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Staff Photo by Angela Lewis Joe Prebul heads for a waiting car after an initial appearance in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and Courthouse in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Mr. Prebul, who has operated 11 car dealerships, was charged with defrauding a New York relative of $6.8 million plus promised interest from investing the money. He was released on a $2 million promise to appear bond pending a hearing in the southern district of New York.
A former Chattanooga car dealer who pleaded guilty recently to a misdemeanor larceny charge in a U.S. District Court in New York is back in the automobile business.
Joe Prebul began Wednesday as the sales manager at Lexus of Chattanooga.
He faced up to 20 years in prison on 11 counts of wire fraud but reached a plea deal on a lesser charge by admitting to using $750 of his brother-in-law's investment funds to operate his dealerships.
Bob McKamey, president of Capital Toyota and Lexus of Chattanooga, said Mr. Prebul deserves a second chance.
"I always believe people make mistakes, and people can learn from their mistakes," Mr. McKamey said. "He is a good person -- I know he is."
Mr. Prebul said he is grateful to have a friend such as Mr. McKamey who believes in him and is willing to give him a try.
"I am honored that Bob McKamey and his son Jeff are giving me the opportunity to run his Lexus dealership, and I hope I can provide a good service to them and to the community."
Authorities seized Mr. Prebul's assets when the charges were brought against him in February, so Mr. McKamey lent Mr. Prebul, his wife and their two daughters three cars to drive.
He said he was touched by letters sent to him from Mr. Prebul's daughters thanking him for his generosity, and after spending time with the former auto dealer, Mr. McKamey decided to offer Mr. Prebul a job.
Mr. McKamey said he is unsure how his customers will react to Mr. Prebul, but he hopes they will respect his decision.
"I may lose money over it, but I feel I did the right thing," he said. "I won't turn back from it."
Mr. Prebul is not the first person to whom Mr. McKamey has offered a second chance.
One of his hires was Jake Butcher, a former Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and failed banker who served seven years of a 20-year term for fraud.
Mr. McKamey said he has given jobs to 27 people who made mistakes and served prison time. "I've had one failure," he said.
Mr. McKamey continues to stand by Mr. Prebul, like he did Mr. Butcher, when most others have turned their backs.
"I'm not embarrassed at all about it," he said. "I am blessed to be in the opportunity to offer him another chance."
First Jake Butcher and now this. Just one more reason not to buy from these guys.
I agree with Bob McKamey that everyone deserves a second chance. It is very very sad that the public is like the courts once you have done a crime you will do it again. Not always there are some that truely do try to better themselves, but society wont hire them give them another chance. I am a employer/owner here in Chattanooga and it really upsets me to see how uppy-up most of these employers are when hiring. They don't hire any felons-- but wheat do they hire-- people that just want a check and don't want to work at all--Many of the convicted felons are just wanting a second chance to do right- I have hired at least 30 and several are still with me- none of them have stolen from me . So Yes you can give people a second chance only if you want to. I guess 99% of the employers are just too proud to do such a thing- they would rather hire worthless, no- good people that don't want to work. I bet their turnover rate is high as he**-- where as mine is not!!!
Steal from a Jiffy Market or smoke a weed...go to jail for who knows how long...do this type of crime...get a "sweet" deal. Wow...only in this 'new' America we live in...!
Horray for Bob McKamey! Joe Prebul is a good man, father, and husband.
$ 750
Is that a typo, or is that the actual amount?
It's not a typo. It is the actual amount.
!!!!WOW!!!! I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START! I LOST MY JOB AFTER WORKING FOR HIM AFTER 20+ YEARS NEVER MISSED A DAY'S WORK IT ALL STARTED WITH CALFFEE MOTORS OF DALTON AND THEN IT WAS SOLD TO DAVE SALE UNDER SALE AUTO AND THEN FROM THERE TO PREBUL AUTO GROUP ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE ALL THIS WENT DOWN HE WAS IN THE DALTON DEALERSHIP TELLING ALL THE EMP. THAT ALL WAS GOOD.THEN A FEW DAY'S AFTER THAT IS WHEN WE CLOSED YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON!I AS A PERSON DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FAITH IN HIS WORD ANYMORE AS A PERSON.
Here's the way the sin-forgiveness-redemption cycle is supposed to work. Follow the order closely: 1) Sin - We all fall short sometimes, yield to temptation, or do something we're not supposed to. All of us do, some more than others. 2) Get caught or stop sinning - Sometimes this is two steps, sometimes it's one. But the point is, you're supposed to stop doing whatever it is, not persist in it. 3) Repent - Admit you did it. Be sorry. Say you're sorry. 4) Make restitution - Recompense the victim. Do the right thing. Work to correct the wrong you did. Refrain from doing further wrong, and set the balance back right, no matter the sacrifice how long it takes. 5) Be forgiven - Seek and be granted forgiveness and acceptance back into the community of people who want to do right and to be done right to. 6) Redeem yourself - Work with all your might to raise your standards higher than they ever were before you fell, to leave a legacy of righteousness and redemption.
Look at the Apostle Paul. Look at Gautama Buddha. Look at St. Augustine, and others too numerous to mention, who started on the wrong road, changed their way of living, and then found their way, and rose to a height of moral stature much greater than the depth of their original status.
What's wrong today? Our American society skips over steps 3, 4, and 6. Wrongdoers are not given a chance -- actually, they're not required -- to admit their wrongdoing, make restitution, and ultimately be redeemed. We give them cheap, cheesy "forgiveness" whether they ask for it or not. Thus, recidivism is almost automatic, whether they are TV evangelists, sports "superstars," or robber barons.
Where is the moral closure in the Prebul case? It's not just about Mr. Prebul; it's about all of us. Where is the sober, considered response of the judicial system? There's much that is good and right about free enterprise, but this is the dark side of the capitalist system, the way it co-opts our judicial standards. This is another failure of our social ethic, because we deem people who have high enterpreneurial skills to be untouchable by the rubric of right-and-wrong. Just give them another chance and they'll create some more jobs, create some more wealth for us all. Is that the ultimate value we live by?
Bob McKamey is an arrogant, sex addicted, perverted creep who doesn't give anyone second chances without requiring thier soul. Jesus Christ is the only One, pure, faultess, and precious person who can give second chances, and Bob McKamey, your not Jesus Christ. McKamey cut the workers pay at his dealerships last Christmas promising to restore their pay. Many of these workers don't have criminal records, but are fine outstanding citizens who have families, and lead productive lives. He has yet to restore thier pay, but fires good people in order to hire crooks. Bob McKamey spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on women providing them with cars, and whatever else it takes for them to look "beautiful" according to him. Yet he cuts pay of good, honest workers who haven't cost him a dime. McKamey's crooked, perverted lifestyle should be as public as Tiger Woods'. He is not an asset to this community, he is a shame. As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Way to go Jo, your in the right spot.
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