By Bond Mejeh
It seems the effects of these trying economic times know no bounds. People are resorting to even more illegal activities and theft is on the rise. In particular, car theft seems to be the most attractive for the desperate because of its street value.
Most car thieves used the old fashion techniques like jimmying the lock or using a crowbar. Lately, many car dealerships are dealing with car theft right under their own noses. It seems many of these thefts are inside jobs. Vast majorities of other car dealerships with less than adequate security are becoming more hip to the times and have beefed up security measures to protect against theft form the outside.
It was reported that a western Nebraska, Scottsbluff to be exact, the Legacy Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota car dealership lost dozens of new cars in early March of this year. The cars were later found at auto auctions in Utah and Arizona. The culprits? Well it wasn't the usual suspects. It was the executives working inside the car dealership - the dealership owner Allen Patch, the general manager Rick Covello and the controller Rachel Fait. They cleared out their offices and left town with 81 Ford and Toyota vehicles!
This was not your ordinary heist. These vehicles were vanishing by the truckload! It rather reminds you of the Fast and the Furious movie with Vin Diesel and his crew high jacking fast cars while driving in even faster cars on the highway at high speed. Of course, that's Hollywood and the guilty here were more low - keyed and under the radar and arranged it from behind an office desk. This was a true insider operation and a car theft story with TV or movie potential. How about that ol' Nicholas Cage auto theft film - Gone in Sixty Seconds? The total cost of the merchandise stolen was over $2 million! It's no wonder the car dealer executives disappeared all of a sudden after the heist occurred.
Though many of these cars were sold, they were eventually caught in Utah at an auto auction. When you're trusted with very expensive inventory, and desperation takes over, stories such as this become the reality. This car dealership was obviously going through some financial troubles just like most businesses in the country.
Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a car theft at a successful cash for car business in Long Island, NY. The car thief was daring and managed to steal car keys to a Mercedes on the car lot. The thief managed to sneak in and out with the key and drive off the lot with the Mercedes.
Thanks to sophisticated video surveillance placed strategically in key areas, the key theft was caught on tape! The dealership immediately had the video aired on the Channel 12 News that evening as well as the following morning. They received an anonymous phone call from an individual stating the exact same car was parked in the nearby area. Seeing himself on the Channel 12 News must've made him think twice about keeping it.
Suffice to say, the dealership was able to recover the stolen vehicle back to their lot. The owner immediately added more upgrades to the dealership's security to the point where it is more airtight than ever before. Considering the shape the economy is in, they're doing rather well in these times and the owner obviously intends to keep it that way.
It seems the effects of these trying economic times know no bounds. People are resorting to even more illegal activities and theft is on the rise. In particular, car theft seems to be the most attractive for the desperate because of its street value.
Most car thieves used the old fashion techniques like jimmying the lock or using a crowbar. Lately, many car dealerships are dealing with car theft right under their own noses. It seems many of these thefts are inside jobs. Vast majorities of other car dealerships with less than adequate security are becoming more hip to the times and have beefed up security measures to protect against theft form the outside.
It was reported that a western Nebraska, Scottsbluff to be exact, the Legacy Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota car dealership lost dozens of new cars in early March of this year. The cars were later found at auto auctions in Utah and Arizona. The culprits? Well it wasn't the usual suspects. It was the executives working inside the car dealership - the dealership owner Allen Patch, the general manager Rick Covello and the controller Rachel Fait. They cleared out their offices and left town with 81 Ford and Toyota vehicles!
This was not your ordinary heist. These vehicles were vanishing by the truckload! It rather reminds you of the Fast and the Furious movie with Vin Diesel and his crew high jacking fast cars while driving in even faster cars on the highway at high speed. Of course, that's Hollywood and the guilty here were more low - keyed and under the radar and arranged it from behind an office desk. This was a true insider operation and a car theft story with TV or movie potential. How about that ol' Nicholas Cage auto theft film - Gone in Sixty Seconds? The total cost of the merchandise stolen was over $2 million! It's no wonder the car dealer executives disappeared all of a sudden after the heist occurred.
Though many of these cars were sold, they were eventually caught in Utah at an auto auction. When you're trusted with very expensive inventory, and desperation takes over, stories such as this become the reality. This car dealership was obviously going through some financial troubles just like most businesses in the country.
Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a car theft at a successful cash for car business in Long Island, NY. The car thief was daring and managed to steal car keys to a Mercedes on the car lot. The thief managed to sneak in and out with the key and drive off the lot with the Mercedes.
Thanks to sophisticated video surveillance placed strategically in key areas, the key theft was caught on tape! The dealership immediately had the video aired on the Channel 12 News that evening as well as the following morning. They received an anonymous phone call from an individual stating the exact same car was parked in the nearby area. Seeing himself on the Channel 12 News must've made him think twice about keeping it.
Suffice to say, the dealership was able to recover the stolen vehicle back to their lot. The owner immediately added more upgrades to the dealership's security to the point where it is more airtight than ever before. Considering the shape the economy is in, they're doing rather well in these times and the owner obviously intends to keep it that way.
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