Pawn Shop

A 44-year-old Baltimore pawn shop owner was sentenced Tuesday to nearly four years in federal prison followed by six months of home detention for conspiring to commit money laundering in a lengthy scheme that involved more than a dozen defendants, who used pawn shops and online auction sites to sell stolen goods, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Michael Garonzik, who owned the We Buy pawn shop, bought stolen goods from "boosters," who shoplifted cosmetics, gift cards, DVDs, tools and other items from stores including Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Kohl's, according to his plea agreement.

The 16th and final defendant in a scheme to resell $20 million in stolen goods at Maryland pawn shops pleaded guilty Wednesday, prosecutors said. William Cooper Jr., 38, admitted he took part in a conspiracy to transport goods — such as non-prescription drugs, toiletries, gift cards, DVDs and tools — that had been stolen in bulk from large retailers like Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Kohl's, according to a statement from Maryland's U.S. Attorney's...

The 16th and final defendant in a scheme to resell $20 million in stolen goods at Maryland pawn shops pleaded guilty Wednesday, prosecutors said. William Cooper Jr., 38, admitted he took part in a conspiracy to transport goods — such as non-prescription drugs, toiletries, gift cards, DVDs and tools — that had been stolen in bulk from large retailers like Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Kohl's, according to a statement from Maryland's U.S. Attorney's...

The messy emotions in David Mamet's "American Buffalo" find material expression in the 1970s-era junk that fills every messy square foot of a Chicago pawn shop. Some of this clutter even hangs from the front of the stage, as if threatening to spill over into the audience at Centerstage. No thanks for the offer of junk, 'cause we already have enough at home. Thanks, though, for a boisterous production that effectively reflects the urban culture of the decade in which this early Mamet play was written.

A Baltimore man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in federal prison his role in a multimillion-dollar stolen-goods scheme that operated out of his West Patapsco Avenue pawn shop. Louis Leitch, Sr., 62, also failed to pay more than $400,000 in income taxes on $2.5 million of income, according to prosecutors. Leitch admitted in U.S. District Court that he allowed shoplifters to use his store to sell medicine, health and beauty products, DVDs and tools stolen from Target, Safeway, Kohl's, and other retailers in Maryland.

Thieves broke into an Odenton pawn shop Monday morning and stole $4,000 worth of jewelry, county police said.Western District Officer Tanya Minion went to J & J Pawn Shop in the 1600 block of Annapolis Road about 3 a.m. to investigate an alarm. She found a hole in a cinder block wall on the west side of the building. The culprits apparently used a maul to hammer a hole in the wall to get inside, police said.The burglars broke a glass case and removed several watches and gold chains, including a large gold Mickey Mouse head on a necklace.

The big sign out front reads: ''A Kinder, Gentler Pawn Shop.'' How about that, a pawn shop with a political perspective. It's George Bush's old line with its pockets turned out.In The Recession That Has No Name -- just ask Bush -- the pawn shop, Equitable Jewelry and Loan, is doing business strictly at odds with the rest of the nation.''Kinder and gentler was actually my line,'' says John T. Glorioso, the shop's owner, who has a little twinkle in his eye. ''See, I was dining at Duke Ziebert's Restaurant in Washington one night, and I said, 'You know something?

WESTMINSTER -- The Economy Pawn and Bargain Shop at one time offered good deals on more than just second-hand merchandise, police say.According to the Carroll County Narcotics Task Force, the shop at 20 W. Main St. was a good place to buy marijuana, and its owners were the ones selling the pot.Jeffrey and Susan Blizzard, who own the pawn shop and an adjacent motorcycle repair shop, were charged in January with three counts of drug possession and distribution after...

A part-owner of an Aberdeen pawn shop has been charged with obstruction of justice in connection with a 1992 gun sale between the shop and the Aberdeen Police Department.State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli declined to comment on the details yesterday of the charges against James Carter Bays, 37, of J&K Associates Inc. at 2145 Pulaski Highway, because of an impending trial.Mr. Montanarelli said, however, that they relate to the Nov. 12, 1992, sale by the Police Department of surplus weapons to the pawn shop.

A Harford County man was shot and killed yesterday evening after a struggle with an armed employee at a Fallston gun and pawn shop. The identity of the victim, believed to be a man in his 60s, was withheld by state police last night pending notification of family members. The employee's name also was not released. Lt. Bud Frank, a state police spokesman, said that the victim entered Fallston Gun and Pawn Shop in the 2800 block of Belair Road about 5:15 p.m. and that moments later there was a scuffle between the victim and a clerk who was armed with a handgun.

A Baltimore man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in federal prison his role in a multimillion-dollar stolen-goods scheme that operated out of his West Patapsco Avenue pawn shop. Louis Leitch, Sr., 62, also failed to pay more than $400,000 in income taxes on $2.5 million of income, according to prosecutors. Leitch admitted in U.S. District Court that he allowed shoplifters to use his store to sell medicine, health and beauty products, DVDs and tools stolen from Target, Safeway, Kohl's, and other retailers in Maryland.

A 44-year-old Baltimore pawn shop owner was sentenced Tuesday to nearly four years in federal prison followed by six months of home detention for conspiring to commit money laundering in a lengthy scheme that involved more than a dozen defendants, who used pawn shops and online auction sites to sell stolen goods, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Michael Garonzik, who owned the We Buy pawn shop, bought stolen goods from "boosters," who shoplifted cosmetics, gift cards, DVDs, tools and other items from stores including Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Kohl's, according to his plea agreement.

As a long time resident, I am against the opening of a chain Subway restaurant in Historic Ellicott City ("Subway franchise's entry riles Ellicott City," Feb. 24). Do we not have enough access to Subway restaurants in our surrounding neighborhoods? Do we really want the unique, quaint atmosphere of Main Street to be turned into just another homogenous strip mall? We already have a pawn shop, complete with ultra-tacky walking billboards, as well as numerous high density housing developments planned just around the corner, proposing to bring hundreds of new residents to the area.

The E-Z Money pawn shop shares a block of West Patapsco Avenue with a vacant storefront, a liquor store and a used furniture shop. "We buy scrap gold coins," the sign out front says. "Top $$$ paid. " The neon sign is turned off, but the lights are on inside, where the elderly owner and his son are busy cleaning empty shelves. The father is going off to federal prison in December, though he doesn't know for how long, and on Tuesday he was busy sprucing up for a new owner. He was willing to talk — only if his name didn't appear in the newspaper — but all he wants to say is that he was duped into becoming part of a conspiracy he knew nothing about.

When they started touring a decade ago, North Carolina folk band the Avett Brothers nickel-and-dimed their way through 22 cities. Traveling in a four-door pickup truck, they didn't play fancy venues; mostly just Irish pubs and sports bars. But since getting signed to music mogul Rick Rubin's label in 2008, the band has upgraded to better digs. In 2009, they opened for Dave Matthews, and earlier this year, for John Mayer. On their own headlining tour, they've been selling out 1,000-seat theaters like Boston's House of Blues and Tennessee's Rylan Auditorium.

Gut-wrenching stories of crimes at the hands of a father, a drunken driver and a pair of violent teens were among those retold and relived at a town hall meeting Tuesday night in Columbia. Most of the speakers' voices were calm as they advocated for change in the criminal justice system and for victims' rights. Residents of Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford and Howard counties were invited to talk about their experiences as victims or relatives of victims before a panel at Long Reach High School, the second of four regional meetings planned statewide.

When the burglar takes off with your favorite charm bracelet, grandmother's heirloom silver or the family's new global positioning system, the expectations of ever seeing them again are pretty slim. If they end up with a local pawn broker - as stolen items often do - the ability of Baltimore police to search an inventory of pawn shops is hampered by an outdated hand-filing system. And with police receiving 20,000 reports a month from pawn dealers, the needle-in-the-haystack cliche fits.

Anyone who has been a victim of a burglary or robbery can attest to how exceedingly difficult it is to recover one's possessions, even if the perpetrators are eventually caught. By then, more often than not, the stolen goods have long since been resold to unscrupulous black market dealers or pawn shop owners who all too willingly turn a blind eye to where that high-end stereo or piece of heirloom jewelry came from, and who keep only the sketchiest records of such transactions. Last year, Maryland passed a law requiring pawn shop owners not only to record the names, addresses and phone numbers of customers who trade valuables for quick cash but also to post detailed descriptions of each item they take in hock on a statewide computer registry.