TRENTON, NJ—A former Jersey City police officer was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in stealing more than half a million cigarettes from a trailer and extorting $20,000 from a drug courier who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Mario Rodriguez, 40, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an information charging him with one count of cargo theft and one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court. Read article.
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By Patrick McGovern | The Jersey Journal
More than 10 years ago, Edward Mongon was sentenced to 13 years in prison as the leader of the highly organized "Conrail Boys," theft ring that netted more than $5 million in merchandise stolen from trains passing through North Jersey. At the time, authorities thought they had ended the gang's 11-year crime spree, having convicted 24 people who they said were members of the gang. Today Mongon was back in front of a judge, this time one of three men authorities say revived the Conrail Boys cargo theft gang. Four other men and a woman were charged as part of the ring and also appeared in Central Judicial Processing court. Mongon, 40, of North Bergen, John Forcum, 37, of Parsippany, and Elie Kammo of Union City were charged with having more than $75,000 worth of stolen property in their possession, according to the criminal complaints. Bail for Mongon and Forcum was set at $100,000 cash or bond; and Kammo's bail was set at $55,000 cash or bond bail by Judge Kelly Austin. Court officials say Forcum has 20 prior arrests in New Jersey. Electronic court records show that Mongon has multiple convictions dating back to the early 1990s. Others charged today are Jersey City residents Denis Ford, 40, Amparo Diaz-Cruz, 45, Marciano Vazquez and Ramy Darwiche, 25; and Andrez Gonzalez, 56, of Cliffside Park. It could not be immediately determined when Mongon was released from prison. At the time of Mongon's sentencing, a spokesman for the state Division of Crimimal Justice called the Conrail Boys an "extensive, well-coordinated criminal cartel" that stole millions of dollars in merchandise and cash from freight trains in North Jersey. In 2004 authorities described how gang's operation from 1992 to 2003: Members of the gang would leap onto slow-moving trains and, using bolt cutters and other tools, break into the truck trailers and shipping containers that held merchandise. The goods were thrown off the train onto the side of the tracks as the train continued moving. Accomplices on the ground gathered the stolen items and moved them to a secret collection point where they were sold to local fences. Original Article KANSAS CITY, Mo. --A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison for his role in the theft of commercial trucks and their cargo over a 14-year period.
Kenneth Borders, 43, of Kansas City, received the punishment on Monday. He was also ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million in restitution to 27 victims. Borders and two other men in February were convicted of stealing trucks and trailers in Missouri, Kansas, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska since 1998. The men stole $125,000 worth of frozen ribs, nearly $60,000 in chicken wings and about 21,000 pounds of Little Sizzler sausages. Authorities say they sold the items cheaply to anyone who would buy it, sometimes out of the back of the trailer. Original Story By Amos Maki In November, a trailer full of new, pre-released LeBron James shoes made by Nike was stolen in the Memphis area. But thanks to a local task force dedicated to stopping cargo theft, the Oregon-based sports apparel giant, which operates a massive distribution center in Frayser, was able to recover nearly all of the shoes, which were valued at around $700,000. As a worldwide distribution hub, Memphis is often ground zero for cargo thieves who look to steal everything from household goods to electronics and clothing apparel like the LeBron James shoes. “If somebody wants something, it can be stolen and there is a market for it,” said Memphis Police Department Detective James “Drew” Harden, the police department’s representative on the Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force. “Think of the monetary gain if someone stole a 53-foot trailer and sold the merchandise for profit,” said Harden. “Even at pennies on the dollar, there’s still a lot of profit.” The Task Force is comprised of representatives from the FBI, Memphis Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol and is one of seven task forces the FBI has tasked nationwide with policing the activity. Next fall, Memphis will play host to a national cargo theft conference with more than 300 representatives from law enforcement agencies from across the U.S. Cargo theft is a now multibillion-dollar criminal industry, one whose impact eventually trickles down to the price consumers pay at the checkout line. “It increases the prices you and I pay at virtually any store,” said Todd McCall, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis division. Electronics, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and clothing remain popular items for thieves, but Harden and McCall said household items such as clothes detergent have increasingly been targeted. “You’re not likely to see a rash of thefts of potatoes, but if you’re talking about gaming systems or smartphones, you’re looking at a couple million dollars running down the road in these trailers,” said McCall. Harden and McCall described a murky underworld where criminal outfits and greedy employees are waiting to steal a shipment. In most cases it’s a low-risk, high-reward crime. “It’s a crime that doesn’t necessarily involve a huge amount of violence,” said McCall. “You can be in and out with a significant theft in a short amount of time.” Some thefts are inside jobs in which an employee steals cargo or tips off criminals who do the dirty work. Others are the result of criminal organizations that will track shipments from manufacturers or distribution centers for hundreds of miles, patiently waiting for the right time to pounce. Harden and McCall said it wasn’t uncommon for thieves to target truck stops, where they wait for a driver to leave his rig unattended or follow it until another opportunity becomes available, such as when a container is deposited at a drop lot. “You will see thousands of tractor-trailer rigs parked at truck stops every night and it’s a common thing for thieves to want to steal those,” said McCall. “It’s easier for them to find a trailer in a lot where they can cut the lock and get the trailer and leave,” said McCall. “Some of these individuals are very good and look for specific loads and others are more opportunistic.” After stealing the cargo, the thieves have to sell their goods and reach out to their own distribution chain, hawking their stolen merchandise on the Internet, to mom-and-pop convenience stores or to trusted friends. “To me, it is the very definition of organized crime,” said Harden. “These cargo thieves are local crews and crews that travel the country.” From Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014, the Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force made 60 arrests, up from 45 the year before. Around $3 million in property was recovered or seized, along with $400,000 in cash. Arrests can often trigger federal prosecutions because interstate commerce is involved. As the task force cracks down in the Memphis area, the thieves are adjusting. “Now they’re moving into smaller jurisdictions outside Memphis,” said Harden. “We’ve been successful and industry has stepped up its security, so it’s pushing it outside Memphis.” Original Article Interest in the growing logistics demon—colloquially known as cargo theft—has risen in recent years as more legislators support their constituents’ request to cease terming the threat as a “victimless crime.” The North American shipping and transportation industry has entered its busiest season—September through January. In 2013, theft activity concentrated in the fourth quarter with a cumulative 242 incidents; the greatest number of incidents were reported in late September, just before the beginning of the holiday shipping season. Additionally, the United States has seen a significant rise in driver theft incidents, which involve either direct theft by the driver, the driver’s voluntary collusion or complicity in the crime, or a deceptive criminal posing as a legitimate carrier resource. Typically a crime of opportunity, thefts by drivers fluctuate in volume year-to-year. However, this method reached an all-time high in 2013, with a 76% increase over 2012 and a 389% increase over 2011. This growing trend—surreptitious drivers—warrants acute awareness as the shipping industry enters its peak season. The last four months of the calendar year frequently infuse the most risk, often brought about by the supply and demand imparted on transportation operations. Limitations on available carriers regularly necessitate brokering (as well as re-brokering to the second, third, and sometimes fourth order). Additionally, high-volume requirements (both in production and shipping) strain workers throughout the supply chain to meet the demands of customers and end-users. This pressure often results in security practices being overlooked or sometimes avoided altogether. By observing the following ten fundamentals of logistics security, Supply Chain Professionals can minimize their chances of falling victim to this growing threat. Courtesy of FreightWatch Host Rich Eisen’s 48-foot DirecTV production truck stolen in Miami Lakes, recovered later11/13/2014 People steal the darnedest things, and South Florida certainly isn’t immune. But the early morning heist of a 48-foot, multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art television production truck from the parking lot of a Miami Lakes hotel left a lot of people puzzled.
DirecTV and CBS sports broadcaster Rich Eisen wondered how he would do his Thursday show before the broadcast of the Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills football game at Sun Life Stadium. The truck’s owners, a production company named NEP, wondered as well: What could anyone possibly do with a truck that size? “That’s a very good question we’d like to know the answer to,” said NEP marketing manager Meredith Knight. And Miami-Dade police were left wondering where anyone would hide a several-ton 18-wheeler that’s almost 20 yards long and has a dark blue exterior with the word “Sweetwater” printed on it. Just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, they got their answer. Police recovered the trailer in Northwest Dade and said it didn’t appear anything had been stolen or damaged, although the truck cab was still missing. Knight said the show wouldn’t have missed a beat anyway, as another production truck from an alternate location was already on its way to Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, where the Dolphins play. The Dolphins host the Bills Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 8:25 p.m.; the game will be aired on the NFL Network. Eisen, a former ESPN broadcaster who now hosts The Rich Eisen Show for DirecTV, initially reported the truck missing in a tweet just past noon Wednesday. “Breaking News. The satellite truck we had booked to do our show from Miami tomorrow has been stolen. This is not a drill,” Eisen wrote. The truck is operated by a company called Sweetwater, a division of NEP, which DirecTV contracts out for Eisen’s telecasts. It’s used specifically for Eisen’s show, not the NFL Network or the local CBS affiliate’s broadcast of the football game. Knight, the NEP representative, said directors and producers use the truck as a control room, and Eisen typically does the broadcast from a location outside the truck. The truck, which NEP calls Pacific, was supposed to spend the night in the parking lot of the TownPlace Suites Hotel at 8079 NW 154th St., also in Miami Lakes. It was taken sometime between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article3830096.html#storylink=cpy Zachary T. Sampson, Times Staff Writer Four years ago, thieves cut a hole in the roof of a military contractor’s warehouse in Hillsborough County and stole 3,000 laptops. It was the largest cargo theft in the county’s history.In 2012, thieves descended through the roof of an Eli Lilly warehouse in Connecticut and stole $80 million in prescription drugs that eventually were trucked to Florida. Four years ago, thieves cut a hole in the roof of a military contractor’s warehouse in Hillsborough County and stole 3,000 laptops. It was the largest cargo theft in the county’s history.In 2012, thieves descended through the roof of an Eli Lilly warehouse in Connecticut and stole $80 million in prescription drugs that eventually were trucked to Florida. ST. PETERSBURG — The best cargo thieves are expert planners. They are patient and precise and pull off million-dollar heists without pulling a gun. They strike nearly anywhere cargo moves — rest stops, parking lots, warehouses. Two weeks ago, bandits made off with 18 tons of Crisco from a tow lot in St. Petersburg. At first it was funny. Who needs $100,000 worth of shortening? But the FBI calls cargo theft a $30 billion a year problem, a sobering economic hit that can translate to higher retail prices. "Cargo theft is a much bigger issue in America than anyone really believes," said Marion County sheriff's Detective Erik Dice, a member of a statewide theft task force. The thieves particularly like Florida. The state accounted for nearly a quarter of the country's reported cargo thefts between March and May, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Established rings of Cuban nationals move many of the stolen goods into the Miami area, a port region with ample warehouses and distributors for storing and selling the merchandise, experts said. Keith Lewis, a vice president with the consultant CargoNet, laughed when told the truck with the missing Crisco ended up in Hialeah, less than 10 miles from Miami. "I could have predicted that's where the truck was going to wind up," he said. "Empty in Hialeah or next to some fish farm in (nearby) Medley, Fla." • • • Cargo thieves target anything they can sell quickly — paper towels, color printers, prescription drugs. They often have buyers lined up in advance. They will sit outside warehouses or distribution centers watching for patterns, learning which trucks carry what products and where they are going. When the targeted truck leaves the yard, the thieves may slap a GPS tracker on the trailer or simply follow it. Eventually, a trucker has to stop for coffee or to use the restroom at a rest area. The driver climbs down from the cab, locks up and walks away. Then the thieves move. They break open a door, hot-wire the engine and drive off. Sometimes the truck drivers are in on the deal and leave their vehicles set up for taking, said Miami-Dade police Sgt. Carlos Rosario, a member of a South Florida cargo theft task force that includes the FBI, the Florida Highway Patrol and other local agencies. In Florida, many cargo thieves are part of close-knit Cuban theft rings, experts said. "Cargo theft is an ethnic-based crime, and different crews stay within their groups," Lewis said. That means Cubans in Miami, Armenians in California, and Bosnians, Lithuanians, Russians and Czechs in the Midwest, he said. In 2011, a group of cargo thieves well-versed in trucking logistics set up a bogus company to target Florida tomato shippers and brokers. The thieves even registered the Miami company with the Motor Carrier Safety Administration, according to reports at the time. They picked up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tomatoes and then disappeared. Theirs was a new twist on cargo theft that Lewis said is increasingly common. Identity fraud is a natural companion to traditional grand theft, and more rings are trying similar fictitious pickups. Another group pilfered $2.2 million of the cold and flu medicine Mucinex and $550,000 of Similac baby formula. A week after the Crisco caper, 44,000 pounds of Miller High Life was taken from a truck stop in Orange County. Authorities later found the stolen beer in South Florida. Ed Petow, law enforcement liaison for the consultant FreightWatch International, described the organized rings currently working in Miami as relatively sophisticated. Even the Crisco theft was probably planned, Petow said. "I don't know what you do with Crisco shortening . . . but obviously somebody's got a market for it," he said. • • • Finding stolen cargo is a race against the clock. Reporting the theft is step one, but even that's not always simple. If a trucker was sleeping when a rig was stolen or the truck was parked at a lot overnight, it could take hours before police even know to look for a missing semitrailer. On some occasions, owners at trucking companies won't report the crime, fearing insurance rates will rise. Instead, they'll work directly with manufacturers and distributors to "just write the check and make the problem go away," Lewis said. Along the highway, stolen semitrailers look the same as thousands of other trucks. In some cases, thieves drive a couple of hours, unload all the merchandise into another truck or storage space, and ditch the stolen rig. On store shelves, stolen goods look the same as any other product. "You can literally hide the stuff in plain sight," Rosario said. Theft rings usually peddle stolen merchandise below wholesale value, though Rosario said the discount is hard to estimate and depends on the commodity. Food stolen in Florida will usually remain in the state. Electronics that can be traced or tracked end up in South and Central America, packaged on boats or trucks, said Willie Morales, a former detective who investigated cargo theft for the Miami-Dade Police Department In the Crisco case, Hialeah police found the stolen truck a day after the theft. The thieves had broken the passenger door and taken the driver's GPS, his food and even a spare container of engine oil, said Nermin Salihovic, owner of NS Express LLC, which hired the driver. The missing Crisco? The criminals likely sold it to food brokers or independent store owners who like the discounted price and don't ask a lot of questions. The shortening's long shelf-life makes it even more valuable. "It's being sold right now at mom-and-pop grocery stores, bodegas" around Miami, Lewis said. "You're not going to see it at Publix," Morales said. Even if authorities track down the stolen Crisco — something that experts agreed is unlikely — every bit of it may have to be recalled. "Once these food products are out of the chain, what we call the supply chain, a lot of it has to be destroyed because you really don't know where it's been or how it's been kept," Morales said. • • • Cargo thieves do slip up, even in some of the highest-profile heists. In 2012, a well-trained group descended through the roof into an Eli Lilly warehouse in Connecticut and stole about $80 million worth of drugs, which eventually were trucked to Florida. Investigators tracked down the thieves behind the record-breaking heist using a water bottle that one of the them had touched at the crime scene. Four years ago, a cadre of thieves pulled off the largest cargo theft in the history of Hillsborough County. They cut a hole in the roof of a military contractor's warehouse and stole 3,000 laptop computers, then stashed the $7.4 million cache in an abandoned warehouse in Miami. Investigators identified the thieves after finding security footage that showed their getaway car at a nearby McDonald's. The FDOT credits the formation of the Florida Commercial Vehicle & Cargo Theft Task Force in 2001 with helping cut losses over time. And from August 2013 to August of this year, the Miami-Dade Police Department recovered $5.2 million in merchandise, $138,000 in cash and other goods and about $600,000 worth of trucks and trailers, while also arresting 20 people, Rosario said. Still, with so much cargo roaming the nation's roads and sitting in warehouses, it's hard to know when and where thieves will strike — just that they will, almost every day. The crime leads to a rise in overhead costs for companies, which subsequently increases retail prices, putting the load squarely in the pockets of American consumers. "It obviously affects the economy, whether it's the lack of product on the shelves or it's a rise in insurance rates" for truckers, said Petow of FreightWatch. "It's obviously got to trickle down somewhere." Contact Zachary T. Sampson at zsampson@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8804. Follow @zacksampson. ORIGINAL ARTICLE MIAMI (WSVN) -- After a large truck filled with beer was stolen in Orlando, earlier in October, a trucker was left devastated -- until Miami Police detectives helped return it to him.
Van Thomas was trying to live the American dream. After years as a trucker, he bought his very own semi in early October and made a company of his own. However, while traveling from Texas to Pompano Beach, Thomas made a stop in Orlando that took everything he worked for away from him. Thomas was devastated to find that his tractor trailer was stolen from the truck stop. "I don't mean to cry about it, but I'm just trying to do the best I can and make a better life," said Thomas. At the time, Thomas was hauling 44,000 pounds of Miller High Life. That's about 9,700 four-packs of beer. Thomas was crushed. "I invested all my time and energy into this company and to have this happen at this stage of the game is really devastating right now." Thomas said it's a problem that drivers like him have to deal with all too often. A truck full of eggs was stolen earlier this year in Fort Myers, as well as a truck with Hershey's chocolate stolen last year in Volusia County and a truck filled with Slimfast that was swiped near Downtown Orlando. It's thousands of dollars gone from the truckers' pockets, and for Thomas, it was $2,300, plus the cost of his truck. However, when all looked grim, Thomas received a very welcoming phone call. Just as he was losing all hope, City of Miami Police detectives told him his semi had been found. "Oh, my God, that's beautiful," said Thomas. And, yes, some of that beer was still inside. "Oh, man. That's the best news I've heard, man. Thank you so much, man." Detectives are trying to figure out who stole Thomas' truck. They are also investigating whether the theft was part of a bigger ring. Original Story COVINGTON TOWNSHIP — A trucking company in Lackawanna County is missing a tractor, a trailer and about $100,00 worth of merchandise.
The owner of Naro Trucking in Covington Township thinks two people broke into the company’s yard earlier this week. He said, on Tuesday, someone stole a tractor trailer full of blue jeans. The trucking company near Gouldsboro is now out $150,000. It’s not the first time Naro Trucking has dealt with crooks, back in 2006 the company had a similar theft. “Right after that, I fenced the whole place in, ya know? Now here we are back in the same business,” said Ross Naro, the owner of Naro Trucking. The owner of the trucking company said he was surprised that the theft happened right off a main road in Lackawanna County. He said the people who did it, came off that road, broke the lock to the gate and headed in. “They took one tractor, went up to the top of the hill where we keep the rest of the trailers and went through all the trailers, probably about 15 of them,” said Naro. The owner said the people broke the seals on 15 trailers and looked for something they could make money on. He thinks, that’s why they took the shipment of blue jeans. Even though Naro Trucking has a security gate and cameras the owner said he now needs more. “We hired a security guard. He’s here from about 9 o’clock at night until 6 since the morning, 7 days a week. So there’s more of an expense,” said Naro. The owner said he doesn't have big hopes that the tractor, trailer and blue jeans will be back anytime soon, but he does want to know who is responsible. “Naturally, I’d like to see them caught. But, I don’t see that happening. “ The owner of the trucking company said he has reported the theft to Covington Township police. He is now working with his insurance company to see if it will cover the cost. Original News Story |
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