bindwithasmile Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 This was breaking news this morning. Most will remember the retrospective of the awesome Dittrich Furs commercials I posted a while back. They have two stores, one in Detroit and the other in Birmingham (northern suburbs). Anyway, this is not such a happy post, there was an attempted break in last night at the Detroit store, around 3:30am Tuesday morning. Here is the report from Fox 2 News; Click Here BWAS Edited by wallee to shorten the link for better page load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReFur Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 A few years back they had a major theft. Someone drove a van through a plate glass window and cleaned the place out. They now have a new design to protect the store windows. Guess they will have to re-think it. Too bad. They are a great furrier BTW. One of the best around. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTheNightKnight Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 BTW, you can do text over links. If you hover your mouse over the "URL" button, text appears below to show you how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minkme Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Any update on the incident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindwithasmile Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 Wallee - Thank you for the help, I will use that technique next time. Minkme - No update from here yet. The Detroit News wrote a snipet on their site, referencing the Fox 2 News cast. How is that for lazy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worker 11811 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Here's an update for you: >> Click Here << Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindwithasmile Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 Thanks Worker! I wonder how much the truck rental cost these guys? $2 stolen cash won't cover it, but maybe fencing some of the coats will. Makes me made either way. Another bad news story out of Detroit, as if the city needs more. On the bright side, the snow is coming down here and it looks pretty. Very much fur coat weather these last few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minkme Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 The truck was stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Great shots of the interior of the store in the second video. Reminded me of my visit there several years ago -- It was packed with furs then too. Very unfortunate situation -- But I admire Hal's determination to "stay put". He's in a good location -- Not too far from museums and other cultural facilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I presume he owns his store? That's one of the big differences in Portland with Ungar and Schumacher. Schumacher Leased and Horst owns his store. OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReFur Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 They own two stores in Detriot area. A class act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailonfurs Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 just be careful all what you'll buy on Ebay. You would not want to be a receiver of stolen goods... I'm sre though that the tags will be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worker 11811 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 According to the way I interpret the story, the thieves didn't get away with much. They took $2.00 in cash and "some number" of furs but it doesn't look like many. The crooks came with a stolen rental truck so it looks like they were trying to clean out the store. But they fled and left the truck behind, only taking what they could carry. Assuming there were two or three people in on the caper, they could have only stolen a few coats. Maybe a dozen at most. How many fur coats can YOU carry and still be able to run away? When I was a kid and my Dad owned his business, he used to leave the till open with $2.00 in the drawer when he closed up at night. The idea was that, if somebody broke in they wouldn't smash up the place trying to find money. They'd just take what cash they could find and run. I'm going to guess that's where the thieves got their $2.00. The way I see it, this was pretty much a botched job! It probably took them longer to break in than they expected and they probably disabled the stolen truck in the process. They probably set off some alarms too. So, to make up for lost time, they must have slipped in through the hole in the wall and grabbed what they could and ran away before the cops came. I bet they only got away with a few thousand dollars worth of furs. They did more damage to the building than anything else! This sounds more like a caper by the "Apple Dumpling Gang" than a "professional job!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKcoyote Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Speculating from what Worker wrote: If there were 3 thieves and each could carry 5 coats. Also assuming they were not knowledgeable enough to go for the high end furs. And guessing the average wholesale value of the stolen garments was about $1500 - they got about $22,502. Not much considering that if caught they will probably get 10 - 20 years in prison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worker 11811 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Divide the take up 3 ways and you get $7500.66 each. Fencing the goods will probably net them half that value, leaving a grand profit of $3750.33 each. Assumig their lawyers can get them off with only 10 years in the slammer, including time-off for good behavior, that leaves a grand profit of $375.03 PER YEAR! Do the math and break this down in terms of wages. (Dollars per hour.) For their labors, they have earned the princely sum of: $0.0042 per HOUR! What a bunch of f***ing chumps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebolton Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/UPDATES01/80213006 Fur thieves drive through Short Hills door Wednesday, February 13, 2008 MILLBURN, N.J. (AP) -- An elaborate scheme to steal fur coats from an upscale mall did plenty of damage, but it doesn't look as if the thieves got away with anything. Police say men backed a Dodge sedan that had been reported stolen from Elizabeth through the plate glass doors of Bloomingdale's in the upscale Short Hills Mall around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. They managed to get two racks of fur coats into the store parking lot and left another inside before the four men drove off in an SUV. Their theft plan ran into a couple of problems. For one, the furs were locked to the racks, making them much harder to take. And Millburn Police Capt. David Barber said after they crashed through the door, the suspects left the car where it was -- blocking the exit and making it tougher to get the coats out. Police on Wednesday were using surveillance footage from store to try to find the suspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 http://www.timesleader.com/news/ap?articleID=412831 Looks like stealing furs was a popular after hours activity this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/17278287/detail.html Dittrich has been hit yet again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrBrGr Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/17278287/detail.html Dittrich has been hit yet again. “The alarm went off, police showed up quickly as usual.” The thieves made off with thousands of dollars in expensive fur coats. The cops must have not shown up too quickly . . . (Maybe they had to finish their donuts first . . .) Wonder how many drugs those coats will buy . . . ? Jason, I have a couple of suggestions for your store security. Guards armed with AK-47's, and/or very hungry, ill-tempered pit bulls . . . Put a small sign on each side of your building warning the low-lifes - the bottom suckers of the food chain - that they will wind up either dead or critically mangled if they attempt to rob the store again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worker 11811 Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Jason, I have a couple of suggestions for your store security. Guards armed with AK-47's You're too generous! A 12 guage pump shotgun is more like it! With an 8-shot extended magazine. Alternate loads between "strung buck" and "buck and ball." If the strung buck misses, the buck and ball will get them. In either case, they'll be reduced to a pile of raw meat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrBrGr Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Worker, I do like the way you think - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReFur Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 This is just unbelievable! This furrier is one of the most respected in the fur world. They do a wonderful job. I feel bad for them. They have two locations. This one is probably the downtown store. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKMain Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 N.B.: The law considers it homicide to kill a thief or burglar merely to protect one's merchandise, no matter how expensive. It also is illegal to set-up any security system-- such as a deadly mechanical contraption, or a room full of trained killer shrews-- that would be intended to accomplish what the owner in person would not legally be allowed to do himself. F.Y.I. DKMain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worker 11811 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Well, the idea was not to advocate that anybody ACTUALLY do something like that. It was more of a way to express frustration at the situation by proposing HYPOTHETICAL nasty things one might do to a burglar who tried to rob the store again. A Modest Proposal, if you will. ...such as a deadly mechanical contraption, or a room full of trained killer shrews... Hmmm... Killer shrews!... An interesting way to protect a fur store! It's got a certain ironic twist to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 I love that hourly figure! Those chumps... Why not just have underground vaults? Or an alarm system that deploys odorless knockout gas that doesn't damage the furs? The "drive-the-truck" smash and grab job is so cliche. Wasn't it famously done a few years ago? I'm surprised that Bloomingdales had their furs locked to the racks instead of put into a vault overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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