Police Round Up Suspects in Stolen Goods Sting

Shortly before daybreak Thursday, teams of South Bay police officers dressed in riot gear fanned out across Los Angeles County to look for the last few dozen suspects targeted in a sting operation that identified nearly 100 people who allegedly sold stolen property to undercover officers.

The smoothly orchestrated raid, which was led by the Redondo Beach Police Department and included officers from Torrance and El Segundo, delivered a rude awakening to nearly 20 suspects accused of crimes such as armed robbery, carjacking and grand theft. Authorities have arrested 59 people in recent months and were looking for 37 more.

Most of those arrested were videotaped selling their hot property to officers operating a phony storefront import-export business in Redondo Beach.

Dubbed Operation Bull Market for the baloney served up on both sides, the 10-month sting was staged to combat property crimes in the South Bay and led authorities to recover more than $4.3 million in stolen goods--the largest amount ever recouped in such an organized bust in the area.

Gov. Pete Wilson, who was joined by Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and local politicians to commend the multi-jurisdictional task force operation at the conclusion of the sting Thursday, called the project the most successful of its kind in state history.

“Congratulations on a job extremely well done,” Wilson said. “You were dealing with people with real chutzpah.”

Operation Bull Market was conducted by Redondo Beach with assistance from several local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. The arrests were made after a similar but unrelated bust in which 70 people were arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in Lancaster on Wednesday.

In an unusual twist, the operation was funded by criminals. The city created the Serious Crime Reduction Fund that requires people convicted of misdemeanor crimes to pay for law enforcement costs incurred in arresting and prosecuting their cases.

The city fund generates $12,000 monthly. Reimbursements from insurance companies and a $5,000 donation from Torrance also helped pay for the operation.

Undercover officers from Redondo Beach and Torrance set up and ran IVD Enterprises from a small storefront on Artesia Boulevard. IVD translated loosely in Roman numerals is 496 and was named after the section of the state penal code that defines the penalty for possession of stolen property.

Officers posted fliers throughout the county advertising to buy property of any kind, and between June 1997 and January, undercover officers spent $181,000 to buy items valued at more than $4.3 million, police said. Most of the stolen property came from auto thieves--212 vehicles were recovered and returned to the victims--but officers also bought jewelry, cellular phones, electronics and even a used electric razor.

“Some days we ran out of money we had so many customers,” said Marina Morales, an undercover Redondo Beach detective who worked at IVD. “One day we bought nine cars.”

Morales recalled how on one occasion a customer came in and sold a stolen car and then stole it back 10 minutes later using another key. She said they never got it back.

Police said that most stolen vehicles were taken off the street, but some thieves targeted automobile dealerships and rental car lots using fake identification. On one occasion a 1998 Hyundai was stolen off a dock in San Pedro and purchased by the officers before the dealership had even seen the car.

Those who sold goods to IVD came from all walks of life. Customers included an employee of a company that holds a contract with Los Angeles International Airport to deliver lost luggage and allegedly stole and sold items such as binoculars, cameras and souvenirs.

Another client was an alleged crack dealer who let his customers get high at his pad. He apparently ripped off their cars once they had passed out and informed them that “someone” had stolen their car.

Among those arrested, 87% had criminal records and 41% were affiliated with gangs, according to police. So far, 539 felony charges have been filed.

Families of those arrested Thursday were devastated to see their loved ones hauled away by the eight-person teams of masked officers wielding shotguns and demanding entry to their homes. Some insisted that police had a case of mistaken identity; others contended that their kin had no ties to any gangs.

“My mother is going to go crazy,” said a sobbing Janet Gonzales, 21, as her younger brother Hector was hauled off by police. “He’s not into gangs, he didn’t do it.”

At the police station, several parents showed up to bail out their teenagers. Some were angered by the police action and argued that they entered unlawfully; others were still trembling with fear. Some family members were forced onto the ground with hands behind their heads; many had young ones who watched.

“My son is from a good family, he has no criminal involvement,” said the mother of a 16-year-old youth who was arrested in unincorporated Hawthorne about 6 a.m. “He has no money. How is it possible?”