Deerly collided

Another day, another indictment.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's indictment Wednesday of a nearly $5 million insurance fraud involved a collision center, insurance company adjusters, a city cop, a city official, tow truck drivers.

You know, the usual.

Oh, and deer remnants.

The indictment alleges that Ronald Galati, Sr. and his American Collision and Auto Center in South Philadelphia specialized in “fictitious deer accidents,” as well as vandalism and “vehicular damages from trajectory objects because each could be categorized as a non-fault accident for which the insured would not be held liable.”

Toward this end, the indictment alleges that Galati "stored deer blood, hair and carcasses in the back of his shop. These deer remnants, along with weeds which American Collision employees were instructed to fetch from the Penrose Avenue river banks, served as props for what Galati deemed 'Hollywood Photos,' or deceptive pictures of alleged vehicular damages which were submitted as part of insurance claims."

But who collected the deer remnants? And did the back of the shop look like some outtake from HBO's True Detective?

Galati's mantra, according to the indictment, was "I live my life to cheat insurance companies - my high every day is to cheat insurance companies."

American Collision, the indictment charges, also specialized in filing fictitious claims about collisions with geese, dogs and cartons of fruit.

What type of fruit was not specified.

--Karen Heller