[89911]

I'm sure this is just one of thousands of similar cases:

Addicts hired as shoplifters
Purloined goods then sold on eBay
Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The Associated Press

ALTOONA -- Heroin addicts were hired to shoplift items that were resold on eBay and at a pawn shop in separate conspiracies involving four people, state prosecutors said yesterday.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said the 22-month grand jury investigation dubbed "Operation eBay" was spawned by a surge in retail thefts and industrial burglaries in the Altoona area in late 2003 and 2004.

Heroin addicts were paid as much as $800 to $2,000 each per day for sporting goods, electronics and other small appliances stolen from retail stores, Mr. Corbett said. The groups also sold industrial equipment like compressors and paint sprayers stolen from businesses and construction sites.

Altoona-area Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Kaufmann's, Dunham's Sports, Radio Shack and Sears stores were among those targeted. Dunham's Altoona store reported that $14,000 worth of baseball bats were stolen from April to June 2004, and that the company considered closing the store after its shoplifting losses reached as much as $139,000 a year, Mr. Corbett said.

"The defendants took advantage of the desperation of local drug addicts, along with the anonymous nature of Internet auctions, filling their bank accounts while addicts got sicker and stores were pushed to the brink of closing," Mr. Corbett said.

Authorities charged that one ring was headed by Michael Friedenberger, 37, and the other by Brian Patrick Wyland, 33, both of Altoona. While both men allegedly sold the stolen items online, Mr. Friedenberger also was charged with selling them out of his Altoona pawn shop, Best Buys.

Mr. Friedenberger was assisted by his wife, Lynette, 33, and mother-in-law, Pamela Cross, of Altoona, who channeled proceeds from the online auctions into several bank accounts, authorities said. The grand jury found that online auctions in the Friedenberger case totaled $220,000, Mr. Corbett said.

The women are charged with participating in a corrupt organization and various conspiracy counts.

Mr. Friedenberger and Mr. Wyland each face dozens of charges including participating in a corrupt organization, conspiracy, retail theft, and criminal solicitation.

It was not immediately clear if any of the suspects have attorneys. Mr. Friedenberger, his wife Lynette, and Mr. Wyland were jailed when they were unable to post bond after they were arraigned yesterday. The Associated Press could not locate a listed phone number for Ms. Cross.