Stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles

§ 2129. Stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles. (a) Police or peace officer's report. A peace officer, when acting pursuant to his special duties, or police officer who learns of the theft of a vehicle not since recovered, or of the recovery of a vehicle whose theft or conversion he knows or has reason to believe has been reported to the commissioner, shall forthwith report the theft or recovery to the commissioner. Such report shall be in addition to any other reports required by law.

(b) Owner's or lienholder's report. An owner or a lienholder may report the theft of a vehicle, or its conversion if a crime, to the commissioner, but the commissioner may disregard the report of a conversion unless a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a person charged with the conversion. A person who has so reported the theft or conversion of a vehicle shall, forthwith after learning of its recovery, report the recovery to the commissioner.

(c) Garage operator's report. An operator of a place of business for garaging, parking or storing vehicles for the public, in which a vehicle remains unclaimed for a period of thirty days, shall, within five days after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed to the commissioner. A vehicle left by its owner whose name and address are known to the operator or his employee is not considered unclaimed. A person who fails to report a vehicle as unclaimed in accordance with this subdivision forfeits all claims and liens for its garaging, parking or storing.

(d) Commissioner's record. The commissioner shall maintain, and appropriately index appropriate public records of stolen, converted, recovered and unclaimed vehicles reported to him pursuant to this section. The commissioner may make and distribute copies of any such records so maintained to peace officers, when acting pursuant to their special duties, or police officers upon request without fee and to others for the fee, if any, the commissioner prescribes.

(e) Commissioner's action. The commissioner may suspend the registration of a vehicle whose theft or conversion is reported to him pursuant to this section; until the commissioner learns of its recovery or that the report of its theft or conversion was erroneous, he shall not issue a certificate of title for the vehicle.