ILLINOIS COMPUTER THEFT RING BROKEN Task force probes 2-state burglary ring - Glencoe News [03-02-06]

A regional police task force recently recovered almost $250,000 worth of electronics equipment robbed from suburban office buildings, cracking a case soon expected to culminate in federal indictments, Pioneer Press has learned.

Monday, 42-year-old James A. Goston appeared in DuPage County Court on two felony burglary charges related to the case. So far, Goston, of 4702 W. Van Buren St., Chicago, is the sole person accused by investigators, whose probe this winter led to a computer store in Gary, Ind., that allegedly operated as a front for moving the stolen electronics.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana in coming weeks expects to indict two men who ran the store, and Goston himself, on charges of transporting stolen goods across state lines, Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Stewart confirmed.

In October, investigators with the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force began investigating dozens of smash-and-grab burglaries at offices from Skokie to Downers Grove.

By December, the burglary crew had pillaged at least $475,000 worth of computers, cameras and other equipment, mostly from buildings near expressways, according to police.

An alert janitor at a Northbrook office building that was broken into gave police a license plate number he'd jotted down after spotting on out-of-place van parked near the building late one October night.

Northbrook detective Jamie Hanselman tracked the van to Computer Connect, 3850 Grant St., in Gary.

On Dec. 5, police recovered $247,588 worth of stolen computers, televisions, copy machines and other equipment during a search of the store.

Task Force Cmdr. Brian Baker said the seized property has been linked to 46 office burglaries in 13 Illinois towns, making it the widest ranging case in the burglary task force's two-year history.

After Computer Connect's backrooms were found stocked with stolen electronics, the store's owners fingered Goston as the culprit, said John Krone, a Northbrook detective who worked the case.

Within hours, police had apprehended Goston on Chicago's West Side. Antique surveying equipment reported stolen from a Dupage County office was found in his van, Krone said.

Police, determined to build a stronger case and bring burglary charges against Goston, decided against arresting him on the lighter charge of possession of stolen property, Baker said.

It wasn't until Jan. 11 that police arrested Goston on burglary charges. Police arrested him in Chicago on warrants tied to November burglaries in Downers Grove and southwest suburban Darien, Baker said.

As they arrested Goston, police say they discovered his van packed with thousands of dollars worth of equipment believed to have been taken during a late-night heist four days before from offices in Darien and Burr Ridge.

Goston hasn't been charged in those burglaries. Those break-ins and several others identified through the equipment recovery in Gary are being set aside for the federal case against Goston and Computer Connect's owners, Baker said.

Baker defended the decision to not charge Goston in December, even though other burglaries followed.

"It makes you mad," said Baker, who is also a commander at the Skokie Police Department. "But had we charged him at that point, we would have had a very weak case" on burglary charges.

Merchandise seized at Computer Connect allowed authorities to obtain the warrants that led to Goston's January arrest, he said.
The FBI's Gang Response Investigative Team, which worked with the task force on the case, catalogued the seized evidence before returning it to Illinois.

Robbery victims have claimed most of the recovered merchandise, Baker said. "We seized enough to fill three U-Hauls," Baker said. "We're down to about a half U-Haul."

The burglary task force has members from 13 police departments in Chicago's north and northwest suburbs.

Since its formation in 2004, it has arrested nine on felony burglary charges, breaking up four burglary crews, Baker said.