Hawkeye Reporter

Witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing have called for legislative action to address organized retail crime, highlighting its links to international criminal and terrorist groups. The hearing, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), focused on the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which Grassley sponsors.

The panel of witnesses included Summer Stephan, President of the National District Attorneys Association and District Attorney for San Diego County; David J. Glawe, President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau; Scott McBride, Chief Global Asset Protection Officer for American Eagle Outfitters Inc.; and Donna Lemm, Chief Strategy Officer for IMC Logistics representing the American Trucking Associations.

During questioning about the impact of the proposed legislation, Grassley asked Stephan how it would improve law enforcement’s ability to tackle organized retail crime. Stephan responded: “I believe that the [Combating Organized Retail Crime Act] would be a game-changer. [Despite] the 218 organized crime cases that our office has [prosecuted] in San Diego, we have not been able to break through to what is going on nationally. We know these groups are operating nationally and internationally … but the investigations stop at the local level.

“[Organized retail crime] is a national problem that’s draining economic resources from hardworking Americans. But, it’s also draining the heart and soul, and security of human beings. We have to be able to bring national solutions.”

Grassley questioned Glawe about how transnational criminal organizations use organized retail crime to further their activities. Glawe said: “We have seen goods moving overseas. In Mexico, we [found] over 2,000 vehicles that ended up south of the border. We know that these stolen goods are going to West Africa and the Middle East … We know that the supply chains are interdicted with Lebanese Hezbollah. We’ve seen that with Hamas, and we know the Mexican drug cartels are involved with the goods going south of the border.

“A coordination center … to coordinate intelligence … and coordinate operations is critical. This committee is well aware of … the Counter Terrorism Center and Counter Proliferation Center. These centers provide a hub for informational and operational sharing and sharing and coordinating resources, as well as tactical level response. We know the successful model, and this bill would get us there.”

On legal tools available for prosecution, Grassley raised questions about aggregating theft amounts under federal law when stolen property crosses state or international borders if its value exceeds $5,000—a practice supported by Supreme Court case law allowing prosecutors to combine values from related thefts as part of a common scheme.

Stephan explained: “Aggregation is critical because it distinguishes between somebody who is drug addicted who goes in to steal something like food … [and] separates them from the habitual organized criminals. It allows [prosecutors] to see the activity in totality and to be able to see the repeat offenses that form the structure of organized, habitual criminals. In California, we recently … made a change in Proposition 36 that allowed us to aggregate, and it’s already making a difference. [California] used to have criminals come in with a calculator to [steal] right under $950, thus leaving them at a citation misdemeanor level. That’s what caused all our products to become locked up, except the criminals that were committing the crimes.”