The Chainlink

Chainlink Bike Theft Task Force Makes The News!

Read the Chicago Tribune article here.

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Permalink Reply by T.C. O'Rourke on June 18, 2010 at 11:16pm
Right on!!

Thanks to everyone who has gone down there over the last few weeks and to Howard Kaplan for organizing the energy into useful methods yielding awesome results.
Permalink Reply by Vilda on June 19, 2010 at 1:06am
We gotta make sure the peeps at McDonalds are not alone. This article kinda makes you a target.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 19, 2010 at 1:18am
Thanks. For the record I think others have played a much more critical role in getting some action to happen.

T.C. O'Rourke said:
Right on!!

Thanks to everyone who has gone down there over the last few weeks and to Howard Kaplan for organizing the energy into useful methods yielding awesome results.
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 19, 2010 at 1:21am
Yeah, maybe not so great that the McDonald's was mentioned.
I've thought the person doing the searching could just as well be home with a real computer and a fast connection.

Gabe said:
We gotta make sure the peeps at McDonalds are not alone. This article kinda makes you a target.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on June 19, 2010 at 1:24am
Congratulations to all involved on a wonderful effort, but next time - and I hope that are at least a few next times - please PRESS CHARGES.

Receipt of stolen property is still very much a prosecutable crime.

Standing behind a table cluttered with used power tools, the man said he bought the bike for $100. He said he usually tries to sell them at a $100 or $150 profit. The vendor said he doesn't mind returning bikes if he finds out they're stolen.

Horses#!t. This vendor knows those bikes are all stolen, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that most of the power tools on that table had missing tags as well. Having worked for a number of years at a company that supplied building trades I've heard more stories than I'd care to remember about contractors' vans being broken into and the contents turning up at Maxwell Street of similar markets. Most of the equipment, of course, had all the factory ID tags removed, and all the vendors "just bought them from someone" that they curiously did not know the identity of.

The biggest problem here is that this has been going on for so long that it's reached a level of acceptance and normalcy. Put these scumbags through the wringer. Let all the other vendors witness them being escorted out in handcuffs. Press charges and follow through. Show up at their court hearings if need be. I know some of this is asking a lot, but I can't imagine myself doing anything less if faced with this situation. Don't let the relief of getting your stolen property back combined with whatever empathy you may feel for people "just earning a living" lull you into complacency.

Mind you, that this isn't meant to be a critique of any of you. If anything it's an indictment of the shameful state our law enforcement system is in when having police follow up on property crimes turns out to be no small miracle, but that's a discussion for a different time and place.

I still salute you for the commendable action, guys and gals.
Permalink Reply by mattbikes1 on June 19, 2010 at 2:57am
Cool!
Permalink Reply by Laura on June 19, 2010 at 6:06am
Anyone who would like to join us can e-mail me through Chainlink! The larger our crew the better!
Permalink Reply by chixieonfixie on June 19, 2010 at 6:35am
"Taking a more aggressive approach, the posse members organized their weekend patrol through the Chicago-based Web site thechainlink.org."

good job organizing and great press for the chainlink!
Permalink Reply by Glenn on June 19, 2010 at 7:22am
"Your my hero's" :-D
Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on June 19, 2010 at 9:23am
right on...good work.
Permalink Reply by Moc Artsy on June 19, 2010 at 9:38am
OK, let's slowly sort through some of the problems with the Tribune story. Not only is the McDonald's outed as the "nerve center" of stolen bike recovery efforts, but Howard and others are identified by name and thechainlink.org is revealed as the online community where these efforts were organized. For those who were paranoid early on about anyone monitoring the site for information, they now know exactly where to go to do so, and I would remind everyone that they can--among other information--easily get Howard's telephone number by doing so. It may be somewhat unlikely that any of the people stealing the bikes will see this article, but the vendors are not only likely to see it, they are also likely to have someone come up to them at the Swap and say "hey, I read about the stolen bike stuff in the Tribune." As much as this may be great press, it has also rendered what might have been an effective stealth operation completely transparent. I would advise that Howard delete any posts with his phone number at the very least, and consider making the task force group closed discussions.
Permalink Reply by Laura on June 19, 2010 at 9:45am
I agree and had the same thoughts while reading it.
Afer last week we stoped discussing our plans online, which is why I asked people to email me if they were intrested, instead of posting on the group. The group will remain open for general bike theft discussions. Some modifications will definatly have to be made due to this story and other recent activities.

Moc Artsy said:
OK, let's slowly sort through some of the problems with the Tribune story. Not only is the McDonald's outed as the "nerve center" of stolen bike recovery efforts, but Howard and others are identified by name and thechainlink.org is revealed as the online community where these efforts were organized. For those who were paranoid early on about anyone monitoring the site for information, they now know exactly where to go to do so, and I would remind everyone that they can--among other information--easily get Howard's telephone number by doing so. It may be somewhat unlikely that any of the people stealing the bikes will see this article, but the vendors are not only likely to see it, they are also likely to have someone come up to them at the Swap and say "hey, I read about the stolen bike stuff in the Tribune." As much as this may be great press, it has also rendered what might have been an effective stealth operation completely transparent. I would advise that Howard delete any posts with his phone number at the very least, and consider making the task force group closed discussions.

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