Updates: Andy Biddle, P1 Champion and Class 6 Racer, Missing

[Serious News]

Coast Guard Suspends Search For Missing Boater In Longport

By Jim Melwert, Andrew Kramer and Cleve Bryan

LONGPORT, N.J. (CBS) — The Coast Guard suspended its search Monday for a boater who went missing late Sunday night in Longport, Atlantic County.
The U.S. Coast Guard says they got the call at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday for a 20-foot-long Pontoon Boat that hit a buoy and ran into the jetty at the end of Longport — near 11th Avenue, across the water from Ocean City.

The Coast Guard says two men were on board the boat. One of the men made it safely to shore, while the other, who has been identified as 44-year-old Andrew Biddle, went missing in the surf.
New Jersey State Police are heading the investigation and say that Biddle was accompanied by 23-year-old Justin Belz.

The two men were operating the pontoon boat Sunday night heading from the direction of Ocean City toward Northfield where Biddle docks the boat.
Damage on the boat and channel marker for the Intracoastal Waterway indicate the front port side of the boat hit the buoy.

Biddle and Belz are both experienced speed boat racers in the P1 Superstock circuit. Biddle and his racing partner Tracy Blumenstein are the reigning champions.

No word from authorities what may have lead to the speed racers crashing a slow moving pontoon boat into a buoy, investigators say there was no fishing gear on the boat.

Witness Tom Murphy says he was just about to go to bed when he heard a thump. He ran across the street to the bay and saw the one man in the water.

“He was really out there just kind of swimming, treading water,” he tells KYW Newsradio. “(His friend) was screaming his name a lot. He was screaming, ‘Help, help, help!’ That’s what I heard. Mostly he was just absolutely hysterically yelling his friend’s name.”

Murphy says he went back into his home to get his paddleboard while another man called 9-1-1 and coached the man in the water to the shore, yelling at him to swim in. He says the currents are nasty, especially at night.

Longport Mayor Nick Russo came to the scene as the Longport Fire Department joined in the initial rescue efforts.

“We feel very badly about those families that have been affected by this, certainly a tragedy,” says Russo.

The Coast Guard resumed their search for Biddle in the bay Monday morning. Multiple Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews searched for Biddle for about 18 hours covering an area of about 60 square miles.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/201...r-in-longport/

[Serious News]

ANDREW BIDDLE
Biography & Statistics
Racing Career:

Andrew has been racing with P1 SuperStock for a number of years, and in 2013 Andrew and his navigator Tracy won the P1 SuperStock Championship title on both sides of the Atlantic - some feat. Based in New Jersey Andrew owns and runs his own Marine business buying, selling and servicing boats of all sizes. For 2014 Andrew and Tracy are back out to defend their title in the US.

http://www.p1superstockusa.com/Drive...4&Playertype=U

[Serious News]

Search for missing boater ongoing
Written by Nanette LoBiondo Galloway
Tuesday, July 22, 2014 01:18 pm

LONGPORT - New Jersey State Police are continuing a search for a man who fell overboard after a boating accident near the jetty in Longport Sunday night.

According to New Jersey State Police, a pontoon boat crashed into a channel marker and one person was ejected.

Although the U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search, Sgt. Brian Polite of the NJ State Police said marine crews are continue their search for power boater Andrew Biddle, 44, of Egg Harbor Township.

Police declined to identify the other person in the boat, who was able to swim to safety.

“We won’t release any information because the investigation is ongoing,” Polite said Tuesday afternoon.

Lt. K. Moore, commander of the Atlantic City Coast Guard base said the accident was called into Longport Police at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20. The Coast Guard’s search ended at 6 p.m. on Monday.

“We conducted a nearly 20-hour search, but after exhausting all resources, the chances for survival based on water temperature and time in the water is slim,” Moore said.

According to the American Power Boat Association, Biddle is ranked first in the SuperStock Class P-1 Offshore racing category, having won three competitions in Florida since November 2013.

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/ne...r-ongoing.html

[Serious News]

LONGPORT, N.J. -- The Coast Guard suspended its search Monday evening for a champion powerboat racer who disappeared late Sunday when his pontoon boat apparently hit a buoy and then slammed into a jetty at the southern tip of Longport.

Officials identified the missing boater as Andrew Biddle, 44, of Egg Harbor Township, who was returning from dinner at a waterfront restaurant across the bay in Somers Point. A passenger was able to swim to shore.

Biddle is a two-time national powerboat champion. According to a 2012 Atlantic City Press article, Biddle and Andrew Tracy Blumenstein set a record and rose to the top of the season standings that year in the P1 SuperStock U.S. championship series. In 2013, he and Blumenstein won on both sides of the Atlantic, winning a United Kingdom championship as well.

Coast Guard and state police boats focused their search Monday around bay-side buoys, and police said they were interviewing the survivor of the crash, Justin Belz, 23, of Marmora, to determine how the trip ended so disastrously. Boat crews searched for 18 hours over 60 square miles, according to the Coast Guard.

Dan Cronin, who has a house facing the bay in Longport, said he was on his deck Sunday night around 11:30 when he saw the pontoon boat and heard a boom.

"The boat was moving along. I could see they were going full throttle," he said. "A boat of that type would go about 20, 22 m.p.h. at maximum speed."

"All of a sudden we heard 'boom' and then heard someone in the water yelling, 'Help, help save me!' "

Cronin called 911 and ran out with towels as the survivor came out of the water near the jetty at the Point, the tip of Longport. "He was shaking, not hurt at all," Cronin said.

He said the survivor was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and had no life jacket.

The boat, meanwhile, continued moving. "I saw the boat still going, making like a wide circle, headed straight for the rocks," Cronin said.

The survivor said the boat's operator knocked into him after they struck a buoy and may have been knocked out, Cronin said. The survivor told those who came to his aid they were coming from the Baia Restaurant on the waterfront in Somers Point.

"At first he was calm," Cronin said. "Then he turned around and said, 'Where's my friend Andy?' "

The buoys are not lit, but experienced boaters should be aware of that, Cronin said.
Mayor Nick Russo of Longport said he believed that the boat sustained damage and that speed may have been a factor. The waters around the tip of Longport are known to be dangerous. Veteran Sea Tow captain David McAuliffe was killed in a boating accident in May 2012 not far from this area.

"The dangers of the water command respect," Russo said, appearing briefly at the scene of the search Monday morning.

At Sea Village Marina on the Margate Bridge Causeway, where Biddle operated Professional Boat Sales, employees said the owner, a close friend, was out aiding in the search. They declined to talk about Biddle or the accident. "We're still trying to put it together," one said.

According to a biography on the P1 Superstock website, Biddle raced in motocross and SuperCross before getting into powerboats and in 1999 became the SBI Factory 1 World Champion. Online, one friend called him a "boating legend."

State police said investigators were interviewing Belz on Monday afternoon.
Petty Officer David Marin said Coast Guard and local crews began the search after receiving a call from Longport police about 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

"We've had multiple boat crews from the Coast Guard station in Atlantic City as well as helicopter crews," Marin said.

[Bobcat]

Cops think he faked his own death.



https://www.rebelmouse.com/HydroRace..._fb&1407200925

[Serious News]

Missing Egg Harbor Township man believed to have staged boating accident to escape criminal charges

Posted: Friday, August 1, 2014 9:00 pm

By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer

Subscribe to Lynda Cohen on Facebook

An Egg Harbor Township man reported missing after his pontoon boat hit rocks in Longport is believed to have staged the incident, according to a police flier.

Andrew Biddle, 45, and his employer are accused of using Professional Boat Sales, Service and Storage in Egg Harbor Township to deceive people and steal money.

Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein are powerboat partners who have broken records nationally and internationally in speedboat racing. But the two also broke laws together, according to 13 criminal complaints between them.

Blumenstein, who owns the business, was arrested in February on theft and fraud charges.

Biddle, who is the business’ manager, faces nine charges in seven complaints, including selling a boat and trailer without repaying the owner, lying about the true cost of items sold and taking a down payment for a boat never provided.

All of the complaints are signed by Egg Harbor Township police Detective Ray Theriault, who this week put out a law-enforcement-only flier that alleges Biddle staged the boating accident and is believed to be “alive and well and on the run.”

Andrew Christopher Biddle “is current U.S. and European offshore boat racing champion and has contacts throughout the country and abroad and could be anywhere,” reads the flier obtained by The Press of Atlantic City.

When asked about the charges, Theriault said: “We are proceeding with the investigation as we would if he hadn’t been reported missing.”

Biddle was reported missing July 20, after a pontoon boat hit the rocks near the bay on 11th Avenue.

Justin Belz, 23, swam ashore and called police, telling them Biddle had also been on the boat. Belz — whose Facebook page indicates he also works for Blumenstein’s company — did not return messages seeking comment.

No charges have been filed against him in the case.

“We have no proof (Biddle is) dead at this point,” Theriault said.

Biddle may have run before, according to a post by the Mainland PBA Facebook page made on a Web story reporting the accident.

“It is believed Mr. Biddle is alive and well and just running from his current legal problems like he has done in the past,” the post reads.

Theriault — the PBA president — would not comment on the post.

Neither Biddle’s attorney nor the one for co-defendant Blumenstein would comment on the case.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Biddle’s attorney, Mark Roddy, said when asked about the allegations.

In response to the flier becoming public, Egg Harbor Township police released a statement pertaining to the possibility Biddle fled.

“This scenario must be considered, and the Egg Harbor Township Police Department’s Detective Bureau is obligated to investigate and prosecute Mr. Biddle for the aforementioned criminal acts until Mr. Biddle’s whereabouts are officially determined,” Detective Capt. Christopher Ruef wrote.

Meanwhile, the State Police search for Biddle in relation to the accident is ongoing, a spokesman said.

Bail for Biddle has not been set, the flier states.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Egg Harbor Township police at 609-926-4051.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/n...9bb2963f4.html

[Serious News]

'He is alive and well and on the run': Boat racing champion and married father of three may have faked his own death at sea to escape fraud charges, police claim

Andrew Biddle, 44, from New Jersey, was declared missing July 20 after his boat struck a buoy and then crashed into a jetty off of Longport
Another passenger, Justin Belz, 23, swam to shore but the Coast Guard was unable to locate Biddle despite searching a 60-mile span for 18 hours
But police are now investigating whether Biddle, an Egg Harbor Township resident, may have faked his own death to evade authorities
Biddle, a boat shop owner, is facing theft and fraud charges for deceiving customers, the website reports

By HELEN POW
PUBLISHED: 18:09 EST, 6 August 2014 | UPDATED: 21:05 EST, 6 August 2014

A professional boater and married father of three from New Jersey who disappeared last month after his vessel crashed into a jetty may have faked his death to avoid criminal charges, police believe.
Andrew Biddle, 44, was declared missing July 20 after his boat struck a buoy and then crashed into a jetty off the southern tip of Longport. Another passenger, Justin Belz, 23, swam to shore but the Coast Guard was unable to locate Biddle despite searching a 60-mile span for 18 hours.
But this week Egg Harbor Township police Detective Ray Theriault put out a law-enforcement-only flier that alleges Biddle staged the boating accident and is believed to be 'alive and well and on the run.'

According to a report on Philly.com, is a manager of Professional Boat Sales in Northfield, which is owned by Tracy Blumenstein.
The pair are facing 13 criminal complaints between them.
Blumenstein was arrested in February on theft and fraud charges.
Biddle faces nine charges in seven complaints, according to The Press of Atlantic City.
Egg Harbor Township police are now considering Biddle a 'wanted person' with 'full U.S. extradition.'
The business partners are professional boaters who have in the past won multiple boat-racing championships together in the U.S. and the UK.
Biddle 'has contacts throughout the country and abroad and could be anywhere,' reads the flier obtained by The Press of Atlantic City.
Theriault said police were 'proceeding with the investigation as we would if he hadn't been reported missing.'
'We have no proof (Biddle is) dead at this point,' he told the newspaper.
According to Philly.com, the fact Biddle was so seasoned on the water made his crash seem curious to some, especially as he knew the channels where the incident took place like the back of his hand.
Witness Tom Murphy, who ran into the water to help, said rumors started circulating immediately after the collision and he refused to believe them.
However, he told Philly.com this week, 'It's starting to sound a little more believable.'
The crash took place around 11.30 p.m. July 20.
Belz, whose Facebook page indicates he also works for the boating company, was heard by witnesses calling out 'Andy' as he swam to shore in the dark and called police.
He was later interviewed by authorities, but no charges have been filed against him.

'I am continuing the investigation as if he were still alive,' Detective Ray Theriault told NBC10. 'Given the knowledge I have of what's occurred in the past, it certainly makes me skeptical.'
He added that the boat involved in the collision was in fact stolen by the business he co-owned.
One complaint against Biddle and his partner Blumenstein alleges the pair accepted a $20,000 down payment on a boat but never produced the vessel.
In the days following his disappearance, a page on Facebook was set up praying for Biddle's 'safe return' and had attracted more than 800 'likes.'
However, by Tuesday it was no longer active.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz39fncsCdZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[Serious News]

LONGPORT, N.J. - Andrew Biddle commandeered powerboats internationally, so his supposed plight in a crash of his pontoon boat in Longport last month was curious to some.

"He's going to know those channels really well," Tom Murphy, 42, thought after Biddle's crash. But it took a little more than unsubstantiated suspicions for Murphy to seriously consider that the boat accident he witnessed may have been planned.

"There were a lot of rumors going around since he disappeared, but I thought it was probably all nonsense," said Murphy, a Villanova, Pa., resident who was at his Shore home on Atlantic Avenue at the time of the July 20 incident and went into the water to assist immediately after. "It's starting to sound a little more believable."

Egg Harbor Township police confirmed late last week that they were considering that Biddle, 44, may have faked his death to avoid criminal charges. Since then, the disappearance at the sleepy southern tip of Longport has remained enveloped in mystery.

On Tuesday night, Egg Harbor Township police, in an e-mail, said Biddle had been entered into the National Crime Information Center as a "wanted person with 'full U.S. extradition,' all 50 states."

Biddle, an Egg Harbor Township resident and highly regarded powerboat racer, was declared missing after his boat hit a buoy and then plowed into a jetty about 11:30 p.m. The lone passenger, Justin Belz, 23, swam to shore and was recalled by witnesses as calling for "Andy." The incident initiated an 18-hour search by the Coast Guard for Biddle that spanned 60 miles. Belz was being interviewed by authorities.

News emerged that Biddle may be on the run Friday, after the Atlantic City Press obtained a flier circulated among law enforcement officials saying Biddle was believed "alive and well." In a statement Friday, township police said it was a scenario that "must be considered."

Police have not answered requests for further information this week on the case.

"I am continuing the investigation as if he were still alive," Detective Ray Theriault told NBC10 last week. "Given the knowledge I have of what's occurred in the past, it certainly makes me skeptical."

Theriault also said the boat involved in the accident was "stolen by the business that he was a part of."

State police are treating the incident as a boat crash involving a missing person, said Capt. Stephen Jones, but the department is aware of Egg Harbor Township's investigation.

Biddle, who helped run Professional Boat Sales in Northfield, is facing theft and fraud charges related to allegations he and the company's owner, Tracy Blumenstein, deceived customers, according to multiple complaints on file with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. One complaint alleges the pair accepted a $20,000 down payment on a boat but never produced the vehicle.

On the water, the two were esteemed racers with a presence that stretched across the Atlantic Ocean.

With Biddle as the driver and Blumenstein navigating by his side, the pair took top honors twice in P1 Superstock's U.S. championship, a national series of offshore races in which professional powerboat drivers compete against each other in identical vessels.

Last year, they won both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom championships (a first for the Superstock series). Biddle and Blumenstein "crisscrossed" across the Atlantic for the competitions, which each include five weekend-long events between April and September, a P1 spokesman said.

"It brought international flavor," Roy Mantle said from London. Mantle said travel expenses are not covered by the championship. "It is demanding. If you're running a business as well, it is quite stressful."

Mantle described Biddle as a "well-liked guy, a real character, always fun, always bouncy, bubbly." Blumenstein, he said, was quiet, "a man of a few words."

"And yet there was a great friendship and bonding between them," he said. "They were a great double act."

As Team Pro Boat, Biddle and Blumenstein were on track to clinch another national victory this year. The team remains placed No. 1 in the U.S. championship. The last round, in Tampa, Fla., took place days before Biddle's disappearance. The fourth scheduled round, in Cocoa Beach, Fla., is planned for this month.

Mantle said he was aware of the police investigation from news accounts, but refrained from drawing conclusions.

"You're always going to get speculation when someone's missing," Mantle said. "What can one say? He's missing and nobody knows the facts."

Competitors in the U.K. race have applied stickers to their boats honoring Biddle. "Andy Biddle," the black-and-white stickers read, "you are in our thoughts."

"It was quite a difficult decision," given the unclear circumstances, determining how to honor Biddle, Mantle said. "'Thinking of you' was probably the best way to reflect our emotions."

An attorney for Biddle, Mark Roddy, said he would need written permission to discuss any of his client's cases. "Obviously in this case, I can't get it," Roddy said.

Likewise, Steven Kaplan, who represents Blumenstein, said he would not comment on the charges. Numerous messages left at the boat business were not returned.

There was no answer at Biddle's home Tuesday; no one appeared to be there.

A page on Facebook dedicated to Biddle's "safe return" had attracted more than 800 "likes" in the days following July 20. On Tuesday, the page was no longer active.

http://articles.philly.com/2014-08-0...dent-powerboat

[Serious News]

Search Continues For Missing NJ Boater Believed To Have Staged His Own Disappearance

LONGPORT, NJ – After confirming they believe missing powerboat racer Andrew Biddle may have staged a boating accident to avoid prosecution, Egg Harbor Township Police have entered Biddle into an FBI database.
According to the department, Biddle’s profile with the National Crime Information Center says he is a wanted person with full U.S. extradition in all 50 states.
“It just seems like the most ridiculous thing to pull off,” says Tom Murphy, who helped bring Biddle’s friend to shore the night of the July 20th accident near Longport.
Murphy says when he heard the bang of the pontoon boat hitting the channel buoy he ran outside to see Justin Belz struggling in the water.
He says Belz was screaming for his friend Andy, who he thought also fell overboard.
“Unless he’s an exceptionally good actor, he came out really frazzled, distraught, out of breath,” says Murphy.
Warrants supplied to Eyewitness News by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office describe Biddle and his racing partner Tracy Blumenstein as having conducted fraudulent boat sales.
In one report, Biddle is accused of “purposefully creating a false impression by receiving a down payment for a boat in the amount of $20,000. The boat has not been supplied.”
P1 Powerboat, which recently placed stickers on their boats acknowledging Biddle, has been very cautious about how they handle the disappearance of their reigning champion.
“You just sit here and watch news unfold and think about those people who are suffering, those people close to him who maybe don’t know what’s going on,” says Roy Mantle head of public relations with P1.

[Serious News]

Mystery, suspicion in late-night Egg Harbor boat crash

LONGPORT, N.J. - Buoys bobbed in the bay near the tip of this town on a recent frigid day. Many of the waterfront homes were empty - their inhabitants absent and elsewhere. Gone, like Andrew Biddle.

It has been five months since Biddle, an internationally honored powerboat racer, was declared missing after a pontoon boat he was said to have been aboard struck a buoy and crashed into a jetty.

What at first seemed to be a tragic boat accident turned into the launch of Biddle's plunge into mystery. The case has continued to yield only theories, shared and debated like a local tale of far-reaching interest.

"He drowned - or he's in a different country," said Kathy Costanzo, sales clerk at All Seasons Marina in Marmora, where Biddle once sold boats in rented space. "That's what I've heard."


Talk to enough people who knew Biddle, and one thing becomes clear: No one's quite sure what to believe about the July 20 late-night crash. Local police, for their part, remain adamant about their theory.

"I can tell you with certainty, he is alive," Egg Harbor Township Detective Ray Theriault said this month in an interview. He described the search for Biddle - listed as "wanted" in the National Crime Information Center, with full extradition in the U.S. - as a "waiting game."

Authorities believe Biddle orchestrated the accident to avoid prosecution on theft and related charges that amassed in the months before, through an investigation by Egg Harbor Township police. The complaints allege Biddle and business partner Tracy Blumenstein defrauded customers of Professional Boat Sales, Blumenstein's company.

Still, some family members aren't so sure about Biddle's fate. His uncle, Joseph Biddle, searched on a boat for his nephew the day after the crash.

"I was convinced at that moment that he had died," said Joseph Biddle, 78, of Huntingdon, Pa., about 30 miles south of State College, where his nephew was raised. He said no facts relayed to the family indicated he was dead or alive.

"I don't have any reason to believe, other than his past history, that he's still alive," said Biddle, a former newspaper publisher.

Since Andrew Biddle's disappearance, Baia, the Somers Point restaurant where he was before the accident, has closed for the winter. The Egg Harbor Township home he shared with his wife went up for sale. He turned 45.

And the complaints against Biddle have continued after the crash: Police have filed three additional charges against him, bringing to nine the total active charges in Atlantic County. One complaint alleges he and Blumenstein sold a $19,000 pontoon boat and never paid its owner.

Biddle has left behind a checkered impression: a likable and friendly salesman who reveled in the rush of racing boats and speeding motorcycles - a small celebrity on the water who, on land, was repeatedly at odds with clients and the law.

The Huntingdon native grew up fascinated by boats and mechanics, family members said. He went on to attend Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, beginning in 1991 as a civil engineering technology major, a spokesman said. He later switched to general studies, but left the school in 1993 without a degree.



Arson, harassment

That year, Biddle pleaded guilty to arson in Lycoming County, according to Pennsylvania court records. During the next 12 years, an additional dozen criminal court dockets were logged, many in Huntingdon County, in relation to charges against Biddle.

In 2000, he was charged with failing to remit sales and income taxes collected by his boat repair and sales company, Raystown Performance Marine Sales. He pleaded guilty to many of the counts. That business also involved Blumenstein and members of their families.

In 2002, Biddle pleaded guilty to harassment in a case in which a woman accused him of striking her during an argument. Four years later, he pleaded guilty to selling cocaine to a confidential informant.

From 2002 to 2011, Biddle was in Huntingdon County Prison in four separate terms that totaled about six years, a facility officer said.

Biddle was ordered to pay $96,000 to a woman who, in a 2000 civil suit, claimed that she had been injured while on a boat with Biddle in the Gulf of Mexico and that he had been speeding against rough conditions.

In the early 2000s, he declared bankruptcy at least twice, court records show.

"He burned his bridges pretty badly with people," said a cousin, Hunter Biddle, 54, of Norristown. "But he's family. You always love family."

New Jersey State Police are saying only that the case remains a boat crash involving a missing person. "We have used all of our underwater abilities to look down in there . . . for recovery of remains," Capt. Stephen Jones said. "We've been unable to turn anything up."

The boat crash occurred about 11:30 p.m. Witnesses said a passenger, Justin Belz, swam to shore, yelling for his friend. The Coast Guard conducted an 18-hour search.

Belz, 23, who also races and sells boats, provided initial statements to police, but later requested an attorney, Theriault said. Belz, who has not been charged with any crime, did not return requests for comment.



Certainty

Egg Harbor Township police are firm that Andrew Biddle will be located. "He's going to run into the law somewhere," Theriault said.

Biddle's wife since 2011, Christina Kupcinski, and his father, Andrew Biddle Sr., declined comment.

At the time of his disappearance, Biddle and Blumenstein were placed No. 1 in the annual P1 Superstock U.S. championship, a series of offshore powerboat races held in Florida. The pair - Team Pro Boat - fell to No. 8 out of nine teams after not participating in the final two rounds.

"I missed his competition," said Bill Kingery, 50, who placed No. 4 in the competition this year. "I trusted Andy. When you're racing side-by-side like that, you're trusting him, and he's trusting you."

Biddle and Blumenstein had twice won the national competition. They also won the United Kingdom equivalent in 2013.

Kingery, of Columbus, Ohio, added that Biddle's "heartbreaking" story is a topic of conversation among fellow racers.

Blumenstein, approached in his Northfield office, referred questions to his attorney, who did not return calls.

"I really don't know what the hell is going on," Blumenstein said of Biddle's disappearance.

Those who say they were conned by Biddle are quicker to decide.

"This is just a big hoax," said Frank Casey, 45, of Douglassville, Pa.

Casey and his wife, Dianna, purchased a nearly $50,000 pontoon boat from Biddle through Professional Boat Sales. It was delivered in April 2012 and, though it was supposed to be new, had visible signs of use and other issues, the couple said.

The company agreed in October 2012 to take the boat for repairs and later return it to the Caseys' vacation home in Delaware. It was never returned.


The Caseys sued in 2013 and were awarded a judgment in March for nearly $370,000, according to their attorney, Donald Benedetto. Attorneys were moving toward completing an agreement to instead provide the Caseys with a new pontoon boat. The boat never materialized.

The July crash only added insult to injury: The involved boat was the one the Caseys purchased in 2012, police said.

With Biddle gone, any resolution seems far from the horizon.

"We just want to walk away," Casey said. "It's a Lifetime story is what it is."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/ne...TXdYWJtQZKX.99

[Bobcat]

What a turd..

[fund razor]

Whew. Despite the most recent article title, no Egg Harbors were injured in this story.

[Ratickle]

That was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw it.

[ciao]

Thrilled to see he was allowed into the UK on numerous occasions to race P1 Superstock with that string of criminal convictions.

[Serious News]

N.J. man accused of staging boat crash to escape criminal charges turns himself in, report says

An Egg Harbor Township man who is accused of staging a boat crash this summer to avoid criminal charges has turned himself in to police, according to reports.

Champion boat racer Andrew Biddle, 45, disappeared on July 20 near Longport after he and another man's pontoon allegedly hit a buoy. The Coast Guard reported at the time that they were contacted by Longport Police around 11:30 at night, reporting that a boater swam to shore, saying he was in an accident on the boat and the operator was missing.

A search for the man, identified as Biddle, ensued by the Coast Guard and other law enforcement, but an investigation soon led police to believe the accident was staged and they believed Biddle was alive and well, and possibly on the run.

Then recently, Biddle contacted his lawyer and said he wanted to turn himself in, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

"He recently called me and said he wanted to step up to the plate and take responsibility," attorney Mark Roddy told the Press. "I told him, if he was serious, to call me when he was back in the area, and I would set something up."

Biddle appeared before a judge in Atlantic County Superior Court on Thursday. He was given 24 hours to post $50,000 bail, cash or bond and was reported to be free as of Thursday night, the Press reports.

His lawyer did not say where Biddle had been.

The previous criminal charges he was facing stem from the sale of a boat.

Biddle and his business and racing partner, Tracy Blumenstein, had been indicted on multiple counts of theft by deception and fraud, according to ABC News.

It was unclear of Biddle would face additional charges from staging the boating accident. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said Egg Harbor Police may release a statement later today.

http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/20...appearing.html

[Serious News]

Powerboat racer, once feared dead, surrenders in N.J.

By Angelo Fichera, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: February 14, 2015

Nearly seven months after he disappeared, a champion offshore powerboat racer from Egg Harbor Township returned Thursday to the Shore, his attorney said.

Andrew Biddle, 45, appeared in Atlantic County Superior Court about 3 p.m. and surrendered, putting to rest any belief that he might have died in a late-night summer boating accident.

Biddle was declared missing after a speeding pontoon boat he was said to be aboard hit a buoy and crashed into a jetty near the tip of Longport on July 20. A passenger, Justin Belz, swam to shore and said he could not find his friend.

The reported accident sparked an 18-hour Coast Guard search. Biddle's family from his native Huntingdon, Pa., joined the effort. An online outcry by those who knew Biddle, including in the powerboat-racing community, ensued.

But within weeks, Biddle was listed as wanted in the National Crime Information Center, after local authorities said they believed he had orchestrated the accident to avoid criminal charges.

"He voluntarily returned from wherever he was, when he probably could have stayed there ad infinitum," Mark Roddy, Biddle's attorney, said Thursday.

Roddy said he received a call from his client last week, during which Biddle said he "wanted to step up and do the right thing."

The Pleasantville lawyer told Biddle to contact him after returning to the tristate area. Biddle made that call Wednesday.

"Once I knew he was serious and this was going to take place, I made a series of calls to let the court know I was going to surrender him," Roddy said.

The hearing before Judge Kyran Connor lasted about 10 minutes, Roddy said. Connor ordered Biddle to post $50,000 bail, cash or bond, within 24 hours, or be taken into custody. Roddy said Biddle was working on producing the amount he needed. He would not discuss charges against Biddle.

Biddle and his partner in business and boating, Tracy Blumenstein, face a number of charges relating to Blumenstein's company, Professional Boat Sales, which Biddle helped operate. Complaints allege the pair defrauded customers (one, for example, says they sold a pontoon boat but never paid its owner).

The two were past winners of the annual P1 Superstock U.S. championship, a series of offshore powerboat races in Florida. In 2013, they won championships stateside as well in the United Kingdom.

Biddle, who has filed for bankruptcy in the past, also faced criminal charges and legal troubles in and near Huntingdon County, Pa., where he operated Raystown Performance Marine Sales, to which Blumenstein's family was also connected.

That history led Egg Harbor Township police to remain adamant that Biddle was on the run after the crash.

"I can tell you with certainty he is alive," Detective Ray Theriault told The Inquirer in December.

Theriault, who investigated many of the recent claims by customers, could not be reached Thursday.

Some speculated during Biddle's disappearance that he could have used his international boating connections to elude arrest. But where he was during his absence remained a mystery Thursday.

Roddy said Biddle did not say where he had been or why he returned.

"I just know he has a wife and kids," Roddy said. "I think that weighed on him."

http://articles.philly.com/2015-02-1...nal-boat-sales

[fund razor]

If these guys ever exaggerated about how many boats they've owned, they're going down.
The rest you can recover from.

That's probably why he came back.

[Ratickle]

Good point. You may have hit the problem on the head......

[old377guy]

......like Lazarus.........

[Ratickle]

I'm thinking more like Jonah than Lazarus, I can hear him in court now.....