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Hundreds Attend ORCAID's Second Annual ORC Conference
at Boise
State University
 ORCAID's
2nd Annual Conference was an outstanding event. The event had hundreds of
attendees, a variety of important topics and raised a significant amount of
funds for the organization. This conference helped work towards the organization's
mission of combating Organized Retail Crime.
The first day of the conference
started off with an Introduction by ORCAID Chairman Ed Fritz, from the Boise
Police Department. A presentation on Organized Retail Crime Investigations was
given by Officer Cody Evans and Officer Terry Weir with the Boise Police
Department. The key points were that refund fraud has seen a large increase due
to the emergence of a secondary buying market for store return cards, and that
credit fraud continues to occur because of the lack of implementation of chip
and pin technology with various banks and businesses.
Steve Brown, an Organized Retail
Crime Investigator for Fred Meyer, gave a detailed look into what an
investigation looks like from initiation to conclusion. Brown discussed
partnerships with other retailers, developing confidential informants, and
making arrests with law enforcement. Christian Hardman, from the eBay North
American PROACT & Criminal Investigations Team, gave a detailed view of what
investigations look like with online sellers, and how they combat fraud.
Detective Justin Elliot, from the Ada County Sheriff's Office, and Doug Kuripla,
the Director of Assets Protection for Albertsons, gave a chilling view of
prescription medicine fraud and the connection it has to Organized Retail Crime.
Day 1 ended with Detective Brian
Holland of the Boise Police Department, who gave an eye opening look into gangs
in Idaho, their connection to other states, and how they are impacting
retailers.
Day 2 was a full day of training by Matthew Logan, from
Panopticon
Investigative Research. This comprehensive course provided tactical and
practical instruction for day-to-day investigators on how to leverage the
expansive growing content online to support an investigation. The training was
hands on, and it provided a wealth of knowledge and resources to utilize in
combatting organized retail crime.
ORCAID Board of Directors - Front Row: Anthony O'Barto;
Middle Row (left to right): Marlene Bock, Nicholas Kulack, Terry Weir, Cody
Evans, Curtis Exley, Preston Smith; Back Row (left to right): Darcy Layman,
Marlin Baker, Ben Becker, Beau Lachance, Jonathan Edwardson, Doug Kuripla,
Michael Culton, Ed Fritz
If you are in law enforcement or if you are a member of retail security in the
Northwest, we invite you to apply for a free membership to our information
sharing website at www.orcaid.org.
Follow us on Twitter
@ORCAIdaho and
LinkedIn
for future updates.
Many thanks to Jonathan
Edwardson and Ed Fritz for submitting this recap to the D&D
Daily! |
Update:
"ORC" crew targeted ATMs
& Apple stores in three states
'Mother lode' was a $172K haul from a Maine
location
Four city men were accused Monday of
a brazen and sophisticated series of break-ins at an Apple computer store
and at ATMs that prosecutors say spanned three states over eight months,
netting hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scheme started unraveling when
police began tracking their cell phones and the stolen computers they
registered online.
Efrain Montero, 40, of 109 River Pointe Way, and
David Barker, 39, of 21 Jordan St., both in Lawrence, were arrested in raids
at their homes early Monday, where prosecutor Philip Mallard said state and
city police seized $82,400 in $20- and $50-bills, a 9 mm Ruger handgun and
the burglary tools, gloves and masks they allegedly used during the
break-ins. Six cars also were seized, including what Mallard described as "a
luxury BMW."
An early clue in the investigation came on Christmas morning, when Montero
gave two of his children computers allegedly stolen from the Apple store in
Mansfield, Mallard noted as he recited highlights of a 60-page criminal
complaint in Lawrence District Court.
The kids registered the gifts online with Apple, providing police with a
digital trail of the loot, Mallard, an assistant
Essex County district attorney, said in court.
Arrest
warrants were issued for two other men, Ricardo Tejeda, 35, of 123 Lowell
St., and Jonathan Santos, 34, of 20 Sherman St., both in Lawrence. The two
are accused of conspiracy and larceny.
Mallard described an
"organized retail crime" operation he said was skilled, organized,
disciplined, nuanced, sophisticated and professional. He said the "breaking
and entering crew" scouted their locations, disabled cameras as far as 100
yards away and - with one critical exception -- put their cell phones in
airplane mode as they approached the Apple store and the ATMs. He said the
crew broke through walls adjoining the Apple store and ATMs, disabled the
alarms and retreated to see if police would respond.
Police
proved as adept, tracing the stolen equipment online and tracking their cell
phones, including a lone ping that one of the phones transmitted inside one
of the ATMs, Mallard said. He said police were able to connect the men to
several stolen cars allegedly used and abandoned in the burglaries, and also
traced some of their burglary tools to a Home Depot store, where they
obtained a video recording of the purchase on March 13.
The alleged
crime spree began at 9:40 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Simply Mac, the Apple store in
Mansfield, where the crew carried off cell phones, iPads and computers worth
$120,000 and used a stolen car to make their get-away back to Lawrence,
Mallard said. Mansfield police determined that the phones were turned on in
Lawrence, providing a first clue that allowed investigators to begin closing
in.
Many of the successful break-ins netted tens of thousands of
dollars, but Mallard said "the mother lode, so to speak" came in Berwick,
where he said they escaped with $172,000.
eagletribune.com
Mechanicsburg, PA:
Couple arrested in Bodybuilding.com warehouse burglary now charged with
receiving $100K in stolen goods
A Cumberland
County couple accused in a multi-county burglary ring are now charged with
receiving an estimated $105,000 worth of stolen property. Robby Lee Zoller
and Angela Sue Micklo were charged with receiving stolen property and
conspiracy. They are charged with committing burglaries at eight businesses
in Cumberland and Perry counties between November and March. Police say the
investigation into the burglaries led to a search warrant for a unit at
Mechanicsburg Self Storage. There they found 680 pieces of landscape
lighting worth $40,000 taken from John Deere Landscapes. Also found was
$65,000 worth of nutritional supplements stolen from Bodybuilding.com. Items
were being sold on eBay. Zoller and Micklo, who were inside the unit, were
charged on the outstanding burglary warrants issued in June.
pennlive.com
Mount Pleasant, WI: Man
hits 3 grocery stores for $750 in merchandise
Daniel Foxcraft stole items totaling $750.04 from two Pick 'n Saves and
at the Festival Foods. The first incident occurred July 21 at the Pick 'n
Save, when Foxcraft stole 10 bottles of alcohol from the store totaling
$269.40. The second incident, on July 25 at another Pick 'n Save. Foxcraft
was reportedly filmed on surveillance camera taking five bottles of alcohol,
nine bags of candy, 31 packages of BIC lighters, and a stack of notebooks
totaling $365.74. The third incident occurred July 28 at Festival Foods.
Foxcraft allegedly stole 40 bottle of nail polish, several other makeup and
hair products, and a bag of chips. Foxcraft faces three misdemeanor retail
theft charges for each incident.
journaltimes.com
 San
Antonio, TX: Man busted stealing $2,500 in merchandise
from Old Navy
Eddie Sanchez, 29, has been arrested on a theft charge for, together
with another suspect, allegedly stealing more than $2,500 worth of clothing
from an Old Navy store. An arrest warrant affidavit stated that store
employees recognized both suspects because they had targeted several other
locations in the past. The affidavit stated Sanchez and that other person
walked into one store on June 2, loaded up bags with men's clothing, then
walked out without paying for the merchandise. Store employees and loss
prevention personnel told investigators they recognized not on the suspects,
but their getaway car.
ksat.com
Palmer Twp, PA: Boscov's
LP Agent assaulted during Curtain Theft
A New
Jersey faces theft and assault charges about four months after authorities
allege he stole more than $400 worth of drapes from Boscov's Department
store in the Palmer Park Mall. The incident occurred in March. Store
security said a man took an armful of curtains, slipped away to a corner of
the store and allegedly stuffed the merchandise into a plastic bag he pulled
out of his jacket. As he bypassed the registers and headed out the door, a
security officer tried in vain to stop him. When the Boscov's employee tried
to grab the merchandise, the suspect reportedly shut the car door on his
hand and drove off with $474 worth of draperies. Authorities eventually
identified the alleged thief as Robert O'Brien.
wfmz.com
Federal Way, WA: Sink thief caught
after fleeing Home Depot
Crestwood, IL: Thief packs $300 worth
of Razors into luggage, gets busted at Walmart
Exeter, PA: Police seeking Baby Formula
thief who hit Walmart twice in a week
Ephrata, WA: Esther Sprague was
arrested for organized retail theft at Walmart and possession of a legend
drug without a prescription
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