Freight train burglaries, sales of stolen cargo are a lucrative business, authorities say
Last fall, CBS Skywatch was overhead as thieves pulled off a freight train heist on Chicago's West Side.
The wild scene played out for hours as several freight train cars were broken into, and dozens of people walked away with big-screen TVs. In that October incident, police sources said Chicago police officers waited more than an hour for Union Pacific officers to respond and secure the tracks.
Since then, there have been several more similar incidents, including one just last week in west suburban Bellwood. Hundreds of cardboard boxes ended up littered across the tracks after thieves broke in and stole valuable items.
Cargo thieves usually target items that are in high demand or have big price tags. The stolen goods are then sold at 100% profit, with ads popping up on social media with what may seem like offers too good to be true.
"It's a lucrative business," said Cmdr. Michael Ware, head of the Cook County Sherriff's Office Organized Retail Crime Unit. "You know, there's a lot of money to be made."
Inside an unassuming storefront on Chicago's South Side, the Cook County Sheriff's office said it just recovered $400,000 worth of stolen exercise equipment. All of it was snatched from train cars in Joliet earlier this year, according to Ware, who investigates such train burglaries in his role.
"It's like a mini-store. Mini-Home Depot, essentially," said Ware. "A lot of times, the retail theft can lead to, you know, gun recoveries and other criminal activity. It's just like the gateway crime."
Isadore House, 57, was arrested and charged with selling the stolen merchandise.
The rate of cargo thefts is also increasing. According to Verisk, a firm that tracks cargo thefts, this year there is an average of 338 theft reports per month — up from 136 in recent years.
This year, Chicago has experienced the third highest volume of cargo thefts, behind Southern California and Dallas.
House will be in court on Thursday.
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