Two arrested in East Texas for international organized crime - linked to coin operated machines?
Arizona Coin Collector
With the economy in bad shape, I have come across a
number of news reports, of coin operated machines
(mostly laundry mats), being robed. The number of
these crimes have been increasing. I read several stories
of machines found busted at car wash locations as well.
There is a number of Russian immigrants living here in
the Phoenix Arizona area. Most of them stay to
themselves. Some have been arrested in the Tucson
area for money laundering. A number of them own small
gas stations and tire shops.
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FROM:
http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=9500327
EAST TEXAS (KLTV)
Two arrested in East Texas for international organized crime
Posted: Dec 10, 2008 04:04 PM MST
Updated: Dec 10, 2008 04:04 PM MST
An international organized crime operation in East
Texas, linked to coin operated machines?
2 Russian nationals are jailed, arrested with
thousands of dollars in change, and now it's
believed a nationwide criminal operation has been
uncovered. KLTV 7's Bob Hallmark has more on our
international burglars, and the East Texans who
stopped them in their tracks.
"When I got here, everybody was screaming, they
were trying tell me what was going on, these guys
were begging me not to ruin their life," said
Cara May, the assistant apartment manager at
Misty Ridge.
Workers at Misty Ridge knew something wasn't right
when they walked up to their laundromat and saw
two men emptying out coin boxes.
"I did see the guy that had a bag on the actual
machine and he started zipping it up," said May.
This group would not let the two men leave.
"So, I just blocked the door to their car and
every time they would go to another door, I'd
just block them again," said William Joyce, an
apartment painter.
"I stepped in and told them to get against the
wall and stay against the wall," said Paul
Barron, an apartment maintanence worker. "I
told him if he didn't back up, I was going to
put him down."
When police arrived, they arrested 24 year old
Ivelin Ivanov and his 33 year old brother
Plamen Ivanov on organized crime charges. Their
target was a bit unorthodox and and
unexpected - coin operated machines such as
washers and dryers. It was a professional
operation and judging from what police found,
they made a small fortune at it. A search of
their car found nearly $4,000 worth of coins,
as well as receipts indicating thousands of
dollars sent back to Russia and a GPS
programmed for area apartment sections.
"We didn't just catch some guys breaking into
coin machines, and have a few dollars worth
of coins on them. They had a large amount of
money on them," said Sergeant Ben Kemper with
Longview Police.
"I can't believe that. I'm just in awe of that."
The men are believed to be responsible for
burglaries in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
and even crimes in Florida and California.
"I didn't know the magnitude of what was
going on. I knew that they had gotten a lot
of money from us," said Carilyn Scott, the
Misty Ridge property manager.
But thanks to these folks, this one in
Longview is the last one.
"It's a great pleasure to stop people like
this," said Paul.
The FBI and immigration agents are
investigating into how long the operation
has been going on, and who the organizers
are. They are also investigating how the
men were changing the money to send back
to Russia. The two men are also suspected
in numerous area burglaries.
Bob Hallmark, reporting. bhal...@kltv.com
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