Thieves rob St. Louis golf cart business, flee in stolen carts

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating after robbers used an uncommon way to flee the scene.

The thieves broke into the Lemp Brewery Business Park sometime after 2 a.m. Thursday morning. Tools, equipment, lithium batteries, and more were taken from the property.

When they left the scene, they used seven brand new Madjax golf carts, from Getaway Carts.

“10 years ago, when we called it Getaway Carts, we were thinking along the lines of people’s vacation homes,” Getaway Carts co-owner Fred Ackerman said. “Not getaway like a bank robber getaway, but apparently today, it’s kind of a double entendre.”

Ackerman and Joe Piantanida are business partners and longtime friends who built the golf cart business from scratch, making it one of the top sellers of golf carts around.

If you see a golf cart around the city, chances are it came from Ackerman and Piantanida’s business.

“(We got) a phone call from one of our customers, (who) lives around the corner, and asked about one of the golf carts in the middle of the street,” Piantanida said. “I guess one of the ones they had stolen, they had rolled it over, and one of the tires was bent at that point, and it was inoperable, and they left it.”

Both men say this is a setback for their business, but they’ll motor on. Police are continuing to investigate.

For anyone who recognizes the thieves or have seen golf carts with Getaway Carts sticker, it is urged to contact SLMPD or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).

“I just want my stuff back,” Ackerman said. “There’s tens of thousands of dollars worth of my personal stuff that was stolen on top of the golf cart, like my hand tools and stuff I’ve acquired over 20 years of working, and that stuff is not cheap.”

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