Stolen Goods

The owners of four Baltimore bars and restaurants have been charged with selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents in a three-year sting operation that resulted in drug and interstate theft charges against 35 people, federal authorities saidyesterday.Authorities seized the businesses' liquor licenses yesterday, and federal immigration officials say that 15 of the people charged -- many of whom are Greek nationals -- could be deported if they are convicted.David R. Knowlton, head of the Baltimore division of the FBI, said the investigation began with community complaints and ended with the elimination of a neighborhood drug network.

From narrow, cluttered shops in Fells Point to boutiques lining Howard Street, Baltimore antique dealers say legislation meant to stop the sale of stolen property could force them to pack up finds like Chinese porcelain and inlaid mahogany tables and leave the city for good.Under a measure expected to come up for a City Council vote Monday, dealers would have to file police reports on all purchases and hold off on reselling them for at least 10 days.That, say longtime antiques dealers, would create a logistics nightmare, unleashing an avalanche of costly paperwork and eating up precious storage space for businesses accustomed to selling pieces almost as fast as they buy them.

County police reported break-ins at two homes along a short stretch of Davidsonville Road on consecutive days.The first incident is thought to have occurred between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday in the 3200 block, where someone kicked in the front door of a home and stole a television and a videocassette recorder, valued at a combined $600, police said.Between 5: 30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, a break-in was reported in the 3100 block, where a stereo, a television and several other items were taken, police said.

C An abandoned shed on state property in Severn became a warehouse for stolen goods for a Glen Burnie man accused of breaking into more than 20 cars and stealing computers, audio equipment and other goods, county police said yesterday.The man, Christopher Joseph Madej, 20, remained at large yesterday, when police raided his Glen Burnie apartment in the 1200 block of Wilson Road.The authorities seized some items believed to have been stolen and arrested Donna Thrift, 37, who shared the apartment with him.The largest quantity of stolen goods was found Feb. 17 in the shed on Maryland Aviation Authority property about a block from the apartment.

Police recovered more $10,000 worth of winter sports jackets, videos, computer games and tools yesterday, stolen, they say, from Carroll County stores by a shoplifting ring headed by two Westminster women.Kimberly Lynne Cook, 26, of the 4000 block of Arters Mill Road and Rhonda Marie Flynn, 25, of the first block of Liberty St. were arrested yesterday at an Eldersburg pawn shop where they were attempting to sell stolen goods, Westminster police said.The women were charged with felony theft -- a crime carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prisonand a $15,000 fine -- and with conspiracy to commit theft.

Pawnshop owners in Baltimore soon may need the permission of the City Council before setting up shop.The City Council overwhelmingly approved yesterday a bill that restricts the locations of pawnshops, long the bane of neighborhood association members who complain that the shops are crime magnets. Pawnshops now can pop up in any area that is zoned for business.But 5th District Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector said that the bill doesn't address the more important issue of helping police prevent the sale of stolen goods to second-hand dealers.

How much can you get for an ornate 19th-century porcelain white elephant statue on Baltimore's historic Antique Row?A felony conviction and up to 15 years in a plain old-fashioned jail.Six antique dealers on this quaint row of Howard Street shops have been charged with buying the elephant and other stolen goods in a recent city police crackdown that has angry merchants in an uproar, virtually rattling the ancient Chinese porcelain bowls on their shelves."They're calling us thieves. That's ridiculous.

Three Baltimore scrap metal companies have pleaded guilty to improperly buying metal, after a city crackdown on thieves who strip metal from vacant houses to sell."

City officials and local pawnbrokers apparently have reached an agreement to toughen the law that regulates Baltimore's pawnshops by increasing penalties for unscrupulous owners and halting the spread of the businesses.The proposal would overhaul Baltimore's pawn law for the first time since 1921, said Sgt. Mike Tabor, who oversees the Police Department's pawn unit and is the driving force behind the change.A hearing on the bill yesterday illustrated the broad agreement among the industry, police and city officials.

A Westminster resident's quick action with a video camera may help build a case against two people suspected of selling stolen goods from a car in an apartment complex parking lot Friday afternoon, police said.Police said the man with the camera, whom they would not identify, taped the two men selling items, then turned the tape over to police officers.After receiving a telephone tip about suspected stolen goods being sold out of a car in the parking lot of a South Center Street apartment complex, Westminster police arrested John M. Cartrette, 19, of no fixed address, and a 17-year-old boy from Littlestown, Pa.City police reported finding jewelry, several hundred dollars, three rifles, stereo speakers, cordless phones and other items in the suspects' car. Two apartment residents who said they had bought a TV and a VCR from the suspects surrendered the items to police.

Suspecting that a pawnshop outside Annapolis was helping to fence stolen goods, officers raided it this week, seizing dozens of new items that were believed to have been stolen from area businesses, Anne Arundel County police said. The county also shut down the Trading Depot, at 2020A West St., for operating without needed permits and licenses, police said. Among the items seized Wednesday were housewares and hair-growth products, power tools and purses, diet aids and art supplies. Police said many were designer and brand-name goods, including more than 200 Vera Bradley purses and Oil of Olay products.

When police look for stolen property in Baltimore - be it a GPS or a pricey diamond necklace - they start with a paper trail that leads them through reams of documents stored in plastic trays and cardboard boxes at police headquarters. It is an antiquated recordkeeping system that every month generates 20,000 paper reports of purchases made by secondhand shops and pawnbrokers. To determine whether a stolen item has been pawned, police go through each record by hand. Now the City Council is considering a proposal that would require Baltimore's 37 pawnshops and 78 secondhand dealers to file reports electronically, creating a database police could search instantly - potentially speeding the recovery of stolen goods.

When Baltimore and the five surrounding counties decided to start developing an electronic database to track stolen goods brought into pawnshops, Detective Sgt. Chuck Moore of the Westminster State Police barracks asked Carroll County to adopt a related local bill to give the county authority to regulate pawnbrokers. But because Carroll has a board of commissioners, a bill to electronically monitor the county's pawnshops and establish a holding period for purchased items will first have to gain General Assembly approval.

A 45-year-old man thought to be responsible for about 40 burglaries of homes and garages throughout North Baltimore in the past six months took a novel approach to selling his stolen goods - holding periodic yard sales outside his apartment, police said yesterday. George M. Wilson of the 4700 block of Greenspring Ave. was charged last week in two burglaries, but police say he is likely to be charged with others in Guilford, Roland Park, Charles Village, Mount Washington and several other neighborhoods.

The owners of four Baltimore bars and restaurants have been charged with selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents in a three-year sting operation that resulted in drug and interstate theft charges against 35 people, federal authorities saidyesterday.Authorities seized the businesses' liquor licenses yesterday, and federal immigration officials say that 15 of the people charged -- many of whom are Greek nationals -- could be deported if they are convicted.David R. Knowlton, head of the Baltimore division of the FBI, said the investigation began with community complaints and ended with the elimination of a neighborhood drug network.

From narrow, cluttered shops in Fells Point to boutiques lining Howard Street, Baltimore antique dealers say legislation meant to stop the sale of stolen property could force them to pack up finds like Chinese porcelain and inlaid mahogany tables and leave the city for good.Under a measure expected to come up for a City Council vote Monday, dealers would have to file police reports on all purchases and hold off on reselling them for at least 10 days.That, say longtime antiques dealers, would create a logistics nightmare, unleashing an avalanche of costly paperwork and eating up precious storage space for businesses accustomed to selling pieces almost as fast as they buy them.

C An abandoned shed on state property in Severn became a warehouse for stolen goods for a Glen Burnie man accused of breaking into more than 20 cars and stealing computers, audio equipment and other goods, county police said yesterday.The man, Christopher Joseph Madej, 20, remained at large yesterday, when police raided his Glen Burnie apartment in the 1200 block of Wilson Road.The authorities seized some items believed to have been stolen and arrested Donna Thrift, 37, who shared the apartment with him.The largest quantity of stolen goods was found Feb. 17 in the shed on Maryland Aviation Authority property about a block from the apartment.

County police reported break-ins at two homes along a short stretch of Davidsonville Road on consecutive days.The first incident is thought to have occurred between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday in the 3200 block, where someone kicked in the front door of a home and stole a television and a videocassette recorder, valued at a combined $600, police said.Between 5: 30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, a break-in was reported in the 3100 block, where a stereo, a television and several other items were taken, police said.

Police recovered more $10,000 worth of winter sports jackets, videos, computer games and tools yesterday, stolen, they say, from Carroll County stores by a shoplifting ring headed by two Westminster women.Kimberly Lynne Cook, 26, of the 4000 block of Arters Mill Road and Rhonda Marie Flynn, 25, of the first block of Liberty St. were arrested yesterday at an Eldersburg pawn shop where they were attempting to sell stolen goods, Westminster police said.The women were charged with felony theft -- a crime carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prisonand a $15,000 fine -- and with conspiracy to commit theft.

Pawnshop owners in Baltimore soon may need the permission of the City Council before setting up shop.The City Council overwhelmingly approved yesterday a bill that restricts the locations of pawnshops, long the bane of neighborhood association members who complain that the shops are crime magnets. Pawnshops now can pop up in any area that is zoned for business.But 5th District Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector said that the bill doesn't address the more important issue of helping police prevent the sale of stolen goods to second-hand dealers.