Santa Rosa Man Sentenced To Local Prison For More Than Nine Years For Stealing More Than $350,000 From Customers Of His Classic Car Restoration Business

Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez announced today that defendant Suede Lee Barganski, 57, of Santa Rosa was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for stealing from customers of his now closed classic car repair and restoration business RadRods of Norcal, Inc. Barganski pled to six felony charges and admitted an out-on-bail enhancement. He also admitted an aggravating factor that his victims were particularly vulnerable, as many of them were elderly, some of whom are now deceased. 

For over 10 years, Barganski ran his classic car repair and restoration business in Santa Rosa, though, he had to change locations more than once during that time due to being evicted. Defendant engaged in illegal and fraudulent practices which ultimately victimized at least 22 different individuals resulting in more than $350,000 in total losses. The victims sought out Barganski because he was one of the only mechanics in the area who worked on classic cars, some dating back as far as the 1930’s. In most cases, numerous months or even years passed before the victim realized that defendant had not performed the work he had promised after already having received payment. On at least two occasions, defendant forged vehicle titles and sold the cars to unsuspecting buyers. Many of the victims reported that when word finally spread that defendant was defrauding his customers, they found their vehicles abandoned in a field south of Santa Rosa. The vehicles were in various states of disrepair with parts missing or dismantled and stuffed inside the passenger compartments.

The case was filed in 2020 and proceeded through the preliminary hearing stage before Barganski failed to appear for court in 2022. He fled to Idaho, where he allegedly committed similar offenses, then to Texas. In October 2022, defendant was arrested in Texas and brought back to California and booked into the Sonoma County Jail. He will remain incarcerated in the Sonoma County Jail to serve the custody portion of his prison sentence before being released to serve the mandatory supervision portion.            

District Attorney Carla Rodriguez stated, “Mr. Barganski took advantage of his trusting customers for more than a decade and needed to be held accountable. Once he completes his sentence, we look forward to enforcing the court's order that he pay full restitution to all Sonoma County victims.”

This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Dustin Hughson and Katy Yount.

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