The DeLorean Drug-Trafficking Debacle

This ad, made prior to DeLorean's arrest, was widely publicized in several magazines.

On this day in 1984, John DeLorean, founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, was found not guilty of trafficking cocaine after his lawyers successfully argued that he had been unfairly targeted and entrapped by the DEA and the FBI. He had been accused of entering into a drug smuggling scheme in order to raise money to save his failing company.

John Zachary DeLorean was born on January 6, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan. As an engineer for General Motors, he became the youngest general manager of the Pontiac division and the youngest head of Chevrolet. He oversaw the development of several popular vehicles including the Pontiac GTO muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird, the Pontiac Grand Prix, and the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega. He earned a reputation as an innovative corporate maverick and when he left GM in 1973 to start his own company, enthusiasm for the new venture was high. He received investments from the British government and from celebrities including Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1981, his factory in Dunmurry, Ireland, began producing his dream sports car, the DMC-12. The car's distinctive design included a stainless steel body and gull-wing doors. It sold for $25,000, a pretty hefty price for the early 1980s. By February 1982, half of DeLorean's inventory had remained unsold and on October 19, the factory was seized by the British Government. That same day, John DeLorean was arrested on drug-trafficking charges in Los Angeles.

Three months before his arrest, DeLorean had been approached by his former neighbor, James Timothy Hoffman. Unbeknownst to DeLorean, Hoffman was a confidential informant for the FBI who was awaiting trial for a 1981 federal cocaine trafficking charge. Hoffman had heard about DeLorean's financial difficulties and had decided to take advantage of the situation in order to get a reduced sentence in his own case. He persuaded DeLorean to participate in a cocaine smuggling and money laundering deal that would provide DeLorean with enough cash to save his company, leading to DeLorean's arrest and subsequent acquittal.

Despite his reputation as a businessman being permanently tarnished, John DeLorean did try to resurrect his company in the years before his death. To raise funds for the production of a new vehicle called the DMC2, he designed and sold watches online through a company called DeLorean Time. Anyone who purchased the stainless steel watch ($3,495) would be put on a waiting list for the chance to purchase a DMC2 when it became available. DeLorean passed away in 2005 before any watches or cars could be produced.

The DeLorean Motor Company name is now owned by a Texas-based company specializing in parts and restoration for the original DMC-12 model. Thanks to being featured in Back To The Future, the car is now a highly prized collectible. DeLorean even wrote to Bob Gale, one of the movie's producers, to thank him for immortalizing the vehicle.

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