# Got Shoplifted yesterday.



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

2 guys came in my store yesterday and while one kept me busy at the counter, the other helped himself to 5 of my N scale model trains, totalling @$750.00.

I called the RCMP and now have to try to find the serial numbers for the missing trains. I didn't get a chance to enter those items in the computer, so I have to contact the Hobby Shop I originally got them from and see if they have the info. 

The RCMP officer is returning today to get the info as well as a better description of these guys and some "evidence" they left behind.

I also contacted the newspaper and they'll have a reporter come by sometime today.

I also have to contact my insurance company and hopefully I'll be able to get the cost back of the lost items.

I'm upset about this because my store isn't generating enough money and this was like almost 1/2 of my rent taken. 

Anyway, I'll talk to you guys later!

Trevor Ursulescu
Monster Hobbies


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Sorry*

That really bites Trevor, I hope that you are able to recover your merchindise from these two lowlifes. You may want to check out E-bay to see if they put these 5 trains up for auction. Again sorry to hear about you loss.

John
AZbuilder

*Let your Imagination Soar*


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## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

...sorry to hear about this, thieves are cowards. Sounds like they knew what they were looking for, maybe even cased your store. Well, be thankful you weren't robbed at gun point. Hopefully, they'll be caught trying to sell them.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

You should post in your front store window a picture of a torture chamber with a victim and write on it:Shoplifters will be mutilated to my full satisfaction.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Good luck on recovery and apprehension, or at the least I hope you don't have problems with your insurance co.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

These worthless scum are doing this for two reasons...Drugs and Drugs....I can not imagin for 2 seconds that train guys would need to steal for their hobby.

These jerks need the *cash fast* so check Craigs list ( if they opperate out of the great white north ) local pawn shops and ebay....maybe even other train or hobby shops within a resonable range that deal in buying & trading??

Don't wait around for the police to help...they are the best but they have higher priorities. My wife found her own stolen car one week after it is was reported...just several blocks from our place in a apartment building parking lot.

I sure hope you recover from this sad event....do you have insr for this kinda thing?

Hang in there!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)




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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

Sorry to hear this happen to ya and hope they catch the creeps and nail them to the wall!


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

That sucks.

I've seen some security camera systems for low prices recently. Digital technology is wonderful.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

If you pass this info around the local model train community, you might nab the culprits. Where else (besides the web) can they unload the goods?


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Sorry to hear of your luck.


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## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

Man, very sorry to hear about that. 
I hope you get justice, or at the least, recover your loss monitarily.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

I say Hang em! Hang em to dry! ( unless they are young and still have a chance )

I understand it when I hear victems family members and friends say things like "We forgive them"..."We can not hold in the hate"...etc etc....we have heard it all before in film etc etc etc....and yes to a point its true yadda yadda yadda...

*BUT!*

If we do not start making *HARSH* examples of what happens when you choose to do society wrong...when will it ever end or at least improve.

This slap on the wrist crap has got to stop!!  


'When life begins with needles and pins....it ends with swords and knives'


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Remember that little 'Hammer' scene in "Casino" when they caught the two guys cheating at the Blackjack table?....

Common theives are just below killers, and sex offenders as far as I'm concearned. You work your Arse of to meet your bills and responsibilities (and maybe get a few luxury goods) in this ever more expensive world, and you have these scumbags that feel free to violate your possessions the minute you take your eyes off them.
People who want to contribute nothing and just take.

I do believe there are still places in Asia where if a person is caught stealing they are dragged out into the open public and the hand with the sticky fingers in placed on a block then lopped off. 
that works for me.


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## Duck Fink (May 2, 2005)

That blows! If the guys are young and dumb enough they may end up showing up in your store thinking that you have no idea who did it.


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

"Opportunity makes the thief."
- Old English Proverb


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

That really sucks. Its hard enough to make a reasonable living these days without this type of crap too.

Huzz


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## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

I say we tattoo the word "THIEF" across their foreheads!


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

Sad you didn't have a video camera in the store catching those maggots in the act.You could put a fake camera and post in the store's window,this building is under surveillance.Put the picture of a cop showing handcuffs right next to the video surveillance camera picture in your front window and inside the store,in plain view as well.I certainly hope you have an alarm system as well,so when you leave it will at least scare the thieves off.Even if it's a cheap alarm system.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Man, that sucks Trevor! Did you ever see these guys in the shop before?

I agree...they may try it again if they think that you don't know that they did it...they might be dumb enough to try.

And thank GOD that they didn't use a gun!

Good Luck!

MMM


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## Rebel Rocker (Jan 26, 2000)

I saw a commercial last night for a big train show at a local fairground this weekend. If you have anything coming up around you like that, you might wanna check out the sellers room, though I doubt these guys would go to the trouble of paying for a seller's table.


Man, this kinda thing reall P.O.'s me!! I hope they are caught and given a REALLY long 'timeout'!! 

Wayne


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

CaptFrank said:


> I say we tattoo the word "THIEF" across their foreheads!


*AMEN Brother!* We are such a social oriented people things like that would work in a BIG way....same thing should go for DWI, drugs sale or use, wife or child abuser...etc etc!....and after a set term and if NO infractions or problems or documented...then it gets removed

It should be all about prevention *NOT* the friggin cure!

Teach and guide them young! ....before its too late.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Trevor,
Just a word of advice.
If you can, keep all small, High value items like N-Ga. locomotives in glass cases. 
The shop I worked in kept all Locomotives in cases or behind the counter where customers could not just pick them up.
We also kept Radios, R-C engines and most of our RC-car stuff in the same way.
If you have your locos under glass you can lock the cases when you're the only one on the floor, that keeps stuff from being easily stolen!

WE tried to keep all the high-dollar - small items under the control of our staff 
as much as we could.
If you're going to get ripped off, don't let them get the expensive items! It's bad enough to lose a 10.00 retail model kit losing $150.00 locomotives is 15 times worse!

Dave


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Hi guys. Finally got a total value for the engines stolen. The Confirmed ammount on 3 engines was $212.99 and the unconfirmed 2 missing trains are somewhere in the $139.00 a piece range. Hard to say because I can't find the sales recipt, I only know that the ammount taken was 5 trains.

I had to get the original sales recipt from the Hobby Shop I bought them from faxed over from Calgary to one of my friend's businesses because I don't have a Fax Machine. 

As for the trains, they were under a glass showcase, but at the time, it was unlocked. It's locked now, mind you. But I had nothing happen in over 1 year without the showcase being locked. 

These guys were from out of town, first time in the shop. 

The local newspaper sent a repoter over to cover the story. I'll probably make front page because not too many things happen in town. Hopefully these guys will read the High River Times. 

I think whoever said they were druggies was probably right. They were quite thin and undernourished looking. They were also older guys...mid 20's and late 40's. And I agree....they can't be train customers.

ThanX for all your support. I really appreciate it!


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## Roland (Feb 4, 1999)

Sorry to hear about this. You need a plan to avoid this same situation again. Learn from it. Lock up high end merchandise, record what happens in the store with a video camera, and stay alert for sheisters. 

Someone tried to scam my local hobby shop a few monthes ago out of money via a con-game over the fax machine. They contacted the police and played along with the game until they had them framed. If I can find the story, I'll post it.


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## frankenstyrene (Oct 5, 2006)

Another case for the Model Kit of Justice: One tree, one rope. Some assembly required. Keep us posted, man.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

The RCMP officer came in today and I was able to give him the updated info. I make a FORMAL statement on Sunday night after 6pm. 

The officer even took my plastic business card 9 page sleve that the perps were handling to see if the police could get any fingerprints off it to match up. Hopefully there is a face to the prints on file. - I'm going "High Tech" - C.S.I. style.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

4-5 fake cameras hanging from the ceiling might be a deterrent.


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## Roland (Feb 4, 1999)

Fax blast included Wichita business
The Wichita Eagle
September 21, 2007

John LaRoe, who runs the Engine House Hobbies shop in the Boulevard Plaza Shopping Center, said the ads started coming through his fax machine a few years ago.

'It was one of those things where they just kept blasting out faxes,' he said. 'You'd get one or two a day, seven days a week.... You would just get blown up with faxes.'

Each of the faxes, which prosecutors say were being sent to small business owners across the country, included a guarantee to match a business owner with a buyer willing to pay a wildly inflated price for the business.

A federal grand jury in Wichita this week returned a 43-count indictment against PBS Global Inc., the Melbourne, Fla., company behind those faxes. The defendants include the president and seven of his employees.

'The defendants are accused of fax blasting small businesses throughout the United States with fraudulent offers to help them sell their businesses,' U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said in a news release.

PBS Global said it was unaware of the charges until contacted by the Associated Press. The company and its president did not have immediate comment.

The indictment included one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of wire fraud via faxed transmissions, six counts of wire fraud via telephone calls, 13 counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and eight counts of money laundering.

'Frankly, I wish they'd charged them with aggravated use of a fax machine,' LaRoe said.

LaRoe, a former Wichita police reserve officer, said he at first saw the faxes as nothing more than an annoying scam. That changed last year, when a police detective showed up and asked if LaRoe would be willing to help him get to the bottom of the scam.

'They just came to me and said, 'Hey, do you want to do this?' I said, 'Sure, I'd be more than happy to.' '

By that point, prosecutors said, even U.S. Secret Service agents were receiving faxes offering to help them sell their Wichita office.

It wasn't long after LaRoe returned one of the faxes that the company made arrangements to send a sales analyst to Wichita. When he met with LaRoe one evening, the analyst had no way of knowing the other two men in the store were undercover detectives.

The analyst said the business was worth $1.5 million, the indictment says, and that PBS Global could guarantee LaRoe a price of $850,000.

'When the guy gave me the price, I said, 'All right. Give me check right now,' ' he said.

But before the deal could go further, LaRoe said, he was told he'd have to pay an $8,200 fee that would cover the cost of hiring a third party to assess the value of the business and set up meetings with interested buyers. Fully aware of the nature of the business, LaRoe did not pay the fee.

Prosecutors said 98 percent of the money PBS collected from clients came in the form of such fees. The company had a total income $18.5 million, prosecutors said, of which less than $300,000 came from completed transactions.

Named in the indictment were PBS Global president Richard Hagan, 46, of Melbourne, Fla.; chief financial officer Brian Renneisen, 32, Media, Penn.; sales director John Persaud, 45, Boca Raton, Fla.; vice president of sales Cheri Persaud, 34, Boca Raton, Fla.; and business analysts Shaun Anthony Smoker, 41, hometown unknown; Andrew Wang, 34, Mount Laurel, N.J.; Marvin Randolph Hicks, 37, Canton, Ga.; and Brandon Cook, 35, Miami, Fla.

LaRoe said he has no plans to sell the business he's owned since 1993. But that could change if someone offered him $1.5 million, or even $850,000.

'I'd sell in a minute if somebody came along with an offer like that,' he said. 'But it's got to be in cash.'


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

Sorry to read about your misfortune.Hopefully they can ca tch the lowlife,and return your property.It is lucky that things didn't get any worse such as the crooks threatening you with a gun.Good luck!


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Hopefully, the RCMP will have a mug shot book ("Rogue's gallery album") that you will be able to study; with the ages of mid-20's to late 40's, these guys will more than likely already be known to your proud Mounties from past experience, and they will then be on the lookout for them.
"Any powder that kills flea is good powder". - Charlie Chan


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

I hate scams BUT! what ever happen to buyer beware, brain stems or common sense? ...come on....gheesh!  

If I could make a huge amount of cash on some nitwits who think they can loose 40 lbs with my new funky sugar pills...so be it!  

I do hate it when they target the elderly....now thats not in good form at all! 

Still....it comes back to that *slap on the wrist* thing  

I hate games and politics!...I wish the world would grow up already.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

sorry to hear about your troubles trevor. 
take dave's advice: a glass counter, or some other means of keeping your expensive merchandise away from sticky fingers.
i cant help thinking your corner of canada must be really nice. here in detroit those trains would have been gone in the first week that they were on display.

id not use a fake camera. theives are on to them and real ones (even a cheapy webcam) are inexpensive enough to make it worthwhile to invest in the real thing.


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## normlbd (Nov 2, 2001)

Get your self a dog. We have a popular used book store in town and the owner had a German Sheppard that was always in the store with him. Customers knew and loved that dog, and he kept an eye on things. There's something about a big dog, even a friendly one, that will make people with bad intentions think twice. The local paper ran a nice story when he finally passed away. (the dog that is)


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

That really sucks Trevor. The "little guy" can not afford that kind of loss. I hope they catch the SOB's AND you can get your goods back. !!!!!!


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

My son had his Wii + a few games, Ipod Itouch, Guitar controller for RockStar video game and a gold and diamond ring my father gave him stolen. Total value, around three grand. I feel your pain. More.


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## bil4miller (Jul 30, 1999)

You may have been the victim of "Travelers" aka Gypsies. They go from town to town shoplifting. It's a common tactic to either create a "commotion" or flood the store with little kids while the adults grab any item of value in sight.


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## KINGZILLA (Aug 27, 2005)

Yeah,so sorry,some people have no convictions.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Fake cameras are easily identified as such. The best thing to do is to make good use out of an older computer with at least a 20G hard drive:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...ideo-capture-cards/gxg-4000/prodGXG4000.html#


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## farmersamm (Sep 12, 2007)

It's hard enough to make a living without people stealing your "tools". That inventory is an investment in hope of a return.

I hate thieves. They take something you work hard for, and generally fence it for pennies on the dollar. Mostly for money to buy drugs. 

Out here, they steal anything that isn't nailed down. Meth. They even steal Anhydrous Amonia out of the nurse tank to make the stuff witn. (For those of you who don't know, Anhydrous is a gaseous form of Nitrogen fertilizer)

I hate drugs, and I hate thieves. 

Sorry man. Hope you get some insurance.

Don't lose faith in all people. Most of us are honest and share your disgust.


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## farmersamm (Sep 12, 2007)

normlbd said:


> Get your self a dog. We have a popular used book store in town and the owner had a German Sheppard that was always in the store with him. Customers knew and loved that dog, and he kept an eye on things. There's something about a big dog, even a friendly one, that will make people with bad intentions think twice. The local paper ran a nice story when he finally passed away. (the dog that is)


DITTO.

Everybody in town knows mine, and they all hate him he's so mean. The ol' boys that buy hay from me love him. They know the value of an unfriendly dog. 

Ever notice that a dog will let 10 people walk by without a move. But they take an instant disliking to a few people. They have a sense of who's good, and who poses a threat.

Shoulda listened to that ol' thing of mine. When I was married, he used to sit at the foot of the bed and growl at her. SMART DOG.

Now when I meet a new gal, I bring the dog along. It saves time, and heartache.

'Course, ya know. I'm not gettin' too many dates anymore. I'm thinkin' some of those ol' gals might not like ridin' in the PU with my buddy.

But ya know what they say: "A good dog is hard to find".


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Phoned insurance today. They are saying that the thieves have to have stolen over $1000 worth of inventory for me to make a claim. The $200+ they stole is at "My Cost" apperantly.

Otherwise my premiums would be too high.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

I hate Insurance companies too!! 

Get a rope boys! Lets have sum fun!! YEEEHAH!!!!


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## pugknows (May 28, 2002)

Trevor, that sucks, I've worked and owned a comic shop since the 80s and I can't tell you how many people I've caught, the worst part was when it was someone you knew and trusted. We barley scrape a enough money to pay the rent and such then there are predator with no soul and worst of all they probably sleep better than the honest folk.
Rob


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

The news about the robbery came out in today's paper. I made P.3. I thought I would have made the front page, this being a small town and all, but instead, P.1 was a photo of the mayor sitting in an easy chair. Just goes to show you that our local paper doesn't know a good cover story when they see it.

Anyway, two of my customers read my newspaper article about the robbery and they phoned asking if they could cover my losses. That's really nice of them, but I'm not sure if I should accept or not.

On the one hand, I don't think they should pay for the crooks, and on the other hand, it would be nice to replace the stock, or possibly get some other stock that might move a little faster. Afterall, those 5 trains were in that case for 1 year.


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## Roland (Feb 4, 1999)

Trevor,

You could always accept the money as a loan to help you pay the bills for a month and improve your security. That way they are helping you stay in business without the charity.

Roland


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Trevor.....wow....your town is sounding better and better all the time!

Our first two pages are hhhmmm lets see....oh yeah....death, drugs, car crashes, child rape cases, hit and runs, car chases oh and did I say death?

......and thats not just once in a while....thats pretty much day to day...not too much diff from L.A. these days.

I'm waiting till I get my Journeyman's card then I'm outta here!.....my parents bugged out 15 years ago...and they thought it was bad then too.

I'm not saying that nothing happens in a smaller town....just less of it....its a matter of simple math.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

MadCap Romanian said:


> Anyway, two of my customers read my newspaper article about the robbery and they phoned asking if they could cover my losses.



Wow! That's very nice. Y'all must have some really good folks living there. :thumbsup:


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

If we accept the money, I'll print them in the paper as "Good Samaritians".


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## farmersamm (Sep 12, 2007)

MadCap Romanian said:


> The news about the robbery came out in today's paper. I made P.3. I thought I would have made the front page, this being a small town and all, but instead, P.1 was a photo of the mayor sitting in an easy chair. Just goes to show you that our local paper doesn't know a good cover story when they see it.
> 
> Anyway, two of my customers read my newspaper article about the robbery and they phoned asking if they could cover my losses. That's really nice of them, but I'm not sure if I should accept or not.
> 
> On the one hand, I don't think they should pay for the crooks, and on the other hand, it would be nice to replace the stock, or possibly get some other stock that might move a little faster. Afterall, those 5 trains were in that case for 1 year.


It's a good morals question. Take the money, and replace the exact stock stolen, or take the money and buy some stock that doesn't sit on the shelf and gather dust.

I guess you gotta figure what's in the minds of the good folks willing to give you the money.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Yeah, I have to see what their "Terms" are. They may want to get repaid in stock. They may want nothing in return. It's all their decision.

I'm waiting on an E-mail to see what they want to do.

I've known these guys for 4 years, so they may not want terms, just to keep me alive.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Hey MadCap, clear your PM's.


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