Man arrested for stealing model trains

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys
Has anyone seen the article in The Ledger newspaper from Lakeland,
Polk County Florida? Seems a man was stealing model trains from local
hobby shops in the area. Police say he had 100,000 thousand in stolen
model trains. If you go to Theledger.com then do a search for model trains
it should pull the article up. Maybe someone could post a link? I just can,t
get there from here.[D)]
Thanks
Keith

[brianel027]

Here's the exact link to the story: http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73167171865843&Avis=LL&Dato=20040309&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=403090336&Ref=AR

There is a photo too. Here's the story, just incase it gets removed.... and shows another negative aspect of the "everything is collectible" end of the hobby. Of course whereever there's a buck to be made, there's always someone looking for a shortcut.

As punishment, they should hand this guy over to a bunch of angry train dealers... I think they could more than handle the job!!!

Published Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Suspect Arrested in Great Little Train Robbery

Lakeland police Detective Pat Guity holds a model of a piggyback flatcar that was among many model train items found by police. ERNST PETERS/The Ledger
By Amy L. Edwards
The Ledger

LAKELAND -- Police found $100,000 worth of collectible model trains in a Lakeland home and arrested the man they say stole the items from hobby shops in Lakeland, Sarasota, Ocala and Clearwater.
When police searched Timothy L. Fedele's home Feb. 27, they reported finding more than 60 boxes full of mostly model trains and some train accessories.
"This is the first time that I've seen this quantity of any type of stolen goods," said Lakeland police spokesman Jack Gillen.
Fedele, of Hunters Greene Circle, was arrested Feb. 28 on charges of dealing in stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He is accused of breaking into the Alfa Trains N Hobbies store on South Lake Parker Avenue on three occasions: Nov. 21, Jan. 13, and Feb. 12.
The burglaries were part of a rash of thefts from stores catering to collectors and hobbyists. Model trains were also taken from a Clearwater store Jan. 12 and Jan. 20, an Ocala store Jan. 29, and a Sarasota store Feb. 4, according to Lakeland police.
Lakeland police Detective Pat Guity said investigators think the trains found at Fedele's house were taken from the four stores. An inventory is still under way but the value of the items has already reached about $100,000.
Fedele has been charged only in the burglary of the Lakeland store.
Guity said this is the first stolen model train case he has investigated, and he was a bit surprised by the sheer amount of collectibles found.
"I never thought it would pan out like this," Guity said. "I never thought he had so much."
Investigators were tipped off that Fedele had a large collection of model railroad equipment that he sold at trade shows, which was unusual because he wasn't a licensed dealer and only recently became involved with model trains and trade shows. Some of the victimized store owners spotted their merchandise being sold at the shows.
During a model train show in Lake Wales on Feb. 14, Lakeland
detectives purchased several items on Fedele's table that had the Alfa Train N Hobbies' label on them, according to a police report. Detectives purchased another item from Fedele at a Feb. 21 train show in Palmetto, the police report said. That item had a black dot on the bottom of it, which the owner of Alfa Trains N Hobbies used to mark which trains came from his store.
"It should be noted that all the trains that were purchased at the train shows from the defendant's display either had the victim's label on the boxes or evidence that a sticker or label had been peeled off," the police report said.
While Fedele was being interviewed by Lakeland police, he said he purchased the trains from a man named "Terry," even though he knew they were stolen.
However, Guity said Fedele's claims of a man named "Terry" didn't pan out.
Fedele was released from the Polk County Jail on $10,000 bail Feb. 28, jail records show. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Amy L. Edwards can be reached at [e-mail] or 863-802-7550.

[IRONROOSTER]

Wow, this is the first time I've heard of model train robberies on this scale. Guess we all need to be a little careful so our homes don't become a target for thieves.
Enjoy carefully
Paul

[FJ and G]

"That item had a black dot on the bottom of it, which the
owner of Alfa Trains N Hobbies used to mark which trains came from his store."

Interesting way to identify your trains!

Talk about the high price of toy trains. Now toy train fans are breaking into hobby shops out of desperation.

Let's see, theft of your average starter set would be a misdemeanor, but go for the jazzy Acela, and that will get you locked up as a felony.

In the tabloids, the same story was seen:


Headline: Toy Train Enthusiast Turns Toy Train Addict

A new wave of crime is sweeping the country. Out-of-control toy train addicts, who need their daily new locomotive fix, robbing toy stores to feed their habit.

Conservatives call for harsher penalties; Bush Republicans want to invoke the 3 strikes your out law, meaning 3 Acelas and life imprisonment.

Kerry liberals call for treatment centers for toy train addicts and 24/7 Hotlines where you can speak with a counselor and remain anonymous.

Nader calls for investigating the high prices of the trains and some of the poor quality control.

Yes folks, it's that season and now, even toy trains are becoming politicized!


dave vergun


----------------

And folks, if you don't think that the political season is upon us, check out the latest wire story out of Boston

Flash------The Little Hero

Two boys in Boston were playing basketball when one of them was
attacked by a rabid Rottweiler. Thinking quickly, the other boy ripped
a board off a nearby fence, wedged it into the dog's collar and twisted
it, breaking the dog's neck.

A newspaper reporter from the Boston Herald witnessed the incident
and rushed over to interview the boy. The reporter began entering
data into his laptop, beginning with the headline: "Brave Young Celtics Fan
Saves Friend From Jaws Of Vicious Animal."

"But I'm not a Celtics fan, "the little hero interjected.
"Sorry,"replied the reporter. "But since we're in Boston, Mass, I just
assumed you were."

Hitting the delete key, the reporter began "John Kerry Fan rescues
Friend From Horrific Dog Attack."

"But I'm not a Kerry fan either," the boy responds.

The reporter says, "I assumed everybody in this state was either for
the Celtics or Kerry or Kennedy. "What team or person do you like? "

"I'm a Houston Rockets fan and I really like George W.Bush" the boy
says. Hitting the delete key, the reporter begins again,

"Arrogant Little Conservative *** Kills Beloved Family Pet.."

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately theft of model trains runs rampant. The theives are at every train event. Go to any train show and ask the dealers. Almost all will tell you that they have lost items to theft. This is just another sad example of some in society ignoring the JudeoChristian values and the laws on which this great country was founded. A few bad apples doesn't mean that the majority of train collectors are not good honest folks but it's just sad to hear that some in this hobby would be be so low as to steal from dealers and other collectors.

[brianel027]

I'm not a real religious man, in the sense of established churches. But I am very religious if one takes into account acting in a way that reflects as you believe. The way I see it, the ills of mankind have changed little over the eons. And all sins can easily fall under greed, lust and the quest for power.

Where ever there's a buck to be made, there's certainly someone schemeing to make the buck with less effort. - legit or not. The ocassional news headline on how this or that train just sold for a record amount of money has the same effect as blood in the water for sharks. Even the novice criminal mind, with a little effort, can go to the library and go through the Greenburg books and quicky educate himself on what is and isn't worth some money.

When I first got back into the hobby some 13-14 years ago, there were a string of robberies of train shops in upper New York state that I heard about. The thieves obviously had done some homework as they were taking top-shelf postwar/prewar Lionel items. I do recall talking to one guy who told me he heard the thieves were passing by high priced new items and knew exactly what trains were worth taking.

That's why I'm glad my trains are worthless to anyone else, yet priceless to me.

So I guess it's time for the next bunch of crooks to make their entrance... the insurance salesmen! You may be "in good hands" but those hands are also reaching for your wallet... ah yes: greed, lust and the quest for power. Or as the saying goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same.

[Anonymous]

Toy Train theives??

Here in Texas, we string 'em up on the nearest tree!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Agent 027 for posting the entire story.
Maybe someday I will figure out how to use this machine!
Thanks
Keith

[Anonymous]

the theif probably wanted to rekindle his childhood memories the CRIMINAL[}:)] way. poor trains dindn't even have a chance![B)]

[Anonymous]

Well, there have been times that I've found really good deals on trains that have made me feel like I was stealing them. I have also purchased trains before at pawn shops in "the bad part of town", so I suppose that there's always the possibility that some of them might be hot.

But seriously, I can think of a couple incidents of trains being stolen from people I know. One time my family went to B.C. with my grandma and at one point visited an old friend of my grandma's that lives there. The subject came up that I'm into trains and she mentioned that here daughter used to have a train layout when she was young. At some point, she stopped using it and a sheet was put over the layout to keep the dust off. Many years later they took the sheet off and found that everything except the track that was nailed down had been taken. A friend of my mom's had had a small tinplate clockwork train that her father bought used at an action for her when she was young. I have a train in my collection that she says is exactly the same. It's a Bub set from the 1920's. It went into storage in a shed with many of her other childhood things of hers and years later she found that many things, including the train, were gone.

It's sad that these things have to happen, but unfortnately they do. I'm very glad that they caught this guy! Toytrains.info has a section devoted to helping recover stolen trains at http://www.toytrains.info/news.asp?t=stolen .

[MA and PA JCT]

What an idiot!!!! Lesseee,what's wrong with this picture......rob the stores, THEN go to a train show where JUST MAYBE the dealer may also attend, and just to be EXTRA stupid, leave the store LABEL on the box. DUMB [censored].

Give that man THE DARWIN AWARD for stupidity.
Im glad he got caught, I've lost a few trains myself at shows.

[brianel027]

And Marty, you ought to know as well as anyone, how hard it is to be in the train shop business these days. Any small business really. But this got me to thinking of conversations I've had in the past: how many people don't understand how "retailing" works. Believe it or not, I've talked with people who think that stealing something from a small shop doesn't hurt the little guy – it hurts the manufacturer. I tell these people how DEAD wrong they are. They don't realize that the retailer has had to pay for everything he (or she) is selling. If it doesn't sell, gets broke by a customer or gets stolen – it is the small guy that gets hurt.

Likewise if the retailer has to mark down prices dramatically, then the retailer basically "eats" the product and thinks twice about ordering it again. Unless it's a situation where the distributor, wholesaler or supplier has a special buy where the retailer's cost is also reduced.

I think Marty could also tell us this doesn't happen everyday. You can't run a small business with a reliance on getting reduced wholesale prices. AND chances are, if the wholesale price is reduced, then the item isn't selling well at the normal prices. And small dealers aren't usually in the loop on these special purchase prices.

Hence the question every small shop owner hears and dreads: "Why is this item available for so much less money from XXX?"

(Of course Marty does have good prices. Good service never hurts either!!)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jerrylovestrains

the theif probably wanted to rekindle his childhood memories the CRIMINAL[}:)] way. poor trains didn't even have a chance![B)]

The man whole stole the trains is a CRIMINAL, and he belongs in prison