Guards, Cameras & Radios: How to Secure Retail Facilities
Op-Ed: Retail business owners can improve security, communication
The security of your customers, employees and property should always be a top priority for retail store owners. Strong security can prevent shoplifting, create efficient communication and create a safe experience for customers to shop in. Setting up a good security plan can be a challenge if you don't have the proper experts around you.

Find and keep the right team

A lack of security guards is an all too common problem at small to midsized retailers. Many of them will have one or no security guards watching the store. A lack of security is a mistake. You need security personnel to act as a deterrent against shoplifting. A security guard should be watching the front entrance of your property at the very least. Even a small retail space should have at least one security guard on duty each shift.

Know how to engage

The safety of your customers and team is always the most important part of any security plan. A good security plan means your security guards know how to deal with shoplifters and aggressive people in a way that puts human safety above property. Retail security guards are almost always unarmed and their main job is to observe and report theft to law enforcement. If security catches a shoplifter and they refuse to return the stolen product then it is better to just call the police. Don't put people at risk for a product that can potentially be returned by law enforcement.

Strategically install modern security cameras - Employees and security should have two-way radios: yourvalley.net

New York Governor on the Hot Seat Amid Crime Crisis
Albany DA Soares joins NYC Mayor in call for special session to address crime
Albany County District Attorney David Soares held a news conference Friday formally asking Governor Kathy Hochul to call the legislature back to Albany for a special legislative session. He says lawmakers can't wait until January to revisit the laws which he says are causing teens and adults to get away with crimes.

Mayor Adams was the first New York politician to publicly ask the governor for a special session this week, asking lawmakers to fix criminal justice laws that were radically reformed in 2020, and have been tweaked multiple times since.

Soares said his main concern is changes made through New York's 'Raise the Age' law in 2017. 'What we have are violent crimes being committed by 16 and 17 year olds with no way to hold them accountable," Soares said.

Soares said he wants lawmakers to make exceptions to the family court law so that a teen who commits a violent crime can be moved to county court to suffer more severe consequences. He also wants the legislature to define "extraordinary circumstances" when this can happen and to create an appeal process for youths. Soares also wants more power for judges in general, after changes made in 2020.

"Some stores like a ShopRite or a Price Chopper, they are experiencing $10,000 in thefts, just in meats, and when those individuals are apprehended they are given an appearance ticket, an appearance ticket!," Soares said.

Thursday, Governor Kathy Hochul said she didn't feel lawmakers were ready to reconvene, blaming the media and Republicans for making the story about bail reform, when she says there is more than one issue at hand.

Soares praised changes the legislature made at the end of session, but called Governor Hochul "irresponsible" for failing to address outstanding issues he says can't wait until January. 13wham.com

'Record-Level' NYPD Exodus
NYPD cops leave in record-breaking exodus before full pensions set in

"This exodus is the result of cops in the prime of their careers deciding they have had enough"

The number of cops who have filed to leave before reaching full-pension-eligibility - offered at 20 years of service - has reached nearly 2,000 so far this year, compared to 641 at the same time last year, according to the latest pension fund stats obtained by The New York Post.

An officer's full pension can total 50% of their final three years' average salary. A total of 2,465 NYPD officers have filed to leave the department this year - after 1,731 filed the same request at this time last year, data shows.

"This exodus is the result of cops in the prime of their careers deciding they have had enough," said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch in a statement posted Sunday on social media. "They are leaving for other opportunities where they're paid better, treated better and have a better quality of life."

The life of a police officer in New York City has come with a slew of challenges in recent years including a recent rise in crime across several of the city's seven major categories; several recent shootings and assaults in which officers were injured or killed; anti-police sentiment amid unprecedented social justice protests on Staten Island and across the nation; aspects of bail reform in Albany opposed by Mayor Adams and top police officials, and the city's vaccination mandate - which currently is on hold. police1.com

Using Tech to Prevent Retail Shootings
Tech Trends: Weapons Detection's Role in Shooter Prevention
The weight of recent events cast a shadow on my interview with Rob Huberty, Co-Founder and COO of ZeroEyes, an AI weapons detection platform that identifies visible guns at first sight.

The Search for Time

In an active shooter scenario, the incident is usually over in less than two minutes. The average police response time can be anywhere from 4 to 11 minutes for high-priority calls. This gap in response time must be closed. In those seconds, the weapon detection analytic can initiate a lockdown of a building, preventing or delaying access to the building. In those seconds, onsite security, public safety, or others with extreme valor can begin a tactical response.

Technology with a Human Element

The ZeroEyes solution uses IP cameras to monitor for visible, brandished guns - with the claim that if a human could identify it, so can the analytic. The system supports the analytic by having a human in the loop verify the alert.

AI will never be 100% accurate, and ZeroEyes technology is no different. Knowing what to look for and how to react in an active shooter scenario requires comprehensive training, the kind only found in real-world scenarios. ZeroEyes hires combat veterans and prior law enforcement officers to verify alerts as part of its monitoring solution.

Systems like ZeroEyes rely on monitoring center operators to verify a detection and dispatch via a mobile application and to initiate a call to local law enforcement. Human-verified systems offer higher accuracy that can drive swifter response.

Today, ZeroEyes is deployed in schools, Fortune 100 companies and retail establishments in 17 states. Weapons detection technologies are also used at most major sporting venues, theme parks and large retail malls.  securityinfowatch.com

Washington State Mayors Grapple with Violent Crime Surge
South King County Mayors Demand Action Amid Increased Violent Crime
The mayors of the South King County cities of Auburn, Black Diamond, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Kent, Pacific, Renton, and Tukwila are united in our ongoing plea to our King County and Washington state criminal justice partners to help us stem the rising tide of crime and violence in our communities.

King County cities are seeing a disturbing rise in violent crime, as well as drug offenses and property crimes including auto thefts, burglaries, and robberies. Our community of residents, businesses, and visitors - the victims of these crimes - are fed up and action is necessary.

The rise in crime coincides with a number of events, including:

● An influx of more addictive methamphetamine and a flood of fentanyl - both of which are significantly contributing to mental health issues, an increase in violence and property crimes, and death. Dealers of illicit drugs are engaged in a violent drug turf war, and users often commit property crime to sustain their addiction.

● A felony prosecution system in which felony filing standards for various crimes are higher than the standards set by state law resulting in many crimes being filed as misdemeanors or not filed at all. These standards are established with insufficient input by the Cities whose communities are impacted.

● A King County Jail system that does not allow for booking of felony suspects on a routine basis. The Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent no longer permits police department bookings. Moreover, there are times where the Seattle Justice Center is closed to booking or the booking process takes hours. auburnexaminer.com

Soros-Funded DAs Under Fire for Soft-on-Crime Policies
WSJ Letters: Where George Soros and Criminal-Justice Reform Go Astray

Disregard for democracy, distortion of science and reversal of cause and effect.

Jose Reines, LA: George Soros's claims don't jive with the experiences of San Francisco and Los Angeles ("Why I Support Reform Prosecutors," op-ed, Aug. 1). My main gripe, however, is that prosecutors stretch their license to select which cases to prosecute. They make the law. Legislatures are obsolete.

Kent Scheidegger, - Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, Sacramento, CA: Mr. Soros claims that the agenda of the prosecutors he supports is "based on both common sense and evidence." Often, it is supported by neither. For example, on his first day in office, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón barred the use of sentence enhancements for felons who have inflicted great bodily injury, used a gun or have prior violent felonies. He claimed that "studies show" that longer sentences increase the likelihood that a criminal will commit more crimes after release, outweighing the crime-prevention benefit of keeping him in prison. Yet Mr. Gascón cited only one unpublished manuscript for this remarkable claim.

Our review of the published research found that it didn't at all support the claim. The studies on sentence length and recidivism have mixed results, and the reported effects are weak. Mr. Gascón simply cherry-picked the one study that supported his agenda and ignored the rest. Far from the "more thoughtful discussion" that Mr. Soros claims to want, his agenda is as often based on a distortion of science. wsj.com

Buffalo residents still reeling months after racist shooting at Tops Market
For some residents in Buffalo, New York, the reopening of Tops - a local supermarket that was the target of a hate crime in May where a white gunman killed 10 people and left three others wounded - is both traumatic and necessary.

DA Bragg funds ten gun violence prevention organizations

How Major Retailers Prepare for Natural Disasters - Part 2: Target
When Natural Disasters Near, Team Target Springs Into Action
Eight days before Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the U.S., a group of team members gathered in Target's Corporate Command Center (or C3 for short). Others dialed in from Target locations across the country. Tiny bullseyes dotted a map of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in front of them­-representing hundreds of Target stores, distribution centers and offices in the potential path of the storm.

The meeting marked the activation of Target's Green Team to address the looming storm. The team would spend the next week connecting daily, closely monitoring the hurricane and coordinating efforts to take care of team members, guests and communities in the impacted areas.

Created in 2006 in response to Hurricane Katrina, the Green Team-a cross-functional group led by the Global Crisis Management team-includes representation from nearly two dozen teams across Target, including Human Resources (HR), Property Management, Assets Protection, Store Operations and Supply Chain.  Since its beginning, the team has supported Target stores, distribution centers and offices in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricanes Florence and Michael, tornadoes in Oklahoma, flooding in Texas and California wildfires.

"Our team is committed to helping our guests, teams and communities stay safe during times of crisis-including weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes," says Brett Abbott, senior corporate security manager. "From getting much-needed supplies on shelves for guests to closing stores if needed for the safety of our team, we've refined our emergency-response approach so we can act quickly."

Near the Green Team's meeting spot, the monitors in Target's C3 glow around the clock-projecting radar, social media and news feeds, live video, satellite imagery and more. In front of the monitors, security professionals work to keep tabs on potential issues where Target does business.

C3 is a 24/7 hub that monitors Target's assets throughout the globe. Using cutting-edge technology, team members there monitor severe weather and other events that could impact guests and team members. They also assist Target's facilities in the event of a store closure, power loss, security threat or other business disruption.

Team members in C3-including former intelligence officers, wildfire squad bosses and military professionals-bring a wealth of experience in emergency management, disaster preparedness, surveillance and more.  corporate.target.com

   Read Part 1 about Walmart's Disaster Preparedness & Response here

New Orleans Ordinance Hones City's Use of Facial Recognition
Weeks after New Orleans opened the door for police to use facial recognition, the city passed another ordinance aimed at creating new restrictions and reporting requirements on the controversial technology.
The new law, which passed on a 6-0 vote, prohibits using the technology to investigate consensual sexual acts between adults, or violations of Louisiana's criminal abortion law. Yet at the 11th hour, the ordinance was shorn of its most potent provision requiring judicial approval for facial recognition searches.

Under Green's ordinance, which passed on a 4-2 vote, police may ask the Louisiana State Police to search their databases for face matches when they're investigating a specific list of violent crimes, including shootings, carjackings and rapes. Green said internal policies developed by the NOPD will ensure that police receive supervisor approval and exhaust other avenues of investigation.

Under the new ordinance passed Thursday, the NOPD will be required to submit a quarterly report detailing the use of facial recognition, including the demographics of suspects. govtech.com

$20M Settlement Impacting 13K Workers - Biggest in NYC History
Chipotle Settles With New York City Over Claims It Violated Workers' Rights

Burrito chain agrees to pay up to about $20 million to roughly 13,000 workers

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has agreed to pay up to about $20 million to roughly 13,000 workers in a settlement with New York City over claims that the workers' rights to predictable schedules and paid sick leave were violated.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, is the result of a multiyear investigation by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection into complaints filed by 160 Chipotle employees and by labor union 32BJ SEIU. The workers claimed their rights were violated under the under the Fair Workweek and Paid Safe and Sick Leave law.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the settlement with Chipotle is the largest worker protection settlement in city history. wsj.com

Good News for Retailers
Supply Chain Bottlenecks Have Reduced, Providing Relief
Global supply chain pressures have been showing signs of easing, a trend that should translate into less pricing pressure on goods in the months to come.

Compared with before the pandemic, ports and warehouses are still congested, and companies are still contending with shipping rates and delivery times that remain much higher than normal. Still, this more smoothly functioning supply chain is likely to provide one source of relief for an economy that is still struggling with rapid inflation. Elevated demand along with persistent shortages and delayed deliveries for some products have helped push up the prices of cars, toys, furniture, food and other goods.

Inflation data released Wednesday morning showed prices of some goods beginning to cool. The cost of apparel fell 0.1 percent from the previous month, as the prices of men's shoes, women's coats and baby clothes all declined. The price of major appliances dropped 2.2 percent, while jewelry dipped 1.2 percent. nytimes.com

Best Buy, Ralph Lauren only retailers among 'Best Companies for Women to Advance'
Only 43 companies made Parity.org's third annual "Best Companies for Women to Advance List," also known as the Parity. LIST. (Parity.Org is a not-for-profit dedicated to closing the gender and racial gap in corporate leadership.) And of those 43 companies, only two were physical retailers: Best Buy and Ralph Lauren Corp. (Online retailer Overstock.com also made the list.) chainstoreage.com

FTC fines Lions Not Sheep for labeling imported shirts as 'Made in the USA'
Lions Not Sheep, a t-shirt and apparel company, imported its merchandise from overseas and then labeled the goods as "Made in the USA." That practice resulted in the company having to pay a fine of $211,335 to the Federal Trade Commission.

Signet Jewelers to Acquire Blue Nile for $360M

Kroger expanding new belted self-checkout to 20 Tri-State stores

UK: Retail sales boosted by warm weather but inflation worries loom

Another Retailer Targeted by Cyberattack
7-Eleven closes all 175 Denmark stores after latest cyberattack on retail point-of-sale systems

7-Eleven is the latest retailer to fall victim of a cyberattack that shut down point-of-sale systems.

Global retailer 7-Eleven closed all of its stores in Denmark yesterday after a suspected "hacker attack" took out its cash registers and payment systems.

"We suspect that we have been the victim of a hacker attack today," the company said in a statement on Facebook last night. "We can't use the cash registers nor accept payments. We are therefore closed until we know the extent" of the attack.

7-Eleven closed all 175 of its stores in Denmark following the incident, although it has since reopened five outlets, according to a statement issued this morning.

The company was alerted to the attack when employees reported that its payment systems had shut down, Danish manager Jesper Ostergaard told local TV channel DR. "The cash registers just stopped working in all the stores and the employees started letting us know," he said. "That has never happened before."

The incident is the latest in a string of cyberattacks that have disrupted retailers' point-of-sale systems. Last year, for example, supermarket chain Co-op closed 500 of its stores in Sweden after one such attack.

In January this year, a ransomware attack shut down card payment systems at 600 outlets of Spar in the UK. Ransomware group Vice Society claimed responsibility for the Spar attack.

Kevin Beaumont, head of the SOC at Arcadia and a former threat researcher at Microsoft, observed on Twitter that some of these incidents followed supply chain attacks on the retailers' managed service providers (MSPs). techmonitor.ai

The Expanding CSO Role
CSOs need to be proactive on national security

Security executives can add value to their organizations by becoming the go-to experts on national security issues

Security vulnerabilities in businesses across the United States have become a top focus for the U.S. government. Business leaders are realizing that a volatile national security environment poses risks to the bottom line. CEOs and boards are more focused than ever before on the potential for major cyber breaches. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and other international flashpoints have also brought geopolitics back as a major corporate concern.

But even if they acknowledge the threat, what should companies do? Isn't national security supposed to be managed by the federal government? Corporate structures were not designed to handle this level of risk.

CSOs Can Take the Lead

Chief Security Officers and Chief Information Security Officers have a unique opportunity to add value to their companies by becoming the go-to experts on national security issues. These officers are already the senior executives responsible for major components of a company's response to national security issues - whether cybersecurity defenses, insider threat mitigation, or investigations.

How to add value

Align corporate strategy with national security strategy: CSOs should start by studying national security strategies and analyzing how their organizations align or conflict with national policy. National security strategies provide invaluable insight into the U.S. government's priorities. CSOs who can point to how their businesses and programs support these strategies will be well positioned to mitigate security, regulatory, and reputational risk.

Proactively engage government stakeholders and deepen public-private partnerships: Once CSOs understand how their organizations' equities relate to those of the national security community, they should lean forward to develop public-private partnerships. As CISA's private sector engagements demonstrate, attention from national security agencies is coming whether corporations are ready or not.

Lead a whole-of-business approach: CSOs should become a resource on national security issues for other parts of their organization. National security issues are cross-cutting, routinely impacting government relations, legal counsel, human resources, communications, operations, and the C-suite. securityinfowatch.com

The Rising Deepfake Threat Has Security Teams Scrambling
Deepfakes Grow in Sophistication, Cyberattacks Rise Following Ukraine War

A rising tide of threats - from API exploits to deepfakes to extortionary ransomware attacks - is threatening to overwhelm IT security teams.

The use of deepfakes to evade security controls and compromise organizations is on the rise among cybercriminals, with researchers seeing a 13% increase in the use of deepfakes compared with last year.

That's according to VMware's eighth annual "Global Incident Response Threat Report," which says that email is usually the top delivery method.

The study, which surveyed 125 cybersecurity and incident response (IR) professionals from around the world, also reveals an uptick in overall cybersecurity attacks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine; extortionary ransomware attacks including double extortion techniques, data auctions, and blackmail; and attacks on APIs.

"Attackers view IT as the golden ticket into an organization's network, but unfortunately, it is just the start of their campaign," explains Rick McElroy, principal cybersecurity strategist at VMware. "The SolarWinds attack gave threat actors looking to target vendors a step-by-step manual of how to successfully pull off an attack."

He says that keeping this in mind, IT and security teams need to work hand in hand to ensure all access points are secure to prevent an attack like that from harming their own organization. McElroy explains what he found eye-opening was the increase in lateral movement witnessed by most respondents - i.e., the process by which attackers pivot from a compromised device to burrowing deeper into the corporate network.

He calls lateral movement "the new battleground," appearing in a quarter of all attacks, with attackers leveraging everything from script hosts and file storage (e.g., in the cloud) to PowerShell, business communications platforms, .NET, and numerous other dual-purpose tools to rummage around inside networks.

To account for the threat, organizations must consider solutions that provide visibility into all areas of the network, including the cloud, to ensure they can prevent, detect, and respond to attacks leveraging lateral movement. darkreading.com

Researchers uncover sophisticated global Chinese hacking operation

7 best reasons to be a CISO

COVID Fuels 72% Surge in Canadian Hate Crimes
Canada sees surge in hate crimes during pandemic, new data shows

New statistics prompt calls by advocates for the government in Ottawa to pass anti-racism law.

Canada has experienced a sharp rise in hate crimes targeting religion, sexual orientation and race since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released this week by Statistic Canada.

Canada, which prides itself as a diverse and welcoming country for immigrants and refugees, has witnessed a 72 percent jump in its hate crime rate between 2019 and 2021, said Statistics Canada.

This increase was partly due to the pandemic, which exposed and exacerbated safety and discrimination issues. Chinese Canadians reported increased discrimination. Wuhan, China was the epicentre of the virus. The World Health Organization said in June that its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing.

In 2021, hate-motivated crimes targeting religion jumped 67 percent, those targeting sexual orientation climbed 64 percent and those targeting race or ethnicity rose 6 percent.

That has prompted minority groups to urge the government to pass an anti-racism law. aljazeera.com

Brick & Mortar Still Dominates Canada Following COVID Shutdowns
The Rise and Fall of Ecommerce in Canada Since 2020 Shows Brick-and-Mortar Retail Still Dominant for Consumers
One of the major effects of the pandemic during 2020 was the increase in e-commerce sales, which was a direct result of store/mall closures and other shopping restrictions, said a new report by Trendex North America, a marketing research and consulting firm.

In Canada, the net effect was that during 2020 Canadian total e-commerce sales increased 70.5 per cent and accounted for 6.1 per cent of retail sales.

E-commerce growth in Canada slowed in 2021 as stores/malls continued to reopen after March 2021 and consumers resumed their normal shopping behaviour. The net result was that Canadian total e-commerce growth last year slowed to only 14.2 per cent, according to the report.

Randy Harris, president and owner of Trendex North America, said last year was a bit of a wakeup call for all those pundits who had been forecasting a bright future for apparel e-commerce in Canada. retail-insider.com

Consumer Alert: Fake COVID Testing Kits Sold Online in Canada
Health Canada warns of fake COVID-19 test kits after some found in Ontario
Health Canada is asking Canadians to look out for fake COVID-19 rapid test kits, after some were found in Ontario. In a statement issued Friday, the health agency said counterfeit Rapid Response test kits had been sold online.

The fake kits seemingly come from one manufacturer - "Health Advance Inc." - whose name and number is stickered on the box. The online distributor selling them was "Healthful Plus." However, an authentic kit box is sealed with a clear sticker with blue lettering that says "QC APPROVED."

The manufacturer appears to no longer be making the kits, and the distributor's website is no longer active, Health Canada said. The entire shipment, which contained 435 boxes of the 25-pack kits, was bought by a purchaser for personal use, and was later sent to Health Canada. cbc.ca

More than a third of Canadian households got COVID-19 after restrictions lifted, poll finds
37 per cent of Canadians reported they were infected themselves, or someone in their household was infected after restrictions lifted.

Canada brings back random Covid testing for tourists
 

3 Amazon Worker Deaths in 3 Weeks
3 NJ Amazon warehouses. 3 weeks. 3 worker deaths. OSHA is investigating
At about 8 a.m. on July 13, emergency medical services responded to a 911 call at Amazon's EWR9 fulfillment center at 8003 Industrial Highway in Carteret.

It was the middle of the Prime Day rush, traditionally Amazon's busiest sales week of the year. Medical services transported a male worker to the hospital, Carteret officials confirmed. But the worker did not survive.

His death was confirmed by representatives for Amazon and the U.S. Department of Labor. The worker has still not been officially identified, and the cause of death remains undetermined. But the death has spurred a federal investigation, outcry from workers at the warehouse and calls for further scrutiny by Democratic U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey.

"People should feel confident that when they go to work they'll be safe and come home the way they went in," Norcross wrote in a public statement on July 20. "Amazon is failing to fulfill that basic promise."

Two more workers at Amazon facilities in Central Jersey have since died, confirmed Leni Fortson, director of public affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor office in Philadelphia. Three deaths, at three facilities, in just over three weeks. All are being investigated by the department's Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Fortson said.

Workers at the Carteret warehouse anonymously told NBC News that they were concerned about the lack of information surrounding the death, and that the worker who died often operated in an upper floor of the Carteret warehouse known for its high temperatures. In that same report, Stephenson disputed that the death was work-related, and attributed the death to a "personal medical condition." mycentraljersey.com

The Continued Growth of E-Commerce
US online retail sales to reach $1.6 trillion by 2027: report
Signaling the long-term growth of e-commerce, U.S. online retail sales are projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2027 and the overall retail sector will generate $5.5 trillion by 2027, a new Forrester report predicts. The firm also projects that U.S. online retail sales will surpass $1 trillion this year.

Buy online, pick up in store transactions will reach $100 billion this year and will be greater than $200 billion by 2027, the firm projects. The firm's research predicts that offline retail sales will comprise 70% of total retail sales by 2027.

While the COVID-19 pandemic drove the rapid rise of e-commerce in 2020, some of the retail growth shifted from online to offline in 2021, Forrester noted. Brick-and-mortar retail sales rose 14% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the report.

Forrester attributed the 2022 e-commerce growth to lower prices, more comprehensive product assortment, speedier deliveries and streamlined transaction convenience as the online retail environment returns to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels. retaildive.com

The Works' online sales fall as shoppers shift back to stores - it warns of challenging conditions to come

Suffollk County, NY: 4 Nabbed In Million-Dollar Suffolk County Retail Theft Ring
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced on Tuesday, Aug. 9, that the suspects would steal items from big box stores and then use Ulloa's Brentwood pawn shop as a front. The suspects would allegedly store the products at a warehouse before selling them online, the DA's Office said. The suspects, Carlos Ulloa, Henry Delgado, Sandra Cruz, and Sandra Palomino generated over $1 million a year in profit, authorities say. Ulloa, age 50, of Patchogue, the owner and operator of EZ Cash Pawn and Jewelry in Brentwood and the renter of a warehouse in East Patchogue where numerous allegedly stolen items were recovered was charged with: Enterprise corruption, Money laundering

Conspiracy, Three counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Delgado, age 40, of Medford, who allegedly sold the stolen merchandise online through internet websites was charged with: Enterprise corruption, Money laundering, Conspiracy. Cruz, age 23, of Patchogue, an associate of Ulloa who managed the warehouse and its employees and allegedly utilized the warehouse to sell stolen goods for Ulloa through online websites, was charged with: Enterprise corruption, Conspiracy. Palomino, age 45, of Brentwood, the manager of EZ Pawn and its employees was charged with: Enterprise Corruption. Conspiracy.

The conspirators are alleged to have used "boosters" or thieves who stole items from major retailers such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Petco, and PetSmart, the DA's Office said. According to charging documents and statements made at the arraignments, between Oct. 1, 2021, and Aug. 6, after Palomino allegedly purchased stolen merchandise from boosters at the pawn shop, Ulloa, and his associates then transported them to the warehouse in East Patchogue. The stolen items were then photographed, listed on internet websites to be resold, and packaged for delivery. The repeated act of reselling stolen items on different platforms generated a large sum of criminal proceeds for the defendants, the DA's Office said. During the 10-month period, the investigation found that more than $1 million was transferred just from eBay accounts to bank accounts owned by Ulloa. newjersey.news12.com

Albuquerque, NM: Conviction made in multi-jurisdictional organized retail crime spree that includes Rio Rancho
Davina Quintana has been convicted on 11 different counts of shoplifting in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque.
As a result of a guilty pleas, Quintana faces up to 12 years in prison. "Organized retail criminals endanger innocent lives and increase costs to consumers, and we must put a stop to these repeat offenders that have been swept under the rug for years," said Attorney General Balderas in a press release announcing Quintana's conviction. In a spree of crimes from 2020 to 2022, in both Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties, Quintana stole thousands of dollars of merchandise from stores including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's and Kohl's. In one incident in Albuquerque, Quintana threatened a store employee with scissors when they attempted to stop Quintana. These cases were investigated in a collaborative operation by the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Albuquerque Police Department, and the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. These cases were specifically investigated by Agent Christopher Kohler, and prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Jesse Pecoraro and Zach Jones. This case is part of an initiative to prosecute high-level property and organized retail theft crimes in New Mexico. rrobserver.com

Logan, UT: Woman arrested for alleged string of retail thefts
A 48-year-old Logan woman has been arrested after allegedly stealing items from local stores and then reselling them, according to law enforcement. Arlene Marie Aguilar was booked into the Cache County Jail Monday after a warrant was previously issued for her arrest. According to the arrest affidavit, Aguilar had been cited repeatedly for retail theft at local retail and grocery stores. The shoplifting occurred between December 2021 and February 2022. On February 18, Aguilar admitted to a Cache County Sheriff's deputy that she would take items from stores and then sell them as a source of income. Law enforcement was later given video footage, showing a female shopper matching Aguilar's description. The woman would fill her cart with items and then exit the store without paying for them, according to the affidavit. Jail records show Aguilar was booked Monday on suspicion of racketeering, a second degree felony. She is being held on $500 bond. According to court records, Aguilar was been arrested for shoplifting at numerous stores from Logan to Ogden. She's also previously been convicted of possession or distribution of a controlled substance. cachevalleydaily.com

Maidencreek Township, PA: Police seek 2 men who stole $3K worth of meds from CVS

Portland, OR: Tigard Police 'blitz' at Fred Meyer ends with 5 shoplifters apprehended

Akron, OH: Duo steals cigarettes from delivery driver at gunpoint near store

Will County, IL: Arrest Of Woman In Joliet Wanted For Three Arrest Warrants