Thief caught at Coin Show in St. Petersburg, Florida

[Syngraphic]

Here is the link. This isn't the first time he has been caught, but perhaps now something will be done about it.

 

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2009/02/coin-collector.html

[bsshog40]

That's pitiful. One of thier own!

[Houston Investor]

So disgusting the petty thievery people will do and to their own fellow dealers, coin club members!

 

When away from my table at shows I keep my cases locked, junk boxes covered.

 

I do not allow anyone to remove several coins from my cases at a time. If they can't deal with without grabbing a handful of coins, they can get lost. Be wary of people wanting to take several coins at a time from your cases, or even worse take coins over to another dealer and get "another opinion." Not only is this a sign of desrespect to you, whatever it is they are likely up to no good and probably won't consumate any kind of deal anyhow. I also don't care for people who having not even looked at a coin or given me a chance to show them the piece immediately ask a price or worse say something really stupid like "where are you on your gold coins."

[jesbroken]

Congratulations to the St Pete Sheriff's office for a job well done!!! Thank goodness the bum was caught and should go to jail and be removed from the numismatic community. One of the worst things about a thief is the distrust that is sometimes misplaced on the wrong individual or individuals while the true thief goes unsuspected.

Jim

[PerryHall]

I could never enjoy a coin knowing that I stole it.

[physics-fan3.14]

Speaking of stealing, there was an article on the CONECA website this morning saying the Billy Crawford had been robbed shortly after leaving the show in Charleston recently. Keep him in mind, I know a few of us remember him back when he used to frequent these parts.

 

http://conecaonline.org/

[Old Pueblo]

I could never enjoy a coin knowing that I stole it.

 

My sentiments exactly. Definitely NOT a collector but a quick buck con man.

 

 

[rrantique]

That's pitiful. One of thier own!

 

And in the guise of a trusted individual.

[Conder101]

All right boys. . .get the rope.

 

What amazes me is that sometimes the other coin club members will know about a members thefts a not do or say anything about it.

 

Back in 1980 I took over as bourse chairman for the Kentucky State show and took on the annual show for another club as well. At the second show one of the Louisville Coin Club members was caught shoplifting at a dealers table where he had been going through a dealer double row box of dollars with over two thousand dollars worth of the dealers coins in his pocket. I evicted him from the show but there wasn't much else I could do because the dealer declined to press charges. (He was from a long way out of state and didn't want to have to keep coming back for court dates etc. And besides he got his coins back. The dealer later regretted not pressing charges because after he got home he discovered over $3k worth of half dollars missing from a box the guy had been going through the day before.)

 

When I mentioned my frustration over the matter to a couple of the long time members and officers of the Louisville club they said "Oh yes we know all about him, he's been doing that for a long time. We know about it so we just keep a close eye on him whenever he comes to the show. Oh and you hae to watch his wife too she shoplifts as well but she steals jewelry, not coins" WHAT!! You've known about him, and his wife, and you never bothered to tell me, the guy running the show, about him!!

 

I couldn't keep him out of the shows I ran after that because he'd never had charges against him, but I kept a security guard assigned to him whenever he would show up. I wanted to catch him in the act so bad so we could press charges aginst him and get him out of the way for good. But we never caught him again and after a couple more shows I guess he realized he wasn't going to get away with it anymore and stopped coming. I did make it a point to inform the person who took over th shows after me about him as well so he wouldn't get taken by surprise.

 

I guess they guy must have just felt he was entitled to take peoples stuff, you see he had been doing it all his life. He was a retired IRS agent/auditor.

[gmarguli]

What amazes me is that sometimes the other coin club members will know about a members thefts a not do or say anything about it.

 

I'm not. The cost of pointing something like that out can be extremely high.

 

If they have proof, then they should take it to the police. However, most times they are just pretty sure who it is. If they are wrong or even if they are right, but can't prove it, they are opening themselves up for some major legal liability by opening their mouth.

[thehumantorch]

What a creep, stealing from his fellow collectors. Was once the president of the coin club. Shame shame shame.

[dooly]

What amazes me is that sometimes the other coin club members will know about a members thefts a not do or say anything about it.

 

I'm not. The cost of pointing something like that out can be extremely high.

 

If they have proof, then they should take it to the police. However, most times they are just pretty sure who it is. If they are wrong or even if they are right, but can't prove it, they are opening themselves up for some major legal liability by opening their mouth.

 

How different it is in the UK the police would just bang them up If you say you are willing to go to court over the issue .. and if he tried to do them for unlawful arrest it would just get kicked out of court (If it even got that far).. they would also raid there house and find some stuff which he had no purchase evidence of and either seize it or use it to billd a case against him.

[Houston Investor]

Thats interesting about that guys wife stealing too. How sad. At least it wasn't a dealer's wife or GF.

 

If your dating a gal it helps to do a background check on her (People Finders). A friend of mine had a currency he was displaying on the wall of his den stolen by a GF who decided it was time to breakup.