Suburban police form task force to target video gambling smash-and-grabs

Amid a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries targeting video gambling machines in restaurants, bars and other businesses, suburban law enforcement agencies are teaming up to fight back.

More than 50 detectives from police departments and sheriff’s offices in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties recently met as a newly formed task force to share intelligence and coordinate their efforts to locate and arrest the criminals responsible.

“The detectives and law enforcement personnel involved have been putting significant time and resources into these investigations, working across jurisdictional lines to connect cases, share information, and develop leads,” Lake County sheriff’s Chief Christopher Covelli said Thursday.

Rarely does a day go by that police in one suburb or another aren’t responding to a burglary involving thieves bashing their way into video gambling terminals.

Over the last week, crews have hit a restaurant and a gambling cafe in Schaumburg, gas stations in Wheeling and Green Oaks, a bar in New Lenox and a truck stop in Peotone.

An employee of Frato's Kitchen & Gaming in Schaumburg, which was broken into early Tuesday morning, said the business had to close for two days while workers cleaned up shattered glass and other damage. The restaurant side of the operation was set to reopen Thursday night, but its gambling terminals were destroyed and aren’t likely to be replaced until next week.

Besides several days of lost revenue, the business now faces additional costs to beef up its security.

Not amateur hour

The thieves behind the break-ins typically operate in groups of six to 12 who roll up to businesses — often in stolen vehicles — and use sledgehammers, crowbars and other tools to force their way inside.

Once they’ve gained entry, they smash open video gambling machines and steal the cash inside them before fleeing, often at excessive speeds.

“These appear to be very organized crews, and appear to be street gang-related,” Covelli said.

Besides local police, the task force includes the office of the Illinois Attorney General, while the Illinois Gaming Board is the lead agency since the crimes involve gambling terminals.

“(The task force’s) continued collaboration and investigative work will be critical to identifying those responsible and bringing these cases to a successful conclusion,” Covelli added.

‘Victim enough’

Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler did an uncommon thing Sept. 3, after accepting the guilty plea of a Batavia chiropractor accused of secretly videotaping more than 180 patients, some of them children, at his clinic.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Tegeler spoke directly to the dozens of adults in the courtroom, many of whom were representing children who were recorded while nude or partially undressed.

First, he said, they should be thankful the case of David Hanson didn't go to trial, and instead should be over and done with at sentencing in November. “So there won't be appeals that will go on for the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

A trial, Tegeler noted, would require the victims to testify in public and the secretly recorded videos would be viewed in court.

“The revictimization would be horrible for all of you, and for that I am glad you do not have to go through that,” he said. “You guys are victim enough.”

Still, he pledged that each victim will be given time to make a statement at Hanson’s sentencing, no matter how long it takes.

Hanson faces 12 to 60 years in prison, unless Tegeler finds he is eligible for an extended term.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you

We gave readers a heads-up a couple months ago that police across the state would be watching more closely for speeders on July 22 as part of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police’s 10th annual Speed Awareness Day.

Not everyone got the message.

According to the organization, nearly 3,800 speeding tickets and 1,760 other citations were handed out statewide that day by the 126 departments that submitted their results.

Another 3,090 drivers got off with warnings, the ILACP reported.

The worst of the worst? One driver was nabbed driving 110 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to the chiefs.

Participating departments that day also made 25 DUI arrests, recovered a stolen vehicle, seized an AR-15 pistol and made three felony drug arrests, officials said.

copsandcrime@dailyherald.com