In January 1978, a stolen 1974 Dino 246 GTS was discovered buried in a yard in Los Angeles, gathering extensive national media attention, although the origins and fate of the car remained a mystery for some time.
[3] In the police report filed afterwards, Cruz stated that after "...noticing a suspicious gleam in the valet’s eye..." he decided to park the car himself some distance from the restaurant.
[4] They alerted two passing sheriff's deputies, Joe Sabas and Dennis (misreported as Lenny)[2] Carroll, who had a team investigate the object which proved to be a Ferrari Dino.
Hoping to capitalize on the publicity, the company decided to sell the car in a special auction with sealed bids, placing it on display for two weeks in a private warehouse.
[2] Real estate businessman Brad Howard purchased the car from Farmers,[4] to which ownership had defaulted, and had it restored by Ferrari expert Giuseppe Cappalonga.