A guy named Ferrari said Suffolk County cops stole his sports car of the same name — and he eventually got the courts to agree.
Manhattan real-estate broker James Ferrari took a winding road through the legal system to get compensated for the 2003 Ferrari Modena that was seized and auctioned off by the authorities following his 2009 DWI bust.
“I’m very happy that it’s done with,” Ferrari, 61, said outside his West Village home on Friday. “The government taking people’s property isn’t right.”
Ferrari had been pulled over in 2009 for speeding and driving drunk near his summer home in Bellport, and Suffolk County cops impounded the car that Ferrari called his “sweet” ride.
He fought to get the car back, but a county judicial officer ruled in favor of police, saying they had probable cause to keep Ferrari’s Ferrari, court papers show.
That led to a forfeiture proceeding, and Ferrari in 2012 surrendered the title as part of a settlement.
The car, which Ferrari had argued was worth $110,000, was auctioned off for an undisclosed sum by the county, court papers show.
But Ferrari sued the county in federal court.
It took him nearly three years, but a judge ruled that the county overstepped its authority — and a jury awarded him $95,000.
As for why he was driving a namesake vehicle, Ferrari sniffed on Friday: “There’s no relation . . . It was just a car.”