The Cedar Hill man who shot and killed the mayor’s stepson during a break-in last week is involved in an unrelated federal investigation which led to the seizure of airplanes, numerous vehicles and even an old fire truck.
Gareth Long, 34, of Cedar Hill, called police late Christmas Eve and reported he had shot an intruder at his house in the 1300 block of Stoney Creek Drive. Joshua Slaven, 31, the Cedar Hill mayor’s stepson, was pronounced dead.
In September, public records reveal U.S. Postal Inspectors seized four planes from Long, including two Chinese planes and two Eastern European planes worth about $500,000. The agents also seized vehicles, farm equipment and a 1973 pumper fire truck.
Long was questioned by police after the Christmas Eve shooting and released without being arrested.
Slaven had a long history of drug addiction. He was arrested in November after Mayor Rob Franke told police Slaven had assaulted him.
A search warrant outlining the federal investigation remains sealed.
NBC 5 has learned postal inspectors searched Long’s house in September. Postal inspectors investigate mail fraud among other crimes.
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Sources familiar with the investigation said it involves Long’s financial services business.
The Better Business Bureau of Dallas received complaints last year about a company in Cedar Hill that Long ran called Check Process, according to the BBB’s website.
"Complaints allege that Check Process makes unauthorized withdrawals from consumers' bank accounts," the bureau said.
The company claimed the withdrawals were for fees owed by people who had applied for an unsecured loan, the BBB said.
"However, consumers indicate that they did not agree to the fee and did not apply for a loan and did not receive a loan," according to the website.
The bureau said it met once with Long about the complaints in Oct., 2012, but that he failed to respond to further inquiries.
The bureau gave Check Process a grade of "F."
Long apparently came to North Texas from Las Vegas.
He was the subject of an article in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper in 2011 about a check-cashing business he said he started there with $246, which he claimed led to the creation of 320 jobs.
Long was a high school dropout from England who created 11 businesses in the United States, the Sun reported.
The story added he "flies jets and drives fast, flashy cars."
"Everyone needs a release," the newspaper quoted Long as saying. "Some people golf. I fly Russian fighter jets."
Long referred questions about the federal probe to his attorney.
His attorney, Chris Knox, declined to comment but did say the shooting and the investigation are not related.
