Thieves

Two travelers were taking a cross-country trip through the Mid-West. After eating lunch at a restaurant, they returned to their car to find that thieves had stolen not only their suitcases, but also the car's bucket seats. The couple continued their drive sitting on lawn chairs. Sounds like a bad joke? Don't get caught laughing. Thousands of thefts occur every year to unsuspecting and/or uninformed tourists. The American Express Travelers Cheques Company has come out with a list of practical tips for safe travel.

ERIE - State Police are looking for whoever stole $40,000 worth of sports collectible cards from a van parked at Presque Isle Downs & Casino. State gaming-enforcement officers told the Erie Times-News that the thieves smashed the window of a van owned by Joseph Hocevar, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The cards were reported stolen Sunday night. Police did not immediately say why the man had the cards with him at the time. But authorities believe that someone followed him by car to the casino and stole the cards while he was inside.

Police last night encircled Center City's Wanamaker building, which was all decked out for the holidays and tempting to would-be thieves. Two men apparently couldn't resist the temptation. Shortly after the last shoppers filed out at 9 p.m., security workers told police they thought they spotted a pair strolling across the store monitors, shopping the aisles of retail-theft heaven. But security couldn't catch anyone. Sixth District police arrived and surrounded the block-square building.

Summer vacation is a risky time for collectors who leave their stamps, covers and other philatelic material at home. But even without resorting to a safe or rental bank vault, collectors can protect their collections from thieves. Earl Sumner, former FBI agent and head of the stamp theft committee of the American Philatelic Society, expects that $2 million to $3 million in stamps will be stolen this year. "The loss of stamps at home is usually a crime of opportunity," Sumner said.

With the number of auto thefts on the increase in the area, the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania has some tips for car owners to avoid becoming victims. While it is impossible to end auto theft, the idea is to make it more difficult for the thieves, said Lee Feldinger, director of information for the Philadelphia-based insurance trade association. A brochure, "Forty-nine Tips to Trip up a Car Thief," is available by calling the association's hotline, 1-800-222-1750. Feldinger's suggestions: Always lock your car and keep the keys with you. Do not leave a spare set inside or outside the car. Thieves know all the hiding places.

Two men broke through the side wall of Browne's Jewelry Store at Walnut Street and Burlington Avenue in Delanco early yesterday morning and made off with 21 watches valued at $3,300, police said. Police arrested one suspect, who was found in a shed about a block from the store, and are seeking a second man. The thieves punched two holes in a side wall of the store to get inside. John Browne, the store's owner, said the holes were about four feet apart. The second hole, about 3 feet by 18 inches, was made because the burglars could not get through the first hole, police said.

Police are seeking a pair of thieves who stole a wallet on July 27 at the Home Depot in Plymouth Township, then used the victim's credit cards to make purchases the same day at other area stores. The cards were first used at Best Buy and Target in Plymouth Meeting, said Det. Jeffrey McGee of the Plymouth Township police. Later, purchases were made at Target on City Avenue in Philadelphia, and at Ikea, McDonald's and Chick Fil-a on South Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia.

Two years after Philadelphia officials took initial steps to thwart thieves who steal properties using fraudulent deeds, hundreds of homeowners are still being victimized. So it's good to hear that City Council members Bill Greenlee and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez are taking steps to provide better safeguards. The scam artists who forge paperwork to acquire Philadelphia deeds - effectively stealing homes out from under their unsuspecting owners - are exacting a steep price from law-abiding citizens for living in the city.

Their annual confab was dubbed the "Predators' Ball. " They made big money - but they did it by breaking just about every law in Wall Street's book. They knew they were wrong, and they didn't care. As one trader said to a cohort he had just compromised, "Welcome to the world of being a sleaze. " Welcome, now, to James B. Stewart's Den of Thieves, a fascinating tell-all about one of Wall Street's worst moments. Books on Tape has just released it as a full-length audio (19 1/2 hours; $19.50 rental, $104 purchase)

RE ELMER Smith's Aug. 7 column: Thank you for have the courage to speak the truth and name all the corporate thieves. Especially the ones in D.C.: Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush, who also pulled off the biggest coup in American history - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The GOP continues to rely on people not criticizing the government when we are at war. Well, last time I checked, there had never been any declaration of war, formal or otherwise. President Bush now wants the U.S. to start a confrontation or war with Iraq.

State law enforcement officials have broken up what they said was an international car-theft ring that operated in the Philadelphia region. Attorney General Linda Kelly and State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced the arrests and criminal charges against 25 people, including 15 from Philadelphia, Tuesday. "This was a focused and elaborate operation aimed at primarily high-end luxury cars and SUVs, often snatched from car-dealership lots or service departments in communities around Philadelphia," Kelly said.

State law enforcement officials busted what they said was an international car theft ring operating in the greater Philadelphia area. Attorney General Linda Kelly and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced the arrests and filing of criminal charges against 26 people, including 15 from Philadelphia on Tuesday. "This was a focused and elaborate operation aimed at primarily high-end luxury cars and SUVs, often snatched from car dealership lots or service departments in communities around Philadelphia," Kelly said.

AW, SHUCKS! "Who steals oysters out of the back of a truck?" asks Jason Cichonski, owner of Ela (3rd & Bainbridge), who was among restaurateurs who didn't get his delivery Wednesday following the Rittenhouse Square theft of a box of Pacific oysters. "There's a lot of worse things that can happen to you," oyster distributor Paul Appleby said of what he says was the pilfering of about 90 pounds of oysters from the back of his Ford F-350 on 18th Street near Locust. Appleby, who owns West Chester's SeaFresh Oysters, said he parked, made deliveries to Parc and Dandelion, and returned to his truck.

THE BRUTAL economy - paired with the rising cost of human-hair weaves and extensions - has led to some unbeweaveably brazen thefts at salons and beauty shops in the city and around the country. Elena, a manager of the House of Beauty on Chestnut Street near 12th, said those in search of longer locks for less have snatched packs of hair from the racks, or vaulted behind the counter and stolen them from glass cases. Some have even resorted to stashing the weaves in baby strollers, she said, or using children as mules to smuggle the contraband out of the store.

DUBLIN - Somewhere in Ireland, a burglar has the heart of a saint. Officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin said yesterday that they're distraught and perplexed over the theft of the church's most precious relic: the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin. O'Toole's heart had been displayed in the cathedral since the 13th century. It was stored in a heart-shaped wooden box and secured in a small, square iron cage on the wall of a chapel dedicated to his memory.

How low can you get? Police have arrested a man and a woman and charged them with rifling a mourner's purse during a Funeral Mass in South Philadelphia on Tuesday. According to police, Damon Cirino, 20, and Susan Jones, 22, walked into St. Rita's Church, 1166 S. Broad St., during a Funeral Mass about 10:40 a.m. and walked up the aisle during communion. The pair did not receive communion and Jones even smirked at the priest, the victim told investigators. When the victim returned to her pew, she saw Cirino and Jones sitting there with her purse between them, police said.

Metal scavengers are hampering SEPTA rail and subway service by stealing the wires that power trains and operate signals. Attracted by rising copper prices, thieves are risking their lives to cut wires from overhead poles and between tracks, said Jeffrey Knueppel, SEPTA assistant general manager and chief engineer. In addition to stranding trains, the thefts can imperil passengers. Cut wires can send rogue electric currents running through station hand rails, water pipes, or even the ground.

ERIE - State Police are looking for whoever stole $40,000 worth of sports collectible cards from a van parked at Presque Isle Downs & Casino. State gaming-enforcement officers told the Erie Times-News that the thieves smashed the window of a van owned by Joseph Hocevar, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The cards were reported stolen Sunday night. Police did not immediately say why the man had the cards with him at the time. But authorities believe that someone followed him by car to the casino and stole the cards while he was inside.

Police are looking for a pair of thieves who stole 17 cases of frozen meatballs from a tractor-trailer parked in Old City early today. But why anyone would steal 510 pounds of beef meatballs, they don't know. Police said the driver was sleeping inside the rig on the 500 block of North Columbus Boulevard when the thieves broke the trailer's seal and started unloading the frozen meat around 12:40 a.m. The driver of another truck discovered the heist while it was under way and two meatball thieves sped off in what appeared to be a brown Ford Windstar van.

Dear Santa Claus, We know what some guys in Northeast Philadelphia deserve this Christmas: A set of handcuffs and slammer time. Three Salvation Army kettles were stolen in recent weeks at two Acmes on Roosevelt Boulevard in the Northeast, according to Randall Thomas, a spokesman for the charity. Each probably contained about $250. A bicycle-riding thief in his late 20s or early 30s even snatched a red kettle - along with the tripod to which it was chained - while racing by the Acme near Solly Avenue, also the site of a second theft.