From: tweek@netcom.com (Michael D. Maxfield)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Robberies by Policemen  (was Re: Flammable Cars)
Date: 23 Jan 93 21:00:34 GMT
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)

In article <1993Jan19.160257.19555@husc3.harvard.edu> kubo@zariski.harvard.edu (Tal Kubo) writes:
>What about other interesting robberies pulled off by cops?

Heres one:
Sept 18, 1988  A former Pittsburg, California officer and a partner (the 
partner was found not guilty of the Moraga robbery although he was found
guilty of another) attempted an armed robbery of a Moraga Restraunt.

Some Stupid People Tricks:

1) They staked out the restaurant for two night prior to the night of the 
robbery.  The former cop stayed in the car (a rented Austin-Rover Sterling)
while his partner was stayed in the bushes outside the restaurant.

2) They communicated between each other with rented two way radios which
happened to be on the same frequency which the Moraga cops use to communicate
with the local college security force.

2a) Of course, the cops never heard any of the transmissions due to the
PL-schelch in the cops radios.

2b) The bad guys weren't aware till the third night that the frequency was
shared with the Moraga police till the third night... and they still continued
with their plans.

2c) On one of the earlier two nights, one of the bad guys was heard
telling the second (over the radio) when they realized someone else was
using the same frequency "Don't worry, they can't hear us unless they are
in the same town".

3) The ex-cop mentioned his doings over the radio to his partner...He 
had assisted a Drug store employee with a flat tire on her car.  He had 
made a call to his girlfriend on the local pay phone.... etc

4) A ham radio operator listening to the radio traffic thought he was
hearing a police stakeout.

After the Robbery, about two hours after the bad guys left the airwaves,
and the area, a local ham operator, who also had been monitoring the two
crooks on his scanner thinking he was hearing a police/fed stakeout, heard 
a police call on his scanner about a man tied up on the corner where he 
suspected this stakeout was occuring (The bad guys were very desciptive in
what they were doing).  The Radio listener called the police dispatch and
received a call from the cops about 1 am and the cop sounded like he really
did not believe the ham.  The ham received a second call about an hour later
from the same cop and asked if he could send over an officer to interview him.
(I guess they corroborated the fact that two way radios were involved).

The officer then showed up and took the report from the ham/scanner listener.

In the days to come:
1) The cops check with the drugstore for an employee who had a flat tire.
   The employee had indeed been assisted by a man who said he didn't know
   if he had a jack since the car was rented.  The employee gave a description
   of the car.

2) A Concord car leasing company reported to Concord police that a Sterling
   had not been returned on time and was still missing.

3) Concord Police found the car infront of the ex-cops apartment with the
   ex-cop and his suspected partner sitting inside.  They were arrested and
   their homes searched.  In the suspected partners house, the cops found
   a bomb and bombmaking materials.  In the ex-cops house, a gun that was 
   possibly tied into a murder of a Pittsburg Safeway manager.

**********************Interesting tie in (although unrelated)***************

At the Pre-Trial hearing, some of the evidence in the case was charred.  The
evidence was being stored in the evidence storage room of the Moraga police
station, and a disgruntled Moraga office who was upset because he didn't get
the promotion to chief, burnt down the police station after sending the fire
department on a wild goose chase a few mile away looking for a car over a
cliff and on fire.  (One of the fire stations are accross the street from
the police station.)  Turns out that this Moraga cop had suspiciously been the
first officer on the scene at many late night breakins, and when his house was
searched, they found all sorts of worthless loot stolen from local businesses.
His defense was that the stress of the job made him a cleptomaniac.

****************************************************************************
References for the first story (to prove it to be true)
Contra Costa Times   Tuesday Mar 14, 1989  p5a
                     Friday Feb 17, 1989   p4a
                     Saturday Nov 5, 1988 p4a
                     Saturday June 10, 1989 p3a
                     Wednesday Nov 23, 1988 p6a
                     Tuesday May 9, 1989 p6a
                     Wednesday Dec 13, 1989 p4a
                     Friday Feb 24, 1989 p6a
                     Saturday Feb 25, 1989 p5a
                     Wednesday Nov 9, 1988 p9a
                     Tuesday Nov 8, 1988 p5a
                     Thursday Nov 24, 1988 p4a
Oakland Tribune      Friday Sept 23, 1988 pd2
                     Wednesday Nov 9, 1988 pb2


Sorry for the long list of references, but just in case anyone wants to
make a book of Stupid Criminal Tactics, there is where the data is.
I have more clippings dealing with the case, but I neglected to attach
the published date to the other articles.

       tweek@netcom.com  tweek@tweekco.uucp  WWIVNet 5@5058  4@5056 
          I'd rather get my cable service from the phone company,
                than my phone service from the cable company.