Ferrari Swede released from jail [The Local via Jalopnik]

"Dietrich", according to a report from the LA Times, is actually Trevor Michael Karney, now in custody on charges of drunk driving, resisting arrest and providing false information to a police officer.

Karney allegedly backed up Eriksson's claim that the then-Gizmondo employee was not driving the car, but that someone else who fled the scene after the accident was responsible for destroying the million dollar ride. Police found that Karney was actually filming Eriksson shattering the speed limit with a video camera when the Swede cleaved his Enzo in two with a sharp telephone pole.

Confused? Just read our archived Gizmondo coverage. The gross majority of it will provide helpful backstory on this extremely weird situation.

Police say man is mysterious 'Dietrich' in Ferrari crash [LA Times]

Eriksson is no stranger to prison, having served a 10 year sentence for conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency and attempted fraud, but his lawyer said he "wasn't disappointed with the outcome." No shit?

Fortunately for burned Gizmondo owners and those who suffered in the wake of the company's collapse, Eriksson is not quite off the hook yet. He still faces gun possession charges and additional court time.

Come on, legal system. Hasn't this man suffered enough? Think of the unemployed Swedish call girls he could be supporting! Michael McWhertor

Mistrial Declared in Tech Kingpin's Ferrari Crash Case [ABC News]

This article is straight-up fantastic From Wired comes the sordid tale of Stefan Eriksson, the man we know as the Ferrari-crashing hoodlum responsible for the failed Gizmondo handheld console, but his story goes so much deeper than that.

Eriksson started his criminal career as a roly-poly teenager known as Tjock-Steffe (Fat Steve). He was suspected of small but clever crimes and received his first prison term at age 19 for robbing a bank van. Released after serving a short sentence, Tjock-Steffe rapidly transformed himself into a heavily muscled young man through anabolic steroids and karate lessons.

I knew virtually nothing about the Gizmondo or its insane affiliations until I read through this. Even little things like that Fat Steve started the Gizmondo as a way to make children carry GPS trackers, escaped my noticed previously and are now fascinating.

Apparently the financial records are so muddied up that the London firm that's been hired to sort it all out has little hope of ever doing so, so this may be the best insight into the whole mess that we'll ever get. Go give it a read. It's raw entertainment.

It also features stunning graphic novel illustrations by Jae Lee. Eliza Gauger

Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up [Wired, via Aeropause]

Officially, his not guilty pleas, which he entered earlier this week, were to grand theft, embezzlement and drunken driving. That's a total of seven felony charges and two misdemeanors, that the 40-year-old is trying to avoid. And the delusions continue...Brian Crecente

Ferrari case defendant pleads not guilty [AP]

Why? Stefan, as befits a member of the Uppsala Mafia, is a flight risk. A ticket to Britain and a gun were found in his mansion upon search, which was all the prosecution needed to up the bill.

Some other juicy tidbits come out in the article, including more evidence that Dietrich was a figment of Stefan's drunken imagination: there was only blood on the driver's side airbag and Eriksson also had a split lip. And did you know Fat Stefan's first name was 'Bo'?

Bo has pleaded not guilty.

Supercar crash: $7.5m bail set

Gamasutra is reporting that the ex-Gizmondo chief's crimes include drunk driving (the cops don't believe his "Mysterious German Man Named Dietrich Was Driving" defense), embezzlement, grand theft and possession of a gun by a felon. The last three charges are all fall-out from the revelation that Erikkson had illegally imported the Ferrari he had crashed.

Eriksson's bail has been set at five million dollars and he's facing 14 years in Sing-Sing. We wonder if the federal government will get involved next: there was something fishy about those "Homeland Security" guys who showed up minutes after the crash to tamper with the evidence.

We'll continue to keep you posted about the legal situation of gaming's favorite drunk driving Swedish meatball.

Ex-Gizmondo Exec Eriksson Charged In Ferrari Crash [Gamasutra]

Stefan Eriksson, former Gizmondo honcho and idiot supreme, just forked over another car. On February 21, he totaled his priceless Ferrari Enzo in a most bizarre traffic accident filled with unanswered questions, Homeland Security officers and a German fella named Dietrich. This past Sunday, Eriksson lost his $400,000+ Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. And a 13-year-old car nut happened upon the scene, catching the entire thing on tape.

Police stopped the ex-gaming exec because an officer thought the automobile's European plates looked suspicious, reports The LA Times. It turns out that the driver, Eriksson's 33-year-old wife, didn't have a driver's license. Moreover, the car wasn't even registered in the United States. Hang on, it gets better.

"We contacted Scotland Yard and subsequently learned that the car was perhaps stolen," said a LAPD officer. Apparently, a yet-named financial institution says it owns the Mercedes. This recent even leaves Eriksson with only one of three exotic cars he brought into the United States last year. He had told authorities that they were show cars, and he wasn't going to drive them on city streets.

Wait, I just re-read this LA Times piece, and Gizmondo wasn't even mentioned. Ouch.

Full Story Here [LA Times, Thanks Kevin and Jardi]

This video summary is just loaded with schadenfreude!

The Crash of Gizmondo [GameTrailers]
Gizmondo Crash Continues to Baffle [Kotaku]