Untrustworthy Folks, Thieves, and the Like...

[ihateminimumwage]

Just a little rant...

I moved about a year and a half ago. I was living in Northern CA, on a property with 3 houses, and 1 apt attached to the big house. I had an offer to do some carpentry/roofing/remodel work in L.A. for a couple of months before moving (rent free because of family there).

My longtime friend had moved into the apt across from my house. She took over my garage when I moved out of my place, and said I was free to keep my packed up stuff there. Had everything boxed in the back corner. Rollers locked, but still had the old metal standard toolboxes stacked around.

Sadly, she sure can pick the worst guys to be with. The latest being a major alcoholic claiming he's a mechanic. I watched him struggle in the driveway while it took him 2 weeks to get the head off of some jap car. It took him about 30 minutes to an hour each day for him to get too drunk and distracted and give up on the job. Eventually he stripped out the threads in the aluminum block so he couldn't even get the head back on, and then made a deal to put a junkyard engine in. Never found out how that ended, as I went to work down South.

Came back, loaded my stuff up and moved. Unloaded all my tools at my uncle's shop (I literally moved with a box of clothes, box of books and paperwork, box of misc and nothing but tools and a 50's Y-Block T-Bird engine in the bed of my truck). Lived in an apartment for a year, moved into a house with some sort of garage, and got everything home. Digging through my unlocked tools though, and have been noticing things missing...

So far, my Snap On boots, some old USA sockets and specialty tools, cutters, pliers, my SK 1/4 socket set in the old metal case (that made me post this), and more.

I know the only person with access to that garage was that POS, (and heard through friends he's burned a lot of bridges ripping some folks off as well).

Pissed I need to replace stuff because of some dishonest idiot, and that these are the types that work to give all mechanics/technicians a bad rep.

It's sad how bad folks can do so much to destroy our trust in others. But I suppose that's the age we live in.

Rant over, Cheers to all you good folks out there, haven't been on this site too long, but you've all been stand up people.

 

[ZRX61]

Years ago when I lived in London I'm walking home from the pub one night & see 3 guys I know pushing a cart up the street, it was loaded with 7 or 8 (barely) portable toolchests. I recognized the stuff & knew who owned it. I drop by to see one of the guys, he rounds up the others & we all set off to the house where I knew 2 of the guys with the cart lived.
Front door came off the hinges & all hell broke loose, baseball bats & steel bars etc. All 3 thieves were there going through the boxes when we arrived. No injuries among us, the thieves didn't fair too well at all. How the **** no one ended up dead is a miracle. I think it was about a week before the first one was released from hospital.

Still gives me warm fuzzies

 

[JKady]

Years ago when I lived in London I'm walking home from the pub one night & see 3 guys I know pushing a cart up the street, it was loaded with 7 or 8 (barely) portable toolchests. I recognized the stuff & knew who owned it. I drop by to see one of the guys, he rounds up the others & we all set off to the house where I knew 2 of the guys with the cart lived.
Front door came off the hinges & all hell broke loose, baseball bats & steel bars etc. All 3 thieves were there going through the boxes when we arrived. No injuries among us, the thieves didn't fair too well at all. How the **** no one ended up dead is a miracle. I think it was about a week before the first one was released from hospital.

Still gives me warm fuzzies

I'll jump in and say that it makes me proud some folks will still do this before someone says "They were just tools, not worth someone's life". Thieves/Cheaters/Liars are right there under murderers and *** offenders on my list of people who don't deserve to breathe the same air as honest hard working folks.

 

[TwoInch]

I'll jump in and say that it makes me proud some folks will still do this before someone says "They were just tools, not worth someone's life". Thieves/Cheaters/Liars are right there under murderers and *** offenders on my list of people who don't deserve to breathe the same air as honest hard working folks.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Years ago when I lived in London I'm walking home from the pub one night & see 3 guys I know pushing a cart up the street, it was loaded with 7 or 8 (barely) portable toolchests. I recognized the stuff & knew who owned it. I drop by to see one of the guys, he rounds up the others & we all set off to the house where I knew 2 of the guys with the cart lived.
Front door came off the hinges & all hell broke loose, baseball bats & steel bars etc. All 3 thieves were there going through the boxes when we arrived. No injuries among us, the thieves didn't fair too well at all. How the **** no one ended up dead is a miracle. I think it was about a week before the first one was released from hospital.

Still gives me warm fuzzies

Awesome.

I'll jump in and say that it makes me proud some folks will still do this before someone says "They were just tools, not worth someone's life". Thieves/Cheaters/Liars are right there under murderers and *** offenders on my list of people who don't deserve to breathe the same air as honest hard working folks.

 

[ZRX61]

Funny part was in the middle of all this mayhem one of the guys suddenly says "Hey! That's my ******* dining table & chairs!"

They'd been stolen about a month before.

 

[geologist]

This country would be in a lot better shape if it were legal to beat a thief to death now and then.

 

[darkk]

I'm of the mind that it doesn't matter what the stolen item is. It's a matter of principle with me, what's mine is mine. You **** with my stuff, you may as well be ******* with me...bring lots of friends because you're gonna need help.

 

[Mickey O]

I'm of the mind that it doesn't matter what the stolen item is. It's a matter of principle with me, what's mine is mine. You **** with my stuff, you may as well be ******* with me...bring lots of friends because you're gonna need help.

That's a terrible attitude, these "thieves" are our brothers and sisters that need our compassion, understanding and help. They may need the "stolen" items to buy food or to get medical attention. Just because you were born with a silver spoon doesn't mean everyone else was, you should be trying to help these poor people rather than wanting to hurt them.








Just kidding, it's the "it's only money", " it's only tools" .... **** that is the reason there is so much theft, shoot the ******* dead and no one else will be a victim of said *******. I suspect and would even wager, as the number of **** bags killed for stealing goes up it will serve as a deterrent to others that may think of helping themselves to things that don't belong to them.

As I have said for a long time, there are a whole lot of people in this country and world that need to go away by any means that will facilitate their departure.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'm of the mind that it doesn't matter what the stolen item is. It's a matter of principle with me,

But you got to wonder about a lot of new stuff that shows up on eBay. I sure a lot of it has been shop lifted.

 

[Provincial]

In Portland, OR a few years ago they busted a couple of rings that specialized in buying shoplifted/stolen items from retailers. These people resold the hot stuff on CL and Ebay. It was a high-volume business. I really makes you wonder how great the theft problem is and how much of the purchase price you pay is to cover the losses.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

That's a terrible attitude, these "thieves" are our brothers and sisters that need our compassion, understanding and help. They may need the "stolen" items to buy food or to get medical attention. Just because you were born with a silver spoon doesn't mean everyone else was, you should be trying to help these poor people rather than wanting to hurt them.








Just kidding, it's the "it's only money", " it's only tools" .... **** that is the reason there is so much theft, shoot the ******* dead and no one else will be a victim of said *******. I suspect and would even wager, as the number of **** bags killed for stealing goes up it will serve as a deterrent to others that may think of helping themselves to things that don't belong to them.

As I have said for a long time, there are a whole lot of people in this country and world that need to go away by any means that will facilitate their departure.

Had me going for a second there!

 

[crewchief888]

That's a terrible attitude, these "thieves" are our brothers and sisters that need our compassion, understanding and help. They may need the "stolen" items to buy food or to get medical attention. Just because you were born with a silver spoon doesn't mean everyone else was, you should be trying to help these poor people rather than wanting to hurt them.








Just kidding, it's the "it's only money", " it's only tools" .... **** that is the reason there is so much theft, shoot the ******* dead and no one else will be a victim of said *******. I suspect and would even wager, as the number of **** bags killed for stealing goes up it will serve as a deterrent to others that may think of helping themselves to things that don't belong to them.

As I have said for a long time, there are a whole lot of people in this country and world that need to go away by any means that will facilitate their departure.

Had me going for a second there!

mickey didnt fool me for a second....

i really hate thieves...
kinda the reason only a select few people have ever seen the inside of my garage or house.

once when i was working up on the south side of the city of chicago, inside a fenced jobsite i had my back to my truck,about 5 feet away, and heard the distictive sound of the door opening and closing on the service body. i turned and saw someone walking away from my truck carrying the toolbag i kept in the top of my toolbox.
only thing i had in my hand was a 30" OTC prybar...

it went flying
catching the "offender" across the back of the legs.
by the time i got to him the site superindendent had him by the throat...
eventually the cops showed up, and they hauled his *** away...
site superintendent swore the guy " just fell down" while he was running away

 

[Danglerb]

This used to be the attitude of the cops. People they knew would be booked and walk, might get a bit of a tuneup. Everybody knew that was the way LAPD worked prior to Rodney King, and it made the cops effective with a ratio of about half as many as it takes now.

 

[tradesmanschoice]

But you got to wonder about a lot of new stuff that shows up on eBay. I sure a lot of it has been shop lifted.

Knowing the wholesale costs of tools, I can tell you that there's no way some of the new tools on ebay can be being sold at a profit if they were obtained by honest means.

They're pretty easy for me to spot.

 

[upndown]

Years ago working on a housing tract, trim carpenter working on the house next door sticks his head in the garage asks if I wanted anything from the roach coach? He goes on.. bit later I hear yelling and swearing, run over there thinking he hurt himself.. some of his tools were Gone! Of course now no one speaks English or saw anything..Grrr expensive day for him!!

 

[toymn6366]

my brother and i was working on one of his rental houses in a not so nice part of town when i went to my truck to get something he said you better lock your toolbox he sayed he had caught a guy opening the door on his sidebox but the guy didn't like the looks of his ppk

 

[bigcaddy]

I've a few minor run-ins with thieves taking relatively small things from me. Once i was just stopping by a friends house for a second to relay a message. I parked my truck and some piece of **** took my cd case and stereo remote in a matter of minutes, in front of the house with us standing there!! Only the bed of my truck was visible from the door so that was his window of opportunity. The monetary value wasn't too much but i still wanted to take that thief target shooting

The best/worst story was one my dad told me that was related to his guys working in the garment district in downtown LA. It was one you just had to laugh at in order to keep yourself sane

One of our fitters was walking back and forth between his truck and what ever repair he was doing. Every time he came back to get a new tool, it seems something was missing from the previous toolbin. Well our field superintendent decided to stop by and see how the job was going. The fitter explained the story to the superintendent and they went to see what was happening. When they came back, the FS truck had been stolen.

 

[dirtmister16]

I HATE THIEVES! they are the some of the lowest people to ever encounter, im very very adamant about theives should be hung like in the old days. as far as im concerned anyone who i find stealing had better be ready to get the beatdown of there life.

to date ive lost one tri ball hitch that cost close to 50 bucks. i was pissed! someone apparently needed it more then me so i lose out. we had a tarp stolen that was full of holes once, so that one wasn't such a big deal as we were about to throw it out.

i carry around probally 400 bucks or so in tools and gear in my truck at any given time. i have a weathergaurd toolbox that i lock at all times, i don't trust no one.

 

[wb2vsj]

I was "relieved" of all my cordless tools, air compressor, chain saw, etc from my home garage about a year and a half ago.

I had to force myself NOT to look on Craigslist or go to the local Flea Market for a long time. If I did go and see any of my stuff there, I probably would be the one going to jail while they ended up in the hospital.

 

[sickboy motors inc.]

I.also had a whole roller box full of goodies just GONE!!! One day while I was in construction. Dewalt makita you name it just someday... Maybe I will catch someone in the act I fantasize about that kinda **** you know man I hate thieves!!!!!!!

 

[Caleb T]

only thing i had in my hand was a 30" OTC prybar...

it went flying
catching the "offender" across the back of the legs.

Your Signature suites you well!

 

[ZRX61]

Here's a kinda funny theft story...

Years ago some guys were moving one of those large steel demolition balls they use to knock down buildings with a crane. They had it on a trailer & took a corner a bit fast.
Chains snapped & the ball rolled off the trailer. They had to go fetch a crane to get it back on the trailer.

When they got back it had been stolen, just a big dent in the road surface where it had been..

 

[bigcaddy]

Here's a kinda funny theft story...

Years ago some guys were moving one of those large steel demolition balls they use to knock down buildings with a crane. They had it on a trailer & took a corner a bit fast.
Chains snapped & the ball rolled off the trailer. They had to go fetch a crane to get it back on the trailer.

When they got back it had been stolen, just a big dent in the road surface where it had been..

On one hand it ***** that such an expensive piece of equipment got stolen but I'm rather impressed with the amount of resourcefulness the thieves had in order to make off with such an item.

Just think, you already had a crane ready at the job site but they somehow beat you to the punch. That is some quick thinking and if the guy stealing it wasn't a crook, he might actually be of some use solving problems in the real world instead of creating them.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Long story short - Lost a bunch of near new power tools from my shop due to some lowlife thief. Police took a report and pretty much told me there was no hope of recovery. Insurance Co. then added insult to injury by refusing to cover loss (the long story).

If I ever catch a thief stealing from anybody, I'm quite sure I will be the one to land in jail. I figure whoever I nail is 'kin' to the scumbag who stole from me and that sumnabitch is going to pay the price.

 

[Tim Kennedy]

Hey Geologist:
You are absolutely correct! Used to work with a guy that said it should be a law that you were allowed to shoots 2 stupid people a month - when the cops show up you just tell 'em "They were stupid" --- he called it "retroactive abortion"

 

[cowboy73]

I have had some stuff stolen recently. I hate damn thieves!!! Stealing is a lazy person's occupation.

 

[Ovalinaz]

My friend bill had his SO boxes stolen twice!( about 20 years ago) and just recently I bought a 17mm Vw drain plug socket off eBay, and it was his, his initials, and the hole he had drilled on the top, it had made it all the way from Phoenix to Kentucky! And after the 2nd time, him and every one that worked there welded and bolted their boxes to the walls..

 

[Provincial]

My friend bill had his SO boxes stolen twice!( about 20 years ago) and just recently I bought a 17mm Vw drain plug socket off eBay, and it was his, his initials, and the hole he had drilled on the top, it had made it all the way from Phoenix to Kentucky! And after the 2nd time, him and every one that worked there welded and bolted their boxes to the walls..

Serious theft rings steal in one state and fence it in another. They know that stolen goods are not reported across state lines much, and in fact the police have become a mechanism for confirming to insurance companies that a claim is legitimate.

When fencing stolen goods distance is your friend.

 

[richfinn]

Maybe someone should prosecute e-bay for fencing stolen goods, then they might vet the kind of scumbags who trade in stolen goods.

Make sure you wear a mask and gloves if you go to kick the **** out of one of these arseholes and burn your clothes and weapon afterwards.

 

[kc-steve]

After you read a post or two from Mickey, you won't get fooled.

I recently spotted a hot deal on Craigslist here in KC. A guy had a tool case filled with electronics tools including a Fluke meter that he "didn't need." He was asking $75 for it. The Fluke alone was worth at least that much. I didn't buy it but I watched it for a few days and no one else jumped on it either, so have faith in our fellow man my friends. There are some good people out there.

Steve

 

[R6 Racer]

I had my truck broken into a couple of months ago. Thieves stole everything that was'nt bolted down. There was quite a bit of it that had sentimental value as it had come from my late father in law. I had a small bobble headed moose on the dash & they even took that.WTF.
I am seriously concerned about finding that moose on someone else's dash one day, & ending up in jail myself.
I seriously hate f*@%!n thieves!

Steve

 

[jedigazza]

This country would be in a lot better shape if it were legal to beat a thief to death now and then.

laughed so hard when i read this!

 

[NWphotog]

Wow, there are some very sick individuals posting in this thread.

 

[4x4gearhead]

I have so far been very lucky with my stuff. Have had some sketchy people living around me at times and worried that some of my **** would grow legs, but *knocks on wood* so far so good. Really sorry to hear that some of your stuff was taken by some drunk douchebag, and god save whoever tries to **** with my stuff. I could see Mr. Mossberg having something to say about it if I was to find who it was. People tend to react to "his" presence.

 

[R6 Racer]

Wow, there are some very sick individuals posting in this thread.

YEP.

Steve

 

[2oolhound]

Woody Guthrie wrote:
"some folks rob you with a six gun
and some with a fountain pen"

If you're going to steal for cripe sakes, steal from the aristocracy not from the working class.

Stealing a workin mans' tools is right up there with horse thievin, hang em high!

 

[Mickey O]

Wow, there are some very sick individuals posting in this thread.

The top part of my post was just a joke.

 

[bcradio]

Wow, there are some very sick individuals posting in this thread.

You mean normal people who work hard for their stuff

 

[NWphotog]

You mean normal people who work hard for their stuff

I mean people who value material things over human life. None of us are taking any materials items or cash with us into the next world. Yes it ***** when something is stolen but most all of it can be replaced.