shut down by judge: The Real Deal

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - T.W. Conroy, the Elbridge auction company at the center of a two-year Your Stories investigation, was shut down Tuesday.

Owner Tim Conroy owes his customers more than $400,000 and finally a Supreme Court judge said enough is enough.

Conroy was a no-show in court Tuesday morning, but his attorney was there, trying to keep his client's business open.
 
“Mr. Conroy wants to continue to operate because he wants every one of his victims to be paid in full and get their restitution,” says attorney Joseph Talarico.

The list of victims is pages and pages long, and we've spoken with dozens of folks who've been ripped off.  Conroy's been ignoring a court order to pay them back for months -- and the amount he owes just keeps growing; he now owes just over $411,000 to customers.

It didn't take the judge long to decide to grant the request for a permanent injunction of the auction business, closing it down until further notice.
 
At their last auction, held just after Thanksgiving, Conroy promised every dime he made was going into an escrow account -- a good thing for people who chose to do business with him that day, but something that means nothing to his countless other victims. 

“Those people who put their trust in Tim will get their money right away within the next week or so,” Talarico told NewsChannel 9 investigative reporter Jennifer Lewke.

Talarico would not comment on why customers weren’t paid back shortly after the auction in which their items were sold. “I've only been involved a few weeks, but I can tell you that there is $100,000 that's going to be paid in restitution,” Talarico told Lewke.

One hundred thousand dollars only pays down one quarter of the $400,000 he owes. 
 
T.W. Conroy will stay closed until Tim Conroy can come up with $500,000 to post an insurance bond, which, if obtained, could be used towards the restitution.

He'll still be responsible for making restitution payments, but if you're a customer, don't count on a check any time soon. 

Conroy was also arrested earlier this month and charged with grand larceny for failing to pay a customer the nearly $20,000 that he owed him.  He's been arraigned on those charges. 

	Conroy Arrested For Larceny 12/01/08
	Tim Conroy arrested on grand larceny charges 12/01/08

Elbridge, New York (WSYR-TV) - Tim Conroy, the owner of T.W. Conroy, an Elbridge auction company, has been arrested and charged with grand larceny for ripping off a customer. 

The company has been at the center of a Your Stories investigation for nearly two years now; we've heard from dozens of you who consigned your items with T.W. Conroy only to still be waiting for checks months -- if not years -- later. 

Conroy owes dozens of customers more than $300,000. He's been ordered to pay restitution by the attorney general's office, but now the matter is turning criminal.

Conroy owes one of our Your Stories viewers $19,000 from an estate auction on June 7 in Scipio, and since there's no sign he ever had any intention to pay up, he was arrested. 

Back in July, Mario Arena told us how he'd hired T.W. Conroy to auction off all of the contents of the home he and his wife shared for 20 years.
 
But nearly two months after the auction took place, Mario still hadn't been paid, and wasn't getting any return calls from T.W. Conroy.

“I'm heart broken; I mean, I can't believe that they've taken everything from me... I just can't believe it -- and no response,” Arena says.

No response is no longer an option.  Conroy is now facing grand larceny charges for pocketing the $19,000 he owes Mario.

We spoke with Conroy on Friday, just a few days before his arrest, about the way he's been doing business for the past few years. 

“I got myself into a bad position, and I’m working hard to get out of it,” said Conroy.

He claims he's trying to settle not only Mario's account, but all of the customers he owes. 

“I'm working on it, I really am -- I didn't run and hide anywhere, I'm working hard to meet all of my obligations, and I will,” Conroy said.

You're probably wondering, if he was arrested for this case, why not all of them?  Well, state police say this is the only complaint against Conroy of this nature they got. 

A lot of it also depends on just how much you're owed and whether Conroy ever had any kind of escrow account set up with the intention of paying you.

Not only will Conroy have to appear in court on this criminal case, he'll also be in front of a judge who will decide whether to shut his business down on December 16.

We, of course, will be at both hearings.

Conroy talks about business: The Real Deal 11/28/08

Elbridge, New York (WSYR-TV) - T.W. Conroy held what may be its last auction Friday night.  The attorney general has asked a judge to shut down the Elbridge business because they owe dozens of customers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A decision will be made on that next month; until then, T.W. Conroy owner Tim Conroy had to follow some strict rules at Friday night's sale. 

The annual Thanksgiving auction went ahead as planned after posting a $50,000 insurance bond with the attorney general's office. 

After months of avoiding our interview requests, Conroy finally agreed to talk about the major issues with his business.

First, he tried blaming us for telling the stories of dozens of customers who hired him to sell their belongings, only to be waiting for checks months if not years later. 

“When you're doing business and going along, going along and when business slows and we get negative reports -- I don't know how much that's going to harm me, but it harmed me greatly,” says Conroy.

Then he blamed the lack of auctions for his situation going from bad to worse.

“So when you're doing $4 million a year and you drop down to a million -- what I want to do is come up with a plan with anyone that will help me, whether it's the AG's office, my attorney or you guys -- and I want to be able repay anything that I owe,” Conroy says.

Conroy says he's fallen behind on court-ordered restitution payments due to “extenuating circumstances.”

Every dime from this auction, Conroy tells us, will be going into an escrow account, to continue paying back customers that he owes. 

His attorney says that's a step in the right direction. 

“With all this energy you seem to have, let's get you to portray the positive side to the business. We’re done here,” attorney Joseph Talarico said to NewsChannel 9 investigative reporter Jennifer Lewke, before abruptly ending the interview.

Problem is, there aren't too many positives to owing $300,000 to customers who never suspected they'd have a problem getting paid. 

Conroy and his attorney will be in court on December 16 when a judge will decide whether to shut down the company until they pay more than $300,000 in restitution and post a $500,000 insurance bond.

NewsChannel 9, of course, will be there.

	Rules set for Conroy auction: The Real Deal 11/26/08
	Thanksgiving auction stipulations 11/26/08

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - They owe over $300,000 to customers, but T.W. Conroy, an Elbridge auction house, is still planning a huge auction this Friday.

The Attorney General has asked a judge to shut them down, but the hearing isn't until next month. So until then, the AG got approval to put some massive stipulations in place to make sure even more people don't get ripped off.

Friday’s auction will be T.W. Conroy's last until a court hearing on December 16. But before auction house owner Tim Conroy sells a thing there, he has to meet these stipulations:

- Conroy will have to post a $50,000 bond with the AG’s office before Friday.

- Provide a list of every item that will be up for sale, who owns it and its appraised value.

- Every dime collected at the auction has to be put in an escrow account that will be maintained by Conroy's attorney. 

The temporary agreement also mandates that Conroy pay the AG's office 40 percent of any proceeds he makes from Friday's auction.  That money will be returned to previous victims who still haven't gotten paid for their auctions.

At the court hearing on December 16, a judge will decide whether to completely shut down T.W. Conroy.  

T.W. Conroy continues to hold auctions: The Real Deal 11/20/08

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - The Attorney General is looking to shut them down, but T.W. Conroy -- the local auction company that's been at the center of a Your Stories investigation for over a year now -- is still planning and promoting a big auction for next weekend.

They owe hundreds of people hundreds of thousands of dollars -- so how are they allowed to keep doing business? 

According to the AG’s office, T.W. Conroy can continue to operate until a court hearing on December 4.  At that time, the AG will ask a judge to shut them down. 

The problem with that is anyone who gets ripped off between now and then can't be included in the restitution payments Conroy has already been ordered to pay.
 
If you didn't file a complaint with the AG against T.W. Conroy before October 14, you missed your chance.   

Owner Tim Conroy already owes more than $300,000 dollars to customers who hired him to sell their items -- and were never paid. 

If a judge grants the AG's request to shut him down, Conroy will have to come up with all of that money and another half million dollars for an insurance bond if he ever wants to do business again. 

We've helped dozens of people get their money from this company, but there are still hundreds more who are owed.  The AG's office is doubtful that everyone will get everything they're entitled to.

At the December 4 court hearing, we'll be finding out whether Conroy has any intention of paying up. 

If you're waiting on money from T.W. Conroy, you can still file a complaint with the AG's office, but Conroy has to pay back all of the folks who've already filed first as part of the lawsuit.

Chances are, there won't be enough left for any new victims.