Saturday, July 09, 2011

Auto Theft Ring Broken Up

  • Four men were charged with having stolen cars after police busted an alleged West Side auto-theft ring that operated around the city, according to a Chicago police statement.

    The men stole luxury vehicles and moved them to a chop shop in the 4200 block of West Cermak Road, where the cars were broken down for parts, police said. The parts were sold for cash, while the stripped-down vehicles were sold as scrap.

    Police believe the men stole five to 10 vehicles each week. Harrison Area detectives dubbed their four-month investigation "Operation Pay Back."

Maybe since Auto Theft is one of the two or three index crimes that keeps going up, the shortsightedness of disbanding the Auto Theft Section so many years ago is being reevaluated?

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53 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Article says a couple.of them live on the 300 blk of s. Loomis. Thats the housing complex across the street from the academy. Hmmmm

7/09/2011 12:12:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Auto Theft Unit was a clout heavy hiding hole Joke.

7/09/2011 12:29:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chicago courts love auto thieves, the lawyers get rich, the judges get free dinners and gifts, and the offenders get a slap on the wrist with a fine and possibly a tiny sentence that they will never fully serve!

Been like that for over forty years!

7/09/2011 12:47:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Took the Red Line to the concert tonight. Yeah, I know better now.

Saw the dogs down in the tunnel w/ the white shirts and thought "C'mon, dope? Are we getting that bad?" Then they hit on a "criminal profile" and I got it. Cool. Didn't know we were doin that.

7/09/2011 01:47:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

squad, i know there's a backlog, but please hold me down on . .

fake foot patrol
ARMS mission
GET'EM Mission
EDGE mission
Quality of life mission
Unsecured vacant mission
Seat belt mission
Zero-tolerance mission
gang suppression mission
level ii doc mission
wolfpack mission
touch and go mission (this one does actually exist, i swear)

thanks - now I gotta go in 15 minutes earlier to stand in line while we all write our bullshit event numbers on the checkoff sheet. how can we insist on so much documentation of so little policework? This is such a joke.

7/09/2011 02:25:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OT
the states attorney filed charges against the boystown attackers. the lake county states attorney filed charges agaist the kid for the fight which resulted in the death of the Mt Carmel kid.

When will Daleys nephew get charged for the fight which resulted in a death?

7/09/2011 03:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ot: Hundreds of Dave Matthews fans bused too 87th and the Dan Ryan after the concert. And you know what? Not one fight, no mother fuckin the police, all "yes sir" and " thank you sir" they were all grateful to see us. And while I still think the whole concert was a terrible idea, there fans were decent.

7/09/2011 03:22:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the NY blog "I cant say its citywide, but I know of at least 4 pcts in the same boro where movers are down significantly and the movers designated "hazardous" are almost non existent. Correctables are back in fashion. One of the commands is throwing extra seat belt OT at the summons guys to try and make some of the numbers up but its not making much of a dent. Most guys wont write anything that could lead them to getting jammed up and you cant blame them. The job is telling them to write this type of summons yet at the same time unleashing the dogs on them to try and jam them up. Fuk you ray kelly you POS" Wow sounds strangely like the atmosphere here.Finally the blue shirts have had enough and the bosses are scared shitless going to hq with low numbers.

7/09/2011 03:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ot: Hundreds of Dave Matthews fans bused too 87th and the Dan Ryan after the concert. And you know what? Not one fight, no mother fuckin the police, all "yes sir" and " thank you sir" they were all grateful to see us. And while I still think the whole concert was a terrible idea, there fans were decent.
-------------------
Where exactly was that concert held?

7/09/2011 06:17:00 AM  
Anonymous Very Curious said...

Can someone specify what make and model of luxury autos? Local or foreign steals?

(Mercedes SL, Lexis LS, Cadillac Escalade, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.)

7/09/2011 06:21:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

how can we insist on so much documentation of so little policework? This is such a joke. AMEN

the supe wants all the numbers on a daily basis now. Faxed to him for each 24 hour period by 8 am. This was if a commanders numbers don't match his, he can yell at the commander. It makes him feel tall

7/09/2011 06:31:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Ot: Hundreds of Dave Matthews fans bused too 87th and the Dan Ryan after the concert. And you know what? Not one fight, no mother fuckin the police, all "yes sir" and " thank you sir" they were all grateful to see us. And while I still think the whole concert was a terrible idea, there fans were decent.

7/09/2011 03:22:00 AM

I guess you weren't on the south shore line where the m/2s pissed on the train so much the stopped it and called the police. So I am sure that you missed the guy who Chris Browned his gf who required an ambulance.

7/09/2011 07:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Auto Theft Unit was a clout heavy hiding hole Joke.

7/09/2011 12:29:00 AM

On the contrary--everyone who didn't have any clout ended up there. Gotta say, all those old-timers LOVED what they did and could spot bad scrap metal from a block away.

When they closed the unit they lost a lot of guys who can never be replaced because they all retired.

Biggest mistake ever, disbanding that unit. You see how well it's worked, A/T consistently rises each crime accounting period.

7/09/2011 07:39:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Took the Red Line to the concert tonight. Yeah, I know better now.

Saw the dogs down in the tunnel w/ the white shirts and thought "C'mon, dope? Are we getting that bad?" Then they hit on a "criminal profile" and I got it. Cool. Didn't know we were doin that.

7/09/2011 01:47:00 AM

Could someone please translate the above for me? Not a troll.

7/09/2011 07:40:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...and the chase policy

7/09/2011 09:39:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Theo Poole is a career car thief and been pinched numerous times, even most recently paroled for Agg Dom Batt. He & his tow truck were as easy to spot and track along Lake St, after dark of course.
Did difficulty come from ASA office...getting warrants and charges approved?
BTW, Poole & The Gang will be out by Labor Day.
Thanks for the headline.

7/09/2011 09:48:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OT

What is with the traitorous WC on 1st watch in 020? Released a Latin King arrested on UUW charges with a Investigative alert regarding a murder? The shit bag was already approved by the earlier WC. WTF?!

7/09/2011 09:51:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice job Area 4 Mission Team and to the 10, 11, 12 District Officers who worked on it. Once in awhile the auto thieves are kept in check but a city as big as Chicago should have some type of auto theft unit.

7/09/2011 10:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Charles Wilson (C.W. of Marquette 10 fame) owns property on that block on Cermak. Betcha that piece of shit is involved somehow. He got his criminal career started in the auto theft business.

7/09/2011 11:08:00 AM  
Anonymous 38 and Gone said...

12:29:00

Get your facts straight. For several years before being disbanded no one wanted to go there out of detective school and they were sent by reverse seniority. When openings occurred no one wanted to bid in. That doesn't sound like a clout unit to me.

7/09/2011 11:58:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did they get anyone from United Road Towing?

7/09/2011 12:14:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WRT" Ot: Hundreds of Dave Matthews fans bused too 87th and the Dan Ryan after the concert. And you know what? Not one fight, no mother fuckin the police, all "yes sir" and " thank you sir" they were all grateful to see us. And while I still think the whole concert was a terrible idea, there fans were decent."

===

Heh, the south side was a little disorientated last night I think.

It' was like "hey what are all these drunk white people doing on 87th and the Ryan?" -- this looks weird.

7/09/2011 12:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OT - 020/023 will be busy in August.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/foster/6342080-452/aragon-ballrooms-the-place-for-obamas-birthday-festivities.html

7/09/2011 12:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now that they broke up an "Auto Theft Ring" in Chicago. We need to break up a "Dope Ring". City hall and headquarters is full of dopes. We need to break up that "Ring".

7/09/2011 12:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

aftermath of Dave Matthews Band concert was a complete and total cluster fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Terrible idea, whose going to get blamed for this atrocity

7/09/2011 01:05:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

""thanks - now I gotta go in 15 minutes earlier to stand in line while we all write our bullshit event numbers on the checkoff sheet. how can we insist on so much documentation of so little policework? This is such a joke.

7/09/2011 02:25:00 AM"

Joke ...stay down on the last job for half an hour to pickup a nickle bag or DUI and turn it into 3 hours of OT.

7/09/2011 02:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

>>>Anonymous said...
Auto Theft Unit was a clout heavy hiding hole Joke.

7/09/2011 12:29:00 AM<<

Spoken like someone who was never there.

It is probably still possible to find photos of hi-end cars stolen from Chicago being driven around Warsaw, Moscow or Prague with their Illinois plates still on them.

The expertise of those old Auto-Dicks came from being able to follow a paper trail of titles, licenses, receipts sometimes at long distances. Area Detectives always have too much on their plates.

For the mob, the income from stolen cars was not quite as much as dope but it worth the risks.

7/09/2011 02:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A few years back some coppers from 012, working an 06 car and their Sgt., developed a case on the mutts that lived accross from the academy at Jackson-Loomis. The residents were actually stealing recruits cars. The coppers impounded one of the residents cars and had a confidential check done on it. The check found eleven different traceable stolen parts. The owner of that car's uncle had a tow truck with an altered v.i.n.
The vehicles owners wanted to talk.
The coppers notified the auto theft unit and were told that they had nothing.
They contacted the states attorney's office who told them that you could charge the guy with the car, with misdemeanor possession of stolen property. The uncle with the tow truck got traffic tickets. You ever wonder why your insurance costs in the city never go down?

P.S. Soon after the incident, the auto theft unit was disbanded???

7/09/2011 03:11:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Took the Red Line to the concert tonight. Yeah, I know better now.

Saw the dogs down in the tunnel w/ the white shirts and thought "C'mon, dope? Are we getting that bad?" Then they hit on a "criminal profile" and I got it. Cool. Didn't know we were doin that.

7/09/2011 01:47:00 AM

Could someone please translate the above for me? Not a troll.

7/09/2011 07:40:00 AM



per your request:


Took the Red Line (I boarded the cta red line, southbound)

to the concert (the Dave Matthews concert being held on the grounds of the old steel mills)

tonight. Yeah, I know better now. (you learn something new every day)

Saw the dogs (onviewed what I perceived to be multiple do-nothing blueshirts)

down in the tunnel (scattered throughout the underground station)

w/ the white shirts (apparently being supervised by multiple ranking officers)

and thought (and had a brain fart)

"C'mon, dope? (this, I do not believe that I am seeing?)

Are we getting that bad?" (I find it incredibly absurd that all this manpower is being hidden in plain sight.)

Then they hit on a "criminal profile" (I then observed actual, old school stop & frisk activity being applied to various m1 suspects)

and I got it. (and I then began to understand the presence of all concerned and their actions being observed)

Cool. (I liked it)

Didn't know we were doin that. (I was acutely unaware of this apparent shift in policing strategy)

7/09/2011 01:47:00 AM



cc: McGrumpy, et. al.

7/09/2011 05:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding the Dave Matthews concert, absolutely clueless is the Commander of the 4th District, he is overwhelmed and can't handle this simple little crowd, these concert goers are getting off of the Red Line and are walking tthru the neighborhood , having no clue as where they are, nobody is at the train stop to advise them that there are CTA Shuttle buses to take them straight to the concert site which is the Old US Steel plant at 83rd and GreenBay Rd. Erik Carter is another QUOTTA BOSS. Shame on us, is he the only thing that they could make a Commander, Shame Shame on us.

7/09/2011 05:42:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are plenty of car thieves in this city, the
Russians up in the 20th district, the Polocks in 16, and the blacks and mexicans about the city, We need a dedicated Auto Theft crew and not this BS Bait Team , movie star police crap, we need street smart coppers to go after these thieves.

7/09/2011 05:44:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To 12:29 am I was in Auto Theft and it was the anti clout unit. You were never there but don't let that stop you from commenting on it. You do what CPD officers do best: Talk about things you know nothing about. I sure am happy I dont have to work with a dickhead like you
Former 602

7/09/2011 06:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So what do the reverends of the 2 churches on the "4200 block of West Cermak Road" have to say about the chop shop on their block?

7/09/2011 06:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OT: Hot weather and beach closings due to high bacteria counts.


Isn't it amazing?

Over 90 degrees out today, hotter than the 4th and the Chicago Park District hasn't closed one single beach due to a high bacteria counts!

I guess all the seagulls that they blame it on must be constipated eh?

Must be the food at the Dave Matthew Band Caravan that stopped it...or on the other hand maybe it was the Taste of Chicago food that started it!!

Nevertheless I find it amazing don't you?

7/09/2011 06:47:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Most of you that chastised that hair-gel copper are correct. The auto unit had some of the very best Dets. in the city. Dennis H. Mike M., Ole, Pole, Jimmy S., to name just a few. The unit was runned into the ground first by Francis J. O'm. then by the Mambo King. Such a shame, the worst unit I ever worked in, the very best people I have ever worked with. PS How do u think the old time dope dealers started, that's right they stole and chopped autos!

7/09/2011 06:51:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Regarding the Dave Matthews concert, absolutely clueless is the Commander of the 4th District, he is overwhelmed and can't handle this simple little crowd, these concert goers are getting off of the Red Line and are walking tthru the neighborhood , having no clue as where they are, nobody is at the train stop to advise them that there are CTA Shuttle buses to take them straight to the concert site which is the Old US Steel plant at 83rd and GreenBay Rd. Erik Carter is another QUOTTA BOSS. Shame on us, is he the only thing that they could make a Commander, Shame Shame on us.

7/09/2011 05:42:00 PM
The red line is not in 004.

7/09/2011 07:01:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ot. Sometimes 19 district get a bad rap on the blog but I was in a minor fenderbender and the 3rd Watch po arrived on scene very fast and was overly nice. It just shows we have great officers in this department.

God bless the Chicago Police.

7/09/2011 07:16:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting indeed... In my new loft, there have been thefts galore on the near westside... From the security camera's they know what they were doing, hitting the blind spot in the camera's and rolling up with a tow truck and just towing them. Lets hope this ended it at least for now.

7/10/2011 12:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You can thank phil for disbanding the auto theft unit. For some reason he always hated that unit and always said if he were king the first thing he would do is wipe out auto theft. And he did.

Whoever mentioned CW - funny that was the same investigation that phat phil conducted and later pled the fifth on when they spun it back around on him. Interesting huh?

7/10/2011 01:37:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

" . . . getting off of the Red Line and are walking tthru the neighborhood , having no clue as where they are. . . "

7/09/2011 05:42:00 PM
The red line is not in 004.

7/09/2011 07:01:00 PM


####

The point the original poster was making is that the Redline being in 006, the concertgoers were getting off the train and walking east on 79th ST. or 87th Street.
Not knowing where they were at or how far they had to walk thru the crap to get to the Lakefront concert site because the CPD/City/Concert promoters did not have any one stationed at the L stop nor any signage to advise the concert goers about the shuttle service available.

7/10/2011 06:27:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The A/T Unit had two types. Those old timers who loved what they did and knew EVERYTHING about auto thefts/sheet metal/retags/solder points, parts,junk yards, car parts, etc.

Then you had the people who were sent there out of det school because they had no clout, who made their exits ASAP. But not before learning things that many coppers on this job never have the opportunity to.

I'll never forget when the sewer covers were disappearing at an alarming rate--some boss must have had his feet being held to the fire, because he resorted to calling the auto theft unit after months of being unable to solve the problem.

Jimmy Sesso, auto dic extraordinaire (his orneriness aside), said, there was only one scrapyard in the city that could process that type of metal.

One trip to the yard, problem solved.

Bash the unit all you want, but those guys were AWESOME. So much experience flushed down the drain because of some boss's hard-on for the unit.

Henry Machina, Denny, Mike, and all the rest, hope you are enjoying your retirements--know you all would have loved to be in on this one.

7/10/2011 07:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Huh. I saw a brand new Rolls in the yard of a tow company last week.

7/10/2011 08:01:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really hope some of you old-timers read this. I hope you are enjoying your retirement and grandchildren and golf! You were all great golfers.

I'll never forget you guys because you were unique. I've had the pleasure of running into some of your kids on this job--I hope they've told you hello from me.

The powers that be should really get ahold of some of you guys to teach the recruits.

I sure do miss those breakfasts at that place near the skyway. What was the name of it? I never ate so much bread in my life!

And you guys with your oatmeal!

I miss you all. It was a shame what they did to you/us.

I never knew who was behind the disbanding--if it was indeed Phat Phil, FUCK YOU PHAT PHIL!

And for the idiot who said the unit was a clout heavy hiding hole, FUCK YOU TOO! If there were clout people there, they worked, and they knew their stuff.

That place was a revolving door of commanders/sgts/people who didn't want to be there. Then there was the core who held it all together in spite of it all.

Bring the unit back! With all the new technology, it could be awesome!

Bring back Machina, Sesso, Burzynski, Hayes, et. al., to teach! I hope you're all happy and healthy.

And FUCK YOU again 12:29!

7/10/2011 08:28:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have info pertinent to this--who should I call?

7/10/2011 08:29:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A few years back some coppers from 012, working an 06 car and their Sgt., developed a case on the mutts that lived accross from the academy at Jackson-Loomis. The residents were actually stealing recruits cars. The coppers impounded one of the residents cars and had a confidential check done on it. The check found eleven different traceable stolen parts. The owner of that car's uncle had a tow truck with an altered v.i.n.
The vehicles owners wanted to talk.
The coppers notified the auto theft unit and were told that they had nothing.
---------
I call b.s. because the auto theft unit was disbanded in 2000, I believe, which is a lot more than a 'few years ago'.

And if you indeed did call the unit near the end of its demise, we might have told you we didn't have anyone to send, (because we didn't), but we wouldn't have told you 'you've got nothing.'

At the end, there were maybe 4-5 of us on a watch, including desk and review.

I'd love to see Ed Kane come back and restart a unit. Hell, hire some of the old-timers as consultants--they'd probably do it cheap, just to get back in the game!

You all might come across great homicide, burglary, etc. dics, but the auto guys were a different breed. Best people I ever worked with--and I agree with the other poster, the unit was not so great, due to the revolving door of bosses who were sent there as punishment, or to keep them on the down-low for a bit...I can't even count the number of boss changes we went through.

The bottom line is, I never met so many old men who were still so gung-ho. Wouldn't think twice about crawling under a car to get a con number.

Clout-heavy??? Far from it. That's really insulting.

7/10/2011 08:41:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well there you go!!

Alderman Burke must be living in some sort of fantasy world that is disconnected from reality.

He really should be evaluated if he thinks that people are after him as that would be called paranoia and it's troublesome.

See the news headline?

Violent crimes have fallen for 30 consecutive months in Chicago.

He's safe..we're safe...everyone is safe.

Pretty soon at the rate these crime stats are dropping we probably wont need for the coppers to carry guns anymore we're so safe!!

So how about that!

THERE IS NO NEED FOR EVEN A TWO MAN "SECURITY SPECIALIST" DETAIL TO PROTECT BURKE.

Crime, especially homicides, are dropping off the charts.

All Burke needs is an auto alarm.

Buy him one of those Clubs that you use to lock the steering wheel on your car because the only crimes that are up are auto thefts.

Most of the car jackings happen at night and so there should be a curfew on driving too right?

Have the aldermen and the city council get on that right away.

You buy a car -- it belongs locked up in a garage so it doesn't get stolen. People that are out gallivanting around in cars and have them stolen are just asking for it.

See..look...crime is down.

----

Cops: Violent crimes continue decline in June, auto thefts climb

Violent and property crimes in Chicago have dropped for the 30th consecutive month with overall crime dropping by more than 4 percent in June compared to last year's numbers, according to Chicago police officials.

But officials said that the thefts of vehicles in Chicago continues to climb even as recent arrests have led to the dismantling of two separate "chop shop" operations in the city.

Homicide numbers had among the most significant drop last month when the homicide rate dropped by 14.4 percent, police said. Through the end of June there were 31 fewer homicides when compared to the same time last year, officials said. More than half of the 25 police districts showed drops in homicides with most districts showing double or triple digit declines, police said in a statement.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cops-violent-crimes-continue-decline-in-june-auto-thefts-climb-20110710,0,5659654.story

====

See..

There is no crime in Chicago. It is not even within 100 miles from here. The criminals flew. They flew.

They tried to drop some of there units on the beaches and in the gold coast and we pounded them and they flew to the back. They run away. Like rats. They are like snakes traveling through the deserts.

There are no criminals here. I am not afraid and don't you be afraid either.

This message is brought to you be the Chicago Ministry of Information -- Comical Ali.

In other news 2 killed and 11 wounded overnight..

Now lets be careful of the words we use like "violent crime" because we have to be aware of the images those words conjure up.

7/10/2011 02:38:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

--clip from 02/03/2010--

Controversy erupted this week when the Daley administration awarded a $31.5 million towing contract to "clout heavy" United Road Towing, who has held onto the business for 20 years despite complaints from aldermen. In 1989, Daley gave the towing contract to Environmental Auto Removal, whose owners had ties to one of his closest friends, former State Sen. Jeremiah Joyce. In 2003, the contract was up for bid but the firm and parent company, United Road Services, still held on despite an FBI raid into the company’s records searching for ties to an interstate auto theft ring.

http://chicagoist.com/2010/02/03/controversy_raised_over_citys_towin.php

==========

Disbanded....think about it.

7/10/2011 02:50:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Originally, each of the six areas had an auto theft unit. Then circa 1975, they cut back and had only a CENTRAL ATU out of 1121 S. State.

Area 4 Auto Theft Unit was phenomenal at recovering steals with occupants. Of the 6 areas, ATU-4 consistently won the monthly Golden Cadillac Trophy.

7/10/2011 04:29:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eddie Kane, Leon Pyturski, good...better than good

7/10/2011 04:39:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Huh. I saw a brand new Rolls in the yard of a tow company last week.

7/10/2011 08:01:00 AM



it was a lemon.

7/10/2011 08:32:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, Auto theft, great Theft arrests, yeah...

7/10/2011 10:00:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wilson and Organized Crime.. Can't be.. Wait Frank and Billy Joe ran a chop shop at 4121 W. Roosevelt got arrested and had Dean Wolfson as a defense attorney... need anything else be said.

7/10/2011 10:19:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Finally, as a citizen, I knew they were stealing cars & taking them to a chop shop to break down for parts or/& get fake titles.

7/14/2011 05:23:00 PM  

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