A North Miami theater manager who committed suicide on a United Airlines flight that was diverted to Denver on Wednesday night had torched a South Florida car dealership over the weekend, causing nearly $1 million in damage, police say.
Gerald Georgettis, 56, a former concert manager for Pink Floyd, was a passenger on a flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles when his body was discovered strangled by a “ligature” in the lavatory, according to the Denver medical examiner’s office.
“It is apparent this was a suicide,” Denver police spokeswoman Virginia Quiñones said.
Georgettis had a dispute with employees at North Dade Metro Ford last week about the final cost of his sport utility vehicle, said Joey Giordano, spokesman for the Miami- Dade Police Department. After buying the vehicle, he thought that the price was $10,000 more than what he had agreed upon, Giordano said.
“He told them he was going to burn the vehicle if they didn’t adjust the price,” he said.
Georgettis returned to the dealership at 9:20 a.m. Saturday, smashed his SUV into the showroom window, doused it with gasoline and lit it up, Giordano said. The fire burned several cars, including a limited- edition Ford GT worth more than $100,000, he said.
Police arrested Georgettis, who was charged with first- degree arson and criminal mischief. He posted a $1,500 bond Sunday.
United Flight 209 was diverted to Denver International Airport for an emergency landing at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday after Georgettis’ body was found.
Georgettis, an Australian, had for the past seven years managed the municipal theater for North Miami Beach.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
