Trucking company owned by Paul McCartney's in-laws goes bankrupt

New England Motor Freight Inc., which has a facility on Long Island, shut down without warning last week, closing its terminals and laying off workers throughout the Northeast.

The company, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11 of U.S. Bankruptcy Law on Feb 11, listing tens of millions of dollars in debt. Ten affiliated companies also filed bankruptcy.

Chapter 11 is normally used to protect a company from creditors while it reorganizes its finances. However, instead of presenting a reorganization plan, New England Motor Freight said it planned to use the proceedings “to facilitate an orderly wind-down of its operations.”

“Upon the recommendation of its advisers, the company has determined that a Chapter 11 proceeding is the best mechanism to maximize the value of its assets for the benefit of its employees and various creditor constituencies,” the company said in a statement.

“We have worked hard to explore options for New England Motor Freight, but the macroeconomic factors confronting this industry are significant," said Vincent Colistra, a senior managing director with Phoenix Management Services and chief restructuring officer for the company. Phoenix Management Services is serving as the company’s financial and restructuring adviser.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney’s wife, Nancy Shevell, is the daughter of the company’s owner, Myron Shevell, and is a vice president of the company. She was among the company officers who signed the bankruptcy filing. The couple met in the Hamptons in 2008 and married in 2011.

New England Motor Freight lists 39 trucking terminals in 16 Northeast states, including eight in New York — Bethpage, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Cicero, Falconer, Newburgh and Rochester.

Ronald Katich, of upstate Kirkville, a driver for the company for 16 years, said about 40 drivers and 20 support staff who worked in the company’s terminal in Cicero were given no advance warning of the shutdown.

He said the company lost a major contract shipping John Deere products a year ago, but the sudden closing came as a shock.

“Nobody saw this coming,” he said.

He said the company promised workers only two weeks’ severance pay and insurance coverage up to April 11.

The company, founded in 1977, employed approximately 4,000 people, Katich said.

Company representatives did not return a phone call from Syracuse.com seeking comment Friday.