(CHICAGO) Authorities say Chicago street gang members targeted luxury cars located in the city’s suburbs for theft and use in other crimes.
Chicago police say at least 70 vehicles, including BMWs and Range Rovers, were stolen by a loosely organized theft ring this year. Most of the vehicles have been recovered on the city’s South Side.
Authorities say the thieves entered unlocked cars and used keys or fobs they found inside cup holders or consoles to drive away.
Police say they have arrested about 15 suspects, most of them juvenile gang members.
Chicago Police Lt. Ed Wodnicki says authorities learned details of the thefts when they set up a successful sting to recover a stolen computer. A man arrested confessed to the computer theft and told of the car theft scheme.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(NAPERVILLE) A months-long investigation into an illegal gambling ring in west suburban Naperville resulted in 13 arrests Wednesday, and the seizure by police of $25,000 in cash and three luxury cars.
The arrests came as investigators executed search warrants at a business suite at 1163 E. Ogden Ave., according to a statement from Naperville police. A pain clinic previously occupied that space.
During the bust, police seized about $25,000 in cash and three luxury cars — a 2011 Porsche Panamera, a 2014 E63 AMG Mercedes and a 2015 Lamborghini Huracan, the statement said.
In all, 11 people face misdemeanor counts of gambling, police said. They include:
Vu Trong Hoang, 36, of Chicago;
Aki Nakagawa, 33, of Chicago;
Kevin L. Janowiak, 53, of Mount Prospect;
Phillip L. Nguyen, 43, of Naperville;
David A. Mirshak, 37, of Belvidere;
Ioannis T. Tsombanidis, 59, of Scottsdale, Ariz.;
William F. Gutzman, 33, of Bensenville;
Daniel B. Wandling, 30, of Chicago;
Lawrence P. Costigan, 50, of Palatine;
Michael J. Lemberger, 40, of Naperville; and
Julian R. Lukban, 40, of Chicago.
Hoang, Nakagawa, Janowiak and Nguyen are also charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Two other people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the gambling ring, but face other charges, police said.
Asad Yusuf, 42, of Naperville, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear in court in a traffic case, police said. Amber Ray, 33, of Cortland, was ticketed for violating the city’s gambling ordinance.
Illinois State Police, the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group and Naperville police investigated the case for five months, the statement said.
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests and charges are “imminent,” according to police.
