New York man arrested for credit card fraud; facing over 100 counts
Police said they arrested a man Wednesday after reports of a suspected credit card fraud incident at Whole Foods. Glastonbury, Connecticut, police said an investigation determined that Robert Bari, 38, of Milton, N.Y., was in possession of numerous fraudulent credit cards and gift cards. He is charged with forgery in the 1st degree, larceny is the 6th degree (3 counts), possession of controlled substance, pills not in original container, ID theft in the 3rd degree (17 counts),forgery in the 2nd degree (17 counts), criminal impersonation (17 counts), unlawful reproduction of a credit card (17 counts), illegal use of a credit card (17 counts) and credit card theft (17 counts). Bari appeared in Manchester court Thursday where he was released on a $500,000 bond. He is due back in court August 9. [For more: Fox61 News]
“Mastermind” of gun theft burglary crew arrested
A Hallandale Beach, Florida, man is being called the “mastermind” of a crew accused of breaking into Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach to steal weapons. Hallandale Beach police arrested Noel George Baker, Jr., 24, at his home, the second arrest in the case, Major Pedro Abut said Friday. Shawn Sherkins Derival, 19, of Hollywood, Florida, who the sheriff’s office said appeared on store surveillance video as he allegedly stole rifles, was recognized by a Hallandale Beach police officer and was arrested on Tuesday. The sporting goods store was burglarized July 20 and 21 by five men, the sheriff’s office said. [For more: SunSentinel]
Manhattan man admits to stealing dead trooper’s identity
A Manhattan man admitted Friday that he stole the identity of a state trooper killed in the line of duty last year and tried to go on a $5,000 spending spree on the day of the officer’s funeral. Steven J. Calderon, 32, pleaded guilty in Saratoga County Court to first-degree identity theft, a felony, the District Attorney’s Office said.
The case began last October, when Trooper Timothy Pratt was hit by a car on Ballard Road in Wilton while trying to help a tractor-trailer turn around. He died hours later. Days later, while Pratt was being buried, Calderon, who police believed was part of an identity-theft ring, entered a downstate Home Depot and opened a $5,000 line of credit using the trooper’s personal information. He made a purchase at the store and went to another Home Depot, where a clerk became suspicious after he exceeded the credit limit, according to the police account.
When Calderon was arrested in late December, then-Captain (now Major) Robert Patnaude said the clerk contacted the store’s loss-prevention department, which called Pratt’s daughter to ask if her father was making the purchases. “And she said, ‘No, I’m at my father’s funeral,'” Patnaude said. State Police used store surveillance cameras to identify the suspect’s car and license plate number, Patnaude said. Troopers also identified a shipping address from Home Depot documents. [For more: TimesUnion]
LP Worldwide: Dutch police catch Romanian gang suspected in truck cargo robberies
After over two years of investigation, the Dutch police arrested a group of Romanians suspected of stealing the cargo of at least 17 trucks while the trucks were on the move. The robberies started in early 2015. A number of arrests were made over the weekend, according to reports. The gang drove a car up behind the moving truck. Thieves then got onto the hood of the moving car, forced the truck’s cargo area open and threw the items in there into their own car. Other following cars kept traffic at a distance. The thieves mostly targeted trucks carrying expensive electronics.
According to the reports, the police traced the gang members to a luxury holiday park on the Veluwe. When searching the cottage they stayed in, the police found about half a million euros worth of iPhones, as well as a van specially equipped for this type of cargo robbery. It is not yet clear whether the suspects will be tried in the Netherlands, only five of the 17 robberies happened in the Netherlands, the rest in other parts of Europe. Romania may ask that they be extradited because of the crimes committed elsewhere in Europe. Cargo theft from moving trucks is an increasingly popular crime in the Netherlands. In the first three months of 2017 a total of 136 trucks were stolen from in this way, 46 percent more than in the same period in 2016. [For more: NL Times]
Chicago man swiping TVs tells LP he has a gun
A Chicago man pushing a cart with two flat screen TVs out of the Oak Lawn Kmart was arrested after he told loss prevention associates that he had a gun, prosecutors said. Pedro Montalvo, 29, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on an aggravated robbery charge. He was also cited for violating his probation and has another pending case for reckless driving. The alleged heist unfolded around 3:08 p.m. July 26. According to the charges, Montalvo had loaded two 40-inch, Samsung flat-screen TVs into a cart after he had cut off their security devices. He pushed the cart out of the store at 95th Street and Pulaski Road. Loss prevention associates pursued Montalvo into the parking lot where he told them he had a gun and reached for his belt, the prosecutor said. Montalvo allegedly abandoned the cart with the televisions in the parking lot and fled. Police canvassed the area and he was found a short time later. The prosecutor said it was not known if an actual gun was recovered.
The prosecutor said that Montalvo has had various misdemeanor arrests for battery and retail theft, two of which were felonies that got knocked down to misdemeanors. The assistant public defender told the judge that Montalvo is the father of four children and has applied for disability.“It’s never a good idea to tell someone you have a gun,” Judge Felice said before setting bail at $200,000. Bail on the violation of bail for reckless driving was also set at $50,000. Montalvo is due back in court August 15 in Bridgeview. [For more: Oak Lawn Patch]
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