Party bus found running, vandalized

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A party bus stolen Oct. 3 in Manhattan was found 12 hours later, heavily vandalized and still running with the key broken off in the ignition near 290th and Clover Rds. in Marion County.

Richard Galli, owner of 63 Party Bus, said the bus was one of three the business kept in Manhattan and five operated by the company.

The suspect removed stereo equipment, slashed seats, broke a rear window, and tore decals from the bus.

“We determined it was taken from our lot at 1:20 a.m. in Manhattan,” Galli said. “We believe it was somebody we had previous business dealings with in the past.”

Galli said he recently settled a lawsuit and wonders if the other party in the lawsuit might be involved in the theft and vandalism of the bus. He would not identify the other party and court records were not available.

The bus was parked near a bank when it was stolen.

The time of the theft was determined by reviewing the bank’s surveillance system video.

Video showed someone being dropped off near the parked bus before the theft.

A GPS system was disabled or removed before the bus was started, Galli said.

Galli said the 2006 Chevrolet Kodiak was the first his company purchased.

“We are offering a $2,500 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the person who took it,” Galli said.

Anyone with information on the theft is urged to contact Galli at (785) 422-6862 or the Pottawatomi sheriff’s office at (785) 457-3353.

“I hope we’re able to find out who did this and get some criminal justice to prevent this from happening to somebody else,” Galli said.