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Thirty-three criminals ranging from age 20 to 46 with nicknames like "Scrap," "Moron" and "Yardy" were part of an organized group busted for swiping more than 60 high-end motorcycles valued at a half-a-million dollars off New York streets, police said.
Officers using wiretaps discovered "steal teams" would use stolen mini-vans with the backseats ripped out to snatch specific makes and models of motorcycles from wealthy neighborhoods -- sometimes in just 30 seconds, according to police. Other gang members would serve as retailers who would sell the bikes locally and internationally across the Caribbean, according to authorities.
On average, each motorcycle was valued at about $7,000 but was sold for $2,000 a piece, according to police, who announced the bust last July. In an embarrassing twist, one month after the arrests, seven of the bikes were stolen from an NYPD lot where they were being stored. Weeks later, two men from the Bronx were arrested for stealing the bikes, according to the NYPD.
Officers using wiretaps discovered "steal teams" would use stolen mini-vans with the backseats ripped out to snatch specific makes and models of motorcycles from wealthy neighborhoods -- sometimes in just 30 seconds, according to police. Other gang members would serve as retailers who would sell the bikes locally and internationally across the Caribbean, according to authorities.
On average, each motorcycle was valued at about $7,000 but was sold for $2,000 a piece, according to police, who announced the bust last July. In an embarrassing twist, one month after the arrests, seven of the bikes were stolen from an NYPD lot where they were being stored. Weeks later, two men from the Bronx were arrested for stealing the bikes, according to the NYPD.
At least some of them were prosecuted and did time, and it is nice to know that one of them who was caught and paid his debt to society is now working at a bike shop while on parole.
