Listing Hot Stuff on Ebay

[n4voxgill]

From the Florida times union:

"A Florida Highway Patrol technician charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of equipment from his Clay County office said he told an investigator he has been peddling stolen goods on eBay for more than a year.

The Highway Patrol on Tuesday fired William Robert Clark, 29, who faces felony charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property. Clark was arrested Monday after a Highway Patrol investigator found about 50 electrical items such as specialized lights, control-switch equipment and power-supply boxes in Clark's home.

Clark told the Times-Union he regrets stealing the equipment but said some of the items were taken with supervisory approval. He said he took only what he needed after his family -- he has a wife and three young children -- ran into financial problems.

"I was doing what I needed to do to pay the bills, to keep food on the table," Clark said Wednesday. "I regret every bit of it. I wish I could have thought of a better way to support my family."

Since March 2004, Clark has worked as a telecommunications specialist in a small Highway Patrol department, with two supervisors and three other technicians who install equipment in 400 to 500 new vehicles annually.

The investigation began last week when a supervisor noticed some items under Clark's control were missing.

On Monday, Lt. D.M. Stacy followed Clark from the Highway Patrol station on Clay County Road 220 to an office in Palatka and then to Clark's home. In the arrest report, Stacy said he saw Clark put items from a state vehicle into his personal vehicle.

Clark told Stacy he had been selling the equipment on eBay since June 2004, according to the report. Stacy estimated the value of the equipment found at Clark's home to be less than $20,000.

Clark told the Times-Union he most recently sold an item on eBay this past weekend using one of two accounts. His first account was shut down several months ago, he said, because he failed to pay accrued fees.

Hani Durzy, an eBay spokesman, said the company has a zero-tolerance policy against the sale of stolen merchandise and will remove suspected items after being contacted by law enforcement.

With 55 million listings and $1,400 worth of merchandise traded every second, Durzy said it is impossible to monitor every transaction.

"We've had law enforcement tell us eBay is about the dumbest place to try and fence something because it's out in the open for everybody to see," Durzy said. "If you're selling, we know everything about you."

Clark is out of jail on $25,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court Oct. 26."

[USAPatriot]

Ebay's hoaky disclaimer is just that. Hoaky and disingenuous. Obviously the amount of hot goods out there is monumental. Rip off a scanner and sell it in a pawn shop for 10 bucks or sell it on Ebay for top dollar. Hmmm. Ebay makes money whether it's hot or not and I know of no mechanism that punishes them if an item later found in someone's home turns out to have been sold through their auction site. Ebay wins, every time. Sure, they'll cooperate with law enforcement if asked to or if they actually hear something about a specific seller or items, but don't look for them to police their site looking for ways to lose a commission. Not gonna happen. Ebay is actually the smartest place to fence something so long as the item is not serial numbered or in some way marked/unique. There have been some idjits caught selling blocks of stamps stolen decades ago and worth a small fortune. But there's a lot of terrotory that does not fit into the category of easily traced. A wise thief, if there is such a thing, could make a decent living at it. It would seem that the technician in the article was doing well enough. Go figure. -Rod-

[kb2vxa]

Hi all,

This looks amazingly similar to a case some years ago involving a radio tech and the NYPD.

"We've had law enforcement tell us eBay is about the dumbest place to try and fence something because it's out in the open for everybody to see," Durzy said. "If you're selling, we know everything about you."

We've had law enforcement tell us so many outright lies to "scare us straight" they can't be trusted any more than the government. I guess they're over practiced from scaring confessions out of suspects they think we're all as dumb as the average crook (under 18).

I have seen so many illegal sales on eBay if I had them all I could fill a city full of warehouses! Over on www.qrz.com the illegal and outright silly CB stuff is our favorite "pick on". OK, not only do we enjoy mocking CBers (I'll admit it) but a major portion of it represents a serious threat to the Amateur bands, 10M and 12M especially. Yeah, eBay's policies are as ignored as the FCC R&Rs, the police are sleeping off a belly full of doughnuts. (BURP)