On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 9:00 AM, Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's an interesting and slightly strange story about where bicycles > go to die: > > http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sting-operation-nets- > prolific-toronto-bike-thief-907571.html > > Bob
Toronto's bike community has known about Igor for a long long time. In fact, ever since I moved to Toronto in '96 everyone said, "If your bike's been stolen, the first place to check is Igor's." Depending on Igor's mood, he'd actually give it back to the original owner, he'd sell it back for what he paid the thief (most often around $50 to $100), he'd sell it for market value for a used bike, or he'd deny he knew anything about it (even while the thing's sitting on his sales floor). Most often he'd sell it for what he paid the thief, saying "hey, I didn't know it was stolen!" - even though he obviously did. The article you sent is crap - just like all the local newspaper articles. They talk about the police clamping down on bike theft, and the surge in thefts early in the summer and how the cops were so concerned and that's why they suddenly decided to go after him. Truth is that cyclists have been trying to get the police to go after Igor for years. When he first opened he was in the middle of a real down-and-out neighbourhood, and hey, it's not like he was stealing cars or anything, so who really cared? However, over the past four or five years many of the abandonned warehouses and factories have been converted into expensive condos, and suddenly the place is all full of art galleries and fancy bistros and stuff. Now the cops have a reason to "clean the area up" and let the locals know that they live in a safe neighbourhood. Igor had so many bikes he'd have never been able to sell them all - they're now saying well over 3,000, hoarded in the basement, attic, at his house. It seems he could never turn down a stolen bike. Very weird. Now the cops have a huge problem because they'll never be able to find the original owners of all those bikes, and they're going to pay a fortune warehousing them until their next bike auction. Perhaps had they gone after him when they should have, ten or more years ago... Anyway, thanks for an interesting article, Bob. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
