Arizona Power & Sound

[Guest beemer2k]

This is a copy of a posting my Mike O'Connor on the AZStreetscene.com website.

"Im going against my better judgement, however locals are what made me and a lot of people on this board I consider friends...

First off, I havent read any posts on LS1GTO, nor will I... tonight is the first night ive been on ANY forums since the doors were closed and depending how things go, may be the last... Why? Simple... no matter what I say, who I pay off, what I sell, or what I do, there are still those who hate me and have waited for this day for years to come... those such as Jeff Birch, the LA GTO guy who is a story in himself, CChris who only tells his side of the story etc. I didnt come here to talk trash, merely to just offer another side, and then I dont plan on posting again.

Did I know things were slowing down? Yes I did... for the past couple months the economy has been dropping as have sales at which point I slowed down the amount of business I took so I could get every car done. This isnt an isolated incident, just about every company, housing, loans etc took a hit... its not abnormal. What did I do? Well none of the stories about me on here tell how I sold my vette to get the equity out, sold the majority of my guns, sold every watch I had, all my TVs, computers I didnt need at the shop, any part I could find I didnt need etc... If I could have refi'd my house I would have but thanks to the latest market, it isnt possible and I dont have enough equity. Now youre asking why I did all of this if I was trying to rip people off.... well if I wanted to rip people off I would have left with MONEY, not left with nothing and sold everything I owned. Even after selling all of that you dont hear things like employee theft of which I lost close to $3,000 from a single employee, or a business deal he setup before leaving where I lost thousands, or an employee crashing a truck that I had to pay to fix out of pocket, or countless customers who havent paid their bills because I was nice enough to let them leave without paying, or even the guy subleasing space from me who is now 90 days past due.

I failed to see the inside of things posted anywhere on these forums... Or the last part that caused all of this which was the sub-leasee who PROMISED to pay almost $4,000 he owed me which was going straight to my landlord in addition to the money I paid for rent instead of paying my home mortgage to keep the doors open. Know what? He didnt pay... came up with more excuses, then packed up and left. I grabbed what I could in one day which was nothing more then tools and went home... the next day the locks were changed.

I know, sounds like I have been plotting for months to do this so I could run off to bermuda and retire with the millions I stole from everyone... In reality I got fucked... I got fucked by a lot of people real bad in a short period of time to the point where I couldnt recover. I had a good run for years, but too much happened too quickly and nothing in the world I could have done could change that. That being said, suing also wont help because you cant squeeze water from a stone, you cant take a house a bank owns, you cant take a car a bank owns, and I DO in fact have a LLC contrary to what some angry man in california thinks.

If anyone would like to know anything or contact me, they are welcome to PM me, but since things blew up as they did I will not be giving out any of my contact information because theres absolutely nothing I can do right now. Im dealing with a lot of stress and trying to sort things out with the landlord. If you need proof of ownership of something in my shop, I am happy to tell Gary what is yours, but to my knowledge no one on this forum has anythign in there, nor does anyone from LS1GTO other then the nitrous parts which I will be taking care of.

Thanks to all who supported me, im sorry to those who may have had a poor experience due to this and I wish you all well.

Mike"

[Z O SICK]

This is a copy of a posting my Mike O'Connor on the AZStreetscene.com website.

"Im going against my better judgement, however locals are what made me and a lot of people on this board I consider friends...

First off, I havent read any posts on LS1GTO, nor will I... tonight is the first night ive been on ANY forums since the doors were closed and depending how things go, may be the last... Why? Simple... no matter what I say, who I pay off, what I sell, or what I do, there are still those who hate me and have waited for this day for years to come... those such as Jeff Birch, the LA GTO guy who is a story in himself, CChris who only tells his side of the story etc. I didnt come here to talk trash, merely to just offer another side, and then I dont plan on posting again.

Did I know things were slowing down? Yes I did... for the past couple months the economy has been dropping as have sales at which point I slowed down the amount of business I took so I could get every car done. This isnt an isolated incident, just about every company, housing, loans etc took a hit... its not abnormal. What did I do? Well none of the stories about me on here tell how I sold my vette to get the equity out, sold the majority of my guns, sold every watch I had, all my TVs, computers I didnt need at the shop, any part I could find I didnt need etc... If I could have refi'd my house I would have but thanks to the latest market, it isnt possible and I dont have enough equity. Now youre asking why I did all of this if I was trying to rip people off.... well if I wanted to rip people off I would have left with MONEY, not left with nothing and sold everything I owned. Even after selling all of that you dont hear things like employee theft of which I lost close to $3,000 from a single employee, or a business deal he setup before leaving where I lost thousands, or an employee crashing a truck that I had to pay to fix out of pocket, or countless customers who havent paid their bills because I was nice enough to let them leave without paying, or even the guy subleasing space from me who is now 90 days past due.

I failed to see the inside of things posted anywhere on these forums... Or the last part that caused all of this which was the sub-leasee who PROMISED to pay almost $4,000 he owed me which was going straight to my landlord in addition to the money I paid for rent instead of paying my home mortgage to keep the doors open. Know what? He didnt pay... came up with more excuses, then packed up and left. I grabbed what I could in one day which was nothing more then tools and went home... the next day the locks were changed.

I know, sounds like I have been plotting for months to do this so I could run off to bermuda and retire with the millions I stole from everyone... In reality I got fucked... I got fucked by a lot of people real bad in a short period of time to the point where I couldnt recover. I had a good run for years, but too much happened too quickly and nothing in the world I could have done could change that. That being said, suing also wont help because you cant squeeze water from a stone, you cant take a house a bank owns, you cant take a car a bank owns, and I DO in fact have a LLC contrary to what some angry man in california thinks.

If anyone would like to know anything or contact me, they are welcome to PM me, but since things blew up as they did I will not be giving out any of my contact information because theres absolutely nothing I can do right now. Im dealing with a lot of stress and trying to sort things out with the landlord. If you need proof of ownership of something in my shop, I am happy to tell Gary what is yours, but to my knowledge no one on this forum has anythign in there, nor does anyone from LS1GTO other then the nitrous parts which I will be taking care of.

Thanks to all who supported me, im sorry to those who may have had a poor experience due to this and I wish you all well.

Mike"

Wow,

I know Mike ripped a lot of people off but when you look at everything he sold just to stay afloat, it put's things into perspective. Now I'm not taking sides here because in the end, everyone loses. I'm sorry to see a bunch of people out so much of their hard earned money and I'm also sorry to see a local shop go down. Mike seemed like a cool guy every time I talked to him. I heard a lot of stories and it's sad in any way you look at it. I hope everyone involved gets their money or some type of closure.

Tony

[ICULUKN]

This is a great story.... but where did the money go... Beemer gave him $38k.. that is CASH! Beemer didnt get any of the parts he paid for.... so that 38k is profit in the eyes of AZPS... What about the other 10 guys that gave him 6-10k a piece for superchargers that they did not receive from the GTO Forum? Its hard to believe that you cannot make your bills when you have 100k cash? I say cash because he didnt provide the product...

I do remember Mike selling guns and watches, but he never gave any of them away like someone who needed cash.

As far as his work... you need to check other boards... I always said he wasn't a ASC certified mechanic... and the fact of the matter is that alot of people put alot of trust (with their very expensive cars) in someone who was installing nitrous kits and stereos 3 years ago; again with no formal training. Would you let a doctor operate on you without going to medical school. Would you let your taxes by some guy off the street, just because he did his own for a couple of years... The answer is NO....I would have to say that I have spent more on modifiing a Corvette than anyone else on this board.. but no one would heed my warnings...

I have nothing personally against Mike, but being a small business owner myself it pisses me off when someone takes advantage of an unsuspecting customers. Mike did not stand behind his product. Ask Robert and Elizabeth.. They paid for new injectors & intake that was never installed. Check with Chef (from ScottsdaleExoticCarClub).. He had to have ADS fix all the mistakes that AZPS made.

Why didnt he just call the insurance company when the truck got crashed? Because he probably didnt have insurance...

Chad you truely dont know if Mike maliciously tried to defraud people... Just because they are not on ACE or in your private forum doesnt mean that he hasnt screwed alot of people. The way I see it ... If you take 38k of someones money and dont provide a product that is fraud... but by your account Mike is a good salesman, so its not surprising that people gave him money.

I hope Mike the best in whatever venture he comes up with next... Hope its not another speedshop in another town.

[Guest beemer2k]

As angry as I am about losing $40,000 and damage to my car I am more upset that Mike went out of business and now we won't see how cool the car could have been.

Being completely honest, I think Mike had a awesome shop and a TON of potential. From a business point of view he needed someone to run his business from a management prospective and a team of techs.

It is impossible for an owner to wear all the 'hats' in a company... it never works

[ICULUKN]

Hiring people who know more than you would have cut into the profits...

He was already selling parts dirt cheap... So there probably wasnt much left over to pay employees.

As Mike said.. there was a ton of people that still owed him money, but what of the money that he got from customers that never received their parts.

I hope you get your cash & car back.... or hire someone to get it back for you..

[Guest beemer2k]

Well, I have gotten my car back. It is now with Jason at Xtreme. Looks like it is going to cost about $6k to return it to stock. As far as the $40k goes... we'll see... I have tried to contact Mike through AZStreetScene.com, I have given him an opportunity to settle this easily.

Since I paid 100% of the parts in cash there is ABSOLUTELY no reason I shouldn't have my parts. It is apparent that he has used my money for something other than its directly intended purpose. Which, if he didn't order & pay for the parts in a timely manner (in my opinion) should be considered fraud. Of course that is for the court to decide. Given Mike's track record that should be an easy decision.

[Guest matuszynski]

This is a great story.... but where did the money go... Beemer gave him $38k.. that is CASH! Beemer didnt get any of the parts he paid for.... so that 38k is profit in the eyes of AZPS... What about the other 10 guys that gave him 6-10k a piece for superchargers that they did not receive from the GTO Forum? Its hard to believe that you cannot make your bills when you have 100k cash? I say cash because he didnt provide the product...

I do remember Mike selling guns and watches, but he never gave any of them away like someone who needed cash.

As far as his work... you need to check other boards... I always said he wasn't a ASC certified mechanic... and the fact of the matter is that alot of people put alot of trust (with their very expensive cars) in someone who was installing nitrous kits and stereos 3 years ago; again with no formal training. Would you let a doctor operate on you without going to medical school. Would you let your taxes by some guy off the street, just because he did his own for a couple of years... The answer is NO....I would have to say that I have spent more on modifiing a Corvette than anyone else on this board.. but no one would heed my warnings...

I have nothing personally against Mike, but being a small business owner myself it pisses me off when someone takes advantage of an unsuspecting customers. Mike did not stand behind his product. Ask Robert and Elizabeth.. They paid for new injectors & intake that was never installed. Check with Chef (from ScottsdaleExoticCarClub).. He had to have ADS fix all the mistakes that AZPS made.

Why didnt he just call the insurance company when the truck got crashed? Because he probably didnt have insurance...

Chad you truely dont know if Mike maliciously tried to defraud people... Just because they are not on ACE or in your private forum doesnt mean that he hasnt screwed alot of people. The way I see it ... If you take 38k of someones money and dont provide a product that is fraud... but by your account Mike is a good salesman, so its not surprising that people gave him money.

I hope Mike the best in whatever venture he comes up with next... Hope its not another speedshop in another town.

i total agree with what is posted here. mike didn't personally work on my car, it was one of his uncertified monkeys that did. 2 days after i got my car back, i got under the car to check the exhaust install work, and guess what, none of the bolts were tighten, no wonder there was exhaust leak and banging against my oil lines. even if they were ase cert, you are still at their mercy. if one person doesn't feel like doing the job right, there is nothing you can do but to double check / redo what he did. good luck everyone that lost money.

[ICULUKN]

Well, I have gotten my car back. It is now with Jason at Xtreme. Looks like it is going to cost about $6k to return it to stock. As far as the $40k goes... we'll see... I have tried to contact Mike through AZStreetScene.com, I have given him an opportunity to settle this easily.

Since I paid 100% of the parts in cash there is ABSOLUTELY no reason I shouldn't have my parts. It is apparent that he has used my money for something other than its directly intended purpose. Which, if he didn't order & pay for the parts in a timely manner (in my opinion) should be considered fraud. Of course that is for the court to decide. Given Mike's track record that should be an easy decision.

You should consider using ADS.. They are certified (unlike extreme), and do quality work. They are not the cheapest in town, but I can assure you the work they do is done professionally and with care and quality. I know that I am one of the few ADS cheerleaders on this board, as most of the ACE was a AZPS fan, but I think this was because he was giving away his time and services for less than what he needed to survive. ADS will be here tomorrow as they are growing and put out the FASTEST cars in the valley...

John Thompson... manager of ADS recently sold his 8 second mustang

Doug.... His 86 GT runs 8's

There are several people on my board, www.arizonaautoracing.com, that use ADS and they are running 9s and 10's

When it comes to go fast ADS is TOPS!

[CZYDMND]

Holy Shit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I liked Mike...I thought he was a good guy........WOW..........WOW...........

[ELESWUN]

It appears that 'steve' on AZStreetscene.com is in full defense of Mr. O'Connor. Very interesting... If any one is interested my staff, attorney & I visited Arizona Power & Sounds former shop to recover my Z06 Corvette. The car is in pieces. We have already figured that well over $10,000 worth of parts are missing & unaccounted for not to mention over $38,000 worth of items on my AZPS invoice.

Also, for additional comfort, some of the items that we were able to recoup appear to be stolen. Namely a set of ET Performance heads that Mr. O'Connor placed in my vehicle. These heads were paid in full from me to AZPS however AZPS never paid the seller of the heads.

Again, I urge anyone with information about Mike O'Connor or Arizona Power and Sound to contact me as soon as possible. My attorney & I have begun the process of requesting criminal charges be filed against Mike O'Connor. We have received a great deal of evidence that Mr. O'Connor had intended to defraud not only myself but other customers.

Not this Steve just making sure theres no confusion. Over a year ago I worked at AZPS. Only tech really for the year I was there. Left the very beginning of this year. Theres a lot to be said. I was once proud to be apart of that shop but now when I mention that I once worked there it makes me look bad. O well, good luck to everyone. Hope everything works out.

[Guest Vettski]

As some of you may know I have recently be seriously defrauded by Arizona Power & Sound.

Not only did I pay the owner of AZPS the sum of $40,000.00 for services & products not delivered (or even ordered). But now we find that Mr. O'Connor has been evicted from his building and (to the best of my knowledge) no one has been able to contact him.

So here is my problem, I am in the midst of filing a lawsuit against the owners of Arizona Power & Sound, MMO Distributing, LLC & Mike B. O'Connor. If anyone has any supporting information or would like their case included in the coming suit please PM me your contact information & details.

-Brandon

So very sorry to hear about your misfortune, Brandon. I hope you are able to prevail and come out of it OK. As you know, time heals all wounds and wounds all heels.

[jstrutt]

Steve, it shouldn't make you feel or look bad. You were the Tech. Without good employees, there is no comapny!

[ELESWUN]

thanks. AZPS once had a good rep but now Im afraid that people might misconstrue the fact I left there before things got shady and not now. Its so unfortunate how things all went down and I personally look forward to continue doing business with a lot of you guys here on ACE

[Loud Pedal]

I know, sounds like I (Mike O'conner) have been plotting for months to do this so I could run off to bermuda and retire with the millions I stole from everyone... In reality I got fu**ed... I got fu**ed by a lot of people real bad in a short period of time to the point where I couldnt recover.

I have been reading all the GTO, azstreetscene, and ACE postings about mike. In my opinion.

Mike wanted to help people. I believe he did.

Mike is a good mechanic.

Mike is a good sales man.

Mike is a nice person.

However mike is a shitty business man. He did not realize the concept of "stealing from peter to pay Paul." He made very VERY bad judgment calls. He made decisions that would have no effect until 6 months later.

I hope folks realize he is not the devil. he is a guy that made stupid business decisions that ended up costing people a lot of money.

my 2 cts

chad

Somehow I think if it was your 40 large he made off with, you would have a different opinon of him being a nice person. ;)

[ChadC]

Somehow I think if it was your 40 large he made off with, you would have a different opinon of him being a nice person. ;)

What you say is true. Id be pissed, livid and wanting to commit several felonies. I really REALLY feel bad for everyone who got screwed.

I offer some sage advise...

[Rhetorical question]

Would you give a retarded person a knife?

No, you wouldn’t because they will most likely stab themselves, the dog, key the vette , hit a wall and then watch Teletubbies while bleeding to death.

Would you be angry at the retard for stabbing the dog and making a hole in the wall? Possibly but understand YOU GAVE THE RETARD THE KNIFE!

So the lesson is you don’t a retard a knife.

[/Rhetorical Question]

Im sure Mike likes kittens, plays with babies, and walks old ladies across the street but he is RETARDED WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS. He made stupid moves and pissed away (his customers) money.

Should you be angry?

F#$K YES!! but understand people gave him money.

Hey chad! So how are we supposed to know if business person XYZ is retarded when it comes to business decisions?"

..you don’t know. You never will. That’s the point.

So instead you need to protect yourselves as much as possible to minimize the risks.

-Buyer beware: Don’t use emotion to buy stuff. Just because the person is nice and friendly does not mean they drool and crap their shorts at home. Do your homework. Look at the shop. Talk to prior customers whom had similar work done. Use common sense.

-Always use a credit card: American Express can have a high limit, and tends to error on the customer side. You can reverse the charge if needed. No cash, check, or goods.

-Pay little up front as possible: 50% down is normal, but you can negotiate for less. Like "Ill only pay 50% of the Parts now. When they arrive Ill pay the other 50%. Ill pay the labor when the project is complete to my satisfaction."

Eddie worked (working?) Fraud for some time and can offer more advise.

Its a sad cruel fact that this type of thing happens all the time in our world.

Does it make it right? NO

Do folks deserve losing their hard earned money? NO

Does it mean that Mike is evil and deserve to be crucified and let the blood out of his veins? NO

.. However If you see him broke down in the dessert stranded. I would advise you to slow down, take a bug gulp of you’re Icee, hit the max AC button and drive away while giving him the finger.

I know I will.

chad

[jstrutt]

Chad, I agree with several of your points and agree with the posters who have taken their time to tell us how they feel or share their knowledge. Makes me think of the people that work on my Vettes. They do a damn good job, have a nice clean shop. top equipment and all the other good stuff that makes, or is suppose to make, for a good business. When I take one of my Vettes in the next time, do I know if I'll get it back? Will it be in a kabillion pieces with some sold off? I have no idea and that is scary. I only know that first impressions last even if they were the wrong ones. We don't get to see their books, problems or lifestyle. In any case, there is no sense in each of us attacking the other for a situation none of us could or can control. Welcome to life in the 2000's.

[anmracing2]

How can someone tell who a seller is on E-bay????

The plot thickens......

Andrew

EDIT: Forgot the link to E-bay

[jstrutt]

I noticed that All Power Sports has been buying a lot from this seller. So has a guy named "deadandrunnin".

[jstrutt]

All I could find out is that the Ebay seller is located in Tempe, AZ. Maybe contact one of the buyers of his stuff and dumbly ask questions.

[Quiktrip]

If the X-Pipe is for a C4 I might buy it and I asked if I could p/u instead of having it shipped. Have to see if he IMs me back. Robert

[Bigfoot]

If the X-Pipe is for a C4 I might buy it and I asked if I could p/u instead of having it shipped. Have to see if he IMs me back. Robert

Oh Robert, you are so sneaky.

As long as he does not onto this board and sneak a peak.

[Guest beemer2k]

All I could find out is that the Ebay seller is located in Tempe, AZ. Maybe contact one of the buyers of his stuff and dumbly ask questions.

The ebayer y2kss50this is Mike from Arizona Power and Sound. I have verified this.

[Eddie44]

All I could find out is that the Ebay seller is located in Tempe, AZ. Maybe contact one of the buyers of his stuff and dumbly ask questions.

The ebayer y2kss50this is Mike from Arizona Power and Sound. I have verified this.

I have my attorney looking into seizing any funds that go into his Paypal account. Your timing would have to be perfect though. Too early and you get nothing and too late he moves it out. Just my

[Quiktrip]

Responce...this is a universal Xpipe, I have put them in C5s and C6s as a replacement for the stock Hpipe and it fits perfectly, I have not tried it on a C4 though. I can meet you somewhere to pick it up.... Robert

[Robert and Elizabeth]