A few weeks after arriving in Arizona, Jodi was called back to Massachusetts to testify in a grand jury investigation concerning money George Upton had stolen. Prosecutors wanted to know how she was paying her rent and where she got money for the breast-enlargement surgery that she had before leaving the East Coast.
Prosecutors dismissed Jodi Upton from grand jury testimony after she took the Fifth Amendment concerning questions about her finances. She tells New Times that the Massachusetts man who paid for her breast implants is a drug dealer, and she didn't want to rat him out.
Authorities were concerned that George might have given Jodi some of the $900,000 he stole in 1997 from an associate, Steve Queen, the mob-connected son of a bookmaker.
Queen had swiped the cash (gambling earnings) from his father's safe, then made the mistake of driving to Look Motors, his buddy George Upton's car lot in Hyannis.
George and his girlfriend jacked the money from the trunk of Queen's car. A few days later, Queen disappeared, never to be seen again. George was suspected, but never charged, in the disappearance.
Jodi Upton's father's girlfriend, Lynn Alberico, told a friend that she'd taken $100,000 of Queen's cash and that Jodi also received $100,000.
That's what Massachusetts court records state, though Jodi denies receiving any of the money and never was prosecuted in connection with the heist.
She speculates that Queen's simply hiding out somewhere. "My father may be a lot of things, but he's not a murderer," she says.
George Upton and Alberico were convicted in 2004 and 2005 on charges related to the theft, including tax evasion and trying to launder the money. Alberico served about two years in prison. Upton received a federal sentence of 131/2 years. When he's released, he'll be transferred to state prison to begin serving a sentence of seven to 10 years for robberies of businesses and home burglaries that occurred in the 2000s.
At the same time his daughter was running businesses in Arizona on behalf of secret owners, George Upton led a team of criminals, including Vincent Alberico, his girlfriend's son, in a years-long crime spree in the Cape Cod area. In at least two of the robberies, victims were beaten and a building was torched, though not by George. Police searching his Hyannis home in late 2004 found a "treasure trove" of stolen goods hidden under a staircase, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in expensive watches, art pieces, and bars of gold.
When Phoenix investigators checked into the background of Jodi Upton, the "owner" of nightclubs and a Scottsdale car dealership, they couldn't help but be suspicious about her connection to "charming" George Upton.
Not long after landing in Arizona, Jodi Upton found a receptionist job at Scottsdale's Southwest European, which repaired and sold luxury automobiles. Naz Derboghossian was the chief technician and a salesman. They began dating in early 2000.
Naz, about 40 at the time, knew a lot about the car business. His father, once a lawyer in Malta, raised him around "vintage Ferraris and racing cars, letting young Naz fix them at age 10," says a 2003 Arizona Republic story about the popular CBNC bar.
In his late 20s, he had owned a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, dealership called Euro Motor Cars Inc. Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and kickboxing champion Rick Roufus were his first big-time customers, and they led to other famous business contacts.
But Naz didn't always play by the rules. His Florida firm first caught the attention of police after it sold a Porsche Cabriolet that turned out to be stolen. Months later, cops were alerted to the theft in Miami of a 1990 Ferrari Testarossa worth $150,000. Using the LoJack vehicle-tracking system, the car was traced to Naz's business. It was found on a lift, its window broken and the ignition punched in with a screw.
Naz claimed a guy had dropped it off for repairs but left the garage without giving a name or phone number. Authorities knew Naz didn't steal the car himself, but they didn't buy his story. He was convicted in 1991 of grand theft auto and sentenced to probation.
He moved to Arizona in the late 1990s but was arrested again in early 1999 after allegations that he had swindled a Virginia man out of a 1975 Rolls-Royce. A police report states that "the suspects have ties with organized crime." Naz managed to beat the rap; charges were dropped.
Jodi Upton explains that Naz had many friends in the car business. He was an expert at finding well-maintained used luxury cars and selling them at a profit.
Until the economic crash of 2008, it was a great time to be in the business.
Back then, car enthusiasts were more than willing to pay $50,000 or even $100,000 over the sticker price for a rare vehicle, as long as it had very low mileage. Investors often would "floor" vehicles, meaning they would pay the up-front costs to put them in a showroom, later splitting the hefty proceeds once cars were sold. Customers even joined in the action, finding limited-production or collectible vehicles, driving them for a short while and contracting with a dealership like Naz's to floor them and sell them on consignment. Car fanciers with money would end up driving several awesome cars each year. Naz knew how to play the game to his advantage — especially once he found the right banker.
I always thought celebrity leisure time was a thing not really interesting to me. If they spend their money on charity or environment protection, that would attract me. But buying expensive toys is rotten and antisocial and rude!
William - http://www.carid.com/
Do your thing girl. I'm kind of envious of your adventure through this life, let em hate, stay up.
Interesting how the editor picks and chosses the comments and wants to keep or delete.. Enough said!
@Mary Mary -- some of the comments were randomly deleted after we switched over to the new commenting system. In fact, one of my own was deleted accidentally -- it mentioned a minor correction we made to the story, (Upton's former boyfriend in Massachusetts was erroneously called her "hubby" in one of the references to him.)
I did not at anytime receive any money for this article... Really... it's comical how you people think...
.She then bought a house in Phoenix with money she had earned from the sale of a classic 1933 Ford her father had given her?? Im sure that was stolen too.. lol Are you Serious Ray?? YOUR SOURCE (JODI) IS NOT VERY CREDIBLE HERE.. I WOULD BE ASHAMED TO WRITE SUCH AN ARTICLE KNOWING THE PAST SHE AND HER FAMILY HAD.. NAZ DOESNT HAVE A PAST LIKE THAT!
That's exactly how I bought my house... I sold the vehicle to mario... through the dealership and used the money as down payment on my home... the vehicle was not stolen... it was purchased in Massachusetts from a reputable dealer... ALL OF THIS IS PUBLIC RECORD!
again dumb fuck.. ol salty.. NAZ OBVIOUSLY DIDNT HAVE A CRIME IN MIAMI.. GET YOUR STORY RIGHT! DAMN YOU ARE WORST THAN RAY STERN WITH YOUR LIES!!
Hey dumb ass ol salty.. get your facts staright.. naz and Ara have been LEGALLY IN THE STATES FOR 45 EFFING YES YOU MORAN!! Dont you think if they were illeagal they would have been deported by now? Maybe they need to start deporting dumb asses like yourself that think they know it all!! bahahahahahaha...
JODi. YOUR. JOKE!!!!! AND a WHORE oh and lets not forget A GOLD DIGGER and a FUCKED up MOTHER!!!!)!
honestly i thought this spread was about a man .. rupaul looking mofucker.. someone get this bitch off the cover!!!!!!!!! dam!
Ray Stern, you said her hubby, that is short for husband, is it not? Didn't you write , when "her child was 2 she decided to leave her hubby" You also wrote she was a victim, she obviously did not tell you all of the story, she sold part of her bar to young man for 100,000, got the money,and then kicked him out of the business and walked away from it and sold it again, for 1.00 and all of the hundreds of thousand of dollars of debt, she did not let it go for a fake kidney surgury, you should of talked to the young man that gave her that money. How do you sell a business, recieve the cash, and not own it? She ripped him off, and he had no recourse, and tried to get his money back, to no avail. You should have done your homework, instead of letting her scam you, like she has everyone else.
A fantasy that rich people don't always spend their money according to capitalist wetdreams? or that Stern couldn't be bothered to have learned in HIGH SCHOOL that in 1955, Armenia was a Soviet Republic and folks were getting free passes to be taken in as political refugees for pretty much any reason from those countries - especially if they provided a debriefing to the CIA when they arrived here? I would have liked to see if there were any criminal records of Naz' family in Armenia.
Your so right Tomato, but this reporter, did not do his homework at all, she lied about so many things, she never had a husband, that's public record, did he check out any of her story at all, or just write . To let her hurt so many people in this story without checking it out, is terrible,
Who was hurt in this story?... I realized that there have been many hurt in the course of this investigation... but this Story? really?... who... did I not read the same article?
In which case you should simply write an addendum to the article and submit it to New Times for publication. That way you would get (1) credit for reporting the 'truth' as you see it, and (2) you will show Mr. Stern what a terrible reporter he is. We will be waiting on pins and needles..
This is a joke, I have known this woman, and a long time.Shame on the New Times not checking out all of her lies. She was NEVER been married in her life, the story talks about her violent husband, they were crack addicts, and he died in a car wreck, she then moved here and lived in her car. She is a money hungry bitter bitch. She has not seen her 10 year old child since the day school let out. She left him with his father for the whole summer as she always does, yet she talks about him that way, seriously if that were true, would you leave him there, and never even see him until school starts? She has stolen, lied, and embezeled for years, she went to the state and told all these lies with the other creep Doug, about Mario and Naz, thinking she would get something, she got nothing but arrested. While she was in jail she let her children sleep in a garage on a mattress with another crack head friend, instead of with their grandmother. She is evil, and whoever took the pictures did a great job of touch up, as she on a daily basis looks like an ugly transvestite, seriously! I hope Mario, all the stars, and everyone else she lied about sue the paper, and she ends up back in jail, it is inevitable, she is just like her criminal father. She never needed a kidney operation, that was a scam to get 49,000, and she got it, and said it went away, because she ate raw food, what a disgrace, She even admits in the article her old boyfriend when she was young bought her boobs, but she doesn't give his name, as she is afraid, because he was a drug dealer, hopefully the next one she scams, is for mental help, she surely needs it. Shame on her, and shame n the New Times!
WOW... you are quite the person... and my goodness how well you know me... truly... a few things that you might want to know before going on another rant... Nubar spends every summer with his grandmother and father... I have no issues with Naz, what so ever... this whole escapade brought us closer together and we rely on each other alot... the 49k... I never got (check your facts) and yes it did (my kidney issues) go away, until recently... you are obviously bitter at me for some reason... If i have wronged you, then I apologize that my actions have made you feel such anger and resentment... any one that knows me knows that I DO NOT ever do things to hurt people intentionally... At one time I did, to NAZ... but NEVER once did I go to the authorities, Doug did all of that.... As for a crack head... well Dwights father was no such thing, I on the other hand pulled myself out of that nasty little ordeal and went on to become who I am today 'an ugly transvestite'... ANOTHER point... the first person that my boys stayed with when I went away, is an amazing person for taking on 2 children that were not hers and she only had them a few weeks because NO ONE... NO ONE stepped up except for MY FRIENDS... Nubars grandmother was unable to care for the boys... they had no vehicle and no money... there is so much more to the story... I would love to meet for tea and chat, seriously... it seems that you have a one sided view of who I am... if not... I get it... it's easier to vent in a safe forum and share a convoluted story, Ray and I have spoken about the facts that he mixed up and he is willing to do all he can to revive the story on line... Take care and remember there is always more to a story.... Ray wrote this himself with information he received from EVERY source... not just me... Re read it....
@JodiAgree, there's always more to every story. Hidden meaning, between lines sense, you know..
William
You have no idea wat ur talking about number 1 number 2 Upton stoled from Naz and his family and doing this spread shows u wats she's all about MONEY!
who is this bitch trying to look like and portray herself to be? Marilyn Monroe.. pathetic. sounds like to me somebody got a little mad over rejection and needs some money huh?! I just dont understand how someone involved in such a "case" is now writing some story to gain attention.. or maybe not get in trouble so shes whipping up a storm about other people?! This whole article sounds like some destitute woman trying to either not get in trouble for some crime she did , or just get attention and money.
Interesting story. I kept asking myself where the dirty money was coming from..... It appears Ms. Upton has learned well from her father, however. Seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this case.
Giving the new commenting system a test. Hey @Keith Plocek I have your Facebook walls! And your @keithplocek twitters!
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