After news broke that former salesmen at Huling Bros. Auto Center had been charged with breaking into a customer's home and stealing about $70,000 in cash, former co-owner Steve Huling asked himself a deep question:

"How did I find myself in this situation after 60 years of doing business?"

Steve Huling said he prayed before deciding to reimburse the customer with a check for $70,000, the amount the former Huling Bros. employees are accused of stealing from the man.

The public was disgusted to learn of the allegations and charges. Making matters worse was the fact the victim is a mental patient, who arrived at the car dealership wearing stained clothing, carrying a plastic bag containing $30,000 cash, and boasting of having more cash at home.

Huling Bros. Auto Center reimbursed the customer in November for the nearly $30,000 he'd paid for a 2006 GMC Canyon pickup back in July. He lost track of the vehicle shortly after buying it.

Steve and Tom Huling recently sold the expansive Fauntleroy Way car dealership their father and uncle started in the 1940s. The new owner is George Gee Automotive, a family business of car dealerships in the Spokane area.

Huling Bros. was one of West Seattle's largest businesses. Combining the auto center with the family's large Thrifty car rental franchise, Huling Bros. employed about 450 people.

Over the decades, Huling Bros. has been a significant contributor to the West Seattle community. The Huling family is widely invested in the community and, although they've sold their car dealership, they did not want their reputation tarnished by the incident. West Seattle is still their home.

The family devotes a lot of attention to South Seattle Community College. Steve is a member of the college president's advisory council while brother Tom is on the college foundation's board of directors.

For the past 15 years, Huling Bros. has run a golf tournament to raise money for scholarships to the West Seattle-based college. The business also donated vans and other vehicles to the school.

The Hulings are involved in other efforts too. Steve is a member of the YMCA board of directors.

His wife Sharon is chairwoman of a $3.5 million building campaign for Holy Rosary Church and School. She's also on the board of directors for the theater group On The Boards and has been a docent at the Seattle Art Museum.

Tom's wife Lori volunteers at Highline Medical Center.

Steve Huling also is proud of the business awards his former company won over the years. Huling Bros. got the highest award Chrysler gives to dealers. It also received a service award in 2002 from the Better Business Bureau.

Since the Hulings made their generous offer to the victim, many friends, family, former customers, former employees and even complete strangers have sent congratulatory e-mails, letters and greeting cards.

"The community knows they (the accused men) are not a reflection of the business or family morals," one person wrote.

Another message was from a volunteer at a victims' assistance program. The person wrote that she had never seen business give money to a victim before the trial even began.

A stranger wrote that he'd never met Steve Huling but felt the need to write a congratulatory note to "an honorable man."

He received 16 phone messages one night last week. One approving writer was a police detective.

Another e-mail stated simply, "Your dad would be proud."

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.