Published: November 19, 2009 11:07 pm      

Wilder’s Mercedes incorrectly registered

License plate belongs on a 2000 GMC, state says

The license plate on Jeffersonville Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder’s 1999 Mercedes belongs on a 2000 GMC Safari, according to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Wilder and the Mercedes have been under scrutiny during the last week after the Kentucky dealer who sold it to her filed charges, claiming that the title to the Volvo she traded in for the Mercedes wasn’t in her name and that Wilder hasn’t brought him a title for the Volvo.

She pleaded not guilty to a related theft by deception charge during a hearing in Louisville on Wednesday.

Wilder purchased the car from Carter and Anderson Motorsports along Barrett Avenue in Louisville in September.

According to a criminal summons, Wilder traded in a 1998 Volvo for the Mercedes. At the time of the purchase, she told Anderson that she didn’t have the Volvo’s title with her but would bring it the next day. Anderson let her drive off the lot, but held onto the Mercedes’ title until receiving one from her.

That was more than two months ago and Wilder still doesn’t have the title for the Mercedes. However, she does have an Indiana license plate on the gold wagon.

“In order to register a vehicle, you need to have the title,” explained Graig Lubsen, deputy communications director for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

He said the title has to be presented at the time the new vehicle is registered with the state.

Legally, he said, the bureau could only disclose what type of vehicle a license plate is supposed to be attached to. The Evening News asked the bureau to check the plate number and learned that it was not on the correct car.

Wilder declined to comment on the matter when reached Thursday.

It’s unclear where the Safari van came from or who owns it.