The Bunker Blog

Jorge Severino, 53, and his son, Luis, 22, were charged with receiving stolen property over $250, pirating, possession for sale of unstamped cigarettes after police recovered over $50,000 worth of stolen merchandise that was being fenced out of Hancock Seafood Market at 260 Hancock Street and in an apartment upstairs at 262 Hancock St in Springfield, MA. Police recovered merchandise from CVS, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Ocean State Job Lot, Rite Aide, Cumberland Farms and Walgreens was recovered in the bust.

Police also discovered a large scale DVD pirating operation in the upstairs apartment, recovering over 300 pirated copies of new release DVD movies.

According to Masslive.com, CVS loss prevention worked with Springfield Police Detectives for almost a year to bust this group. More arrests are expected in the case.

I say, “Great Job” to the LP and Police involved in this case. It is my belief that this is much more common that what is reported in the news. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to get police or corporate support for investigations of this scale.

Anybody have further details on this case? Want to discuss it? Have a similar story? Please add your comments below.

Source: Masslive.com

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Okay, so they aren’t a legitimate drug company; in fact, they’re not a company at all, but a trio from South Haven, MI, were arrested after police detained a 40-year-old female for retail fraud. She led the police to her accomplices, who were waiting in their car, with their meth lab.

All three were arrested and charged with retail fraud. A 46-year-old male subject was also charged with operating a meth lab.

Now this is multi-tasking. Let’s go shoplifting, and oh, yeah! Let’s cook some meth while we’re at it. It’s a sad state of affairs when drug manufacturers have to subsidize by shoplifting

Comments always welcome

Source: WOODTV.com

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Natasha Caines, 33, of Queens, NY, was nabbed by cops in Braintree, MA, after she allegedly stole some Nautica apparel from Macy’s. She was observed by loss prevention agents trying to remove sensor tags from high end jackets. When she couldn’t get them off, she picked out the Nautica merchandise, that was not tagged, and then exited the store with it. She was observed placing the merchandise into a Mercedes. She then proceeded to walk away, but was detained by police.

Police found two watches in Caines’ purse that had apparently been shoplifted from nearby Gap. Upon searching the Mercedes, police recovered over $1,150.00 worth of merchandise, mostly clothing and jewelry, presumably stolen by Caines from area retailers, including Talbots, J. Crew, Aldo Accessories, Forever 21, and Arden B.

Of course, she was only charged with shoplifting from Macy’s, and for possession of stolen property for the watches. The stuff in the Mercedes was returned to the stores, but none of them pressed charges.

I wonder if she drives a Mercedes because she can afford it from all that shoplifting. I mean, $1,150.00 in one haul is a pretty good day. This is pure speculation, but I also wonder if she drove all the way there from NY just to shoplift, or was she just visiting and decided to go on a shoplifting spree while she was there?

Oh, I know. The economy made her do it

As always, your comments are welcome here.

Source: Wicked Local

Photo: Stock Exchng

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Justin Giordano, of Harrisonburg, VA, was arrested on December 22rd after shoplifting a large amount of merchandise from a local Barnes and Noble and then running from loss prevention. On January 5th, Giordano was additionally charged with two counts of grand larceny, one count of obtaining money by false pretenses and five counts of larceny or theft.

A female suspect, 20-year-old Brittaney Strausbaugh was charged with receiving stolen goods in connection with Giordano’s theft activities.

Police have verified at least $12,000.00 in thefts by Giordano since July 2009, but he claims the amount is much more than that. Giordano claims to have stolen close to $230,000.00 from local retailers such as Barnes And Noble, Walmart, Ross, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, and others. Police say he sold or pawned the stolen merchandise, and they are continuing the investigation.

I bet Justin’s estimate is closer to fact than what the police have verified. How about you?

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As I was doing my usual daily search of the web for all things LP related, I came across several interesting stories today. As I read and made my notes, I realized that there was a very clear theme to what I was seeing. In case you didn’t know it, Loss Prevention is a dangerous job. I am pretty sure that everybody I know in the loss prevention industry who has ever worked in a retail store has at least one “close call” story. We have all had those apprehensions that went bad; where we were either threatened or even injured by a shoplifter who decided to fight.

Most times, the shoplifter who fights is just trying to get away, and it all begins with a simple threat, showing a weapon, or maybe a push. But today in a Colorado Springs Walmart, we got reminded that some shoplifters carry firearms, and sometimes those firearms get used. Thank goodness nobody got hurt. Police are searching for the two suspects in that case.

Then in Oshawa, Ontario, at another Walmart, a shoplifter broke away from LP in the parking lot and jumped into a waiting vehicle, driven by a second suspect. The two then led police on a high speed chase that was stopped by police for safety reasons. The two suspects were both arrested a short time later in an apartment complex nearby.

In Atlanta, GA, a bold shoplifter has been blatantly stealing from a local Target. On one occasion when he was approached by loss prevention personnel, he pulled out an ASP baton and threatened LP. He then proceeded to take the merchandise and leave in a vehicle.

These are just a few examples of what shoplifters are capable of. We’ve written here many times about shoplifters who have used violence to escape and have injured store employees or loss prevention personnel. The question comes to mind whether it is a growing problem. I think it may be, but I wonder if the current economy or maybe the general impression of the state of the economy is driving people to justify stealing as a means to support themselves.

I mean, when a 62-year-old woman from West Linn, Oregon can net $215,000.00 in 2 years stealing high end merchandise and selling it on eBay, there is obviously a financial incentive to steal. When this incentive outweighs the risk, people will be more likely to take the chance.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think these incidents are the exception to the rule? Or, is this just another day in the life of the LP Professional? Comments below, please.

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