McHenry County Blog

Harvard’s Walmart

It seems that Walmart doesn’t mind seeing its merchandise walk out the door, but the chain wants it be be paid for first.

Read what happened to an employee of the Harvard Walmart when he decided he didn’t have to pay:

THEFT

On 04-07-13 at 0001 hrs. Kenneth D. Richter (m-19 yoa) of 119 Bullard St. Poplar Grove was arrested for theft after he allegedly took multiple electronic items from Harvard Wal-Mart while working there.

Richter was charged with three counts of felony theft and transported to the County jail in lieu of bond.

I mentioned earlier that my neighbor kitty-cornered across the street had his Obama and Jim Roden signs stolen and I think I mentioned that my Romney sign had been knocked down five times before it disappeared.

This morning as I was driving my son to school I noticed that both my and my neighbor’s Romney signs had disappeared.

So, when I got back home, I replaced them.  I even put my Romney sign in a more prominent place.

The signs in front of Cal Skinner’s home.  The one at the corner is for Congressman Peter Roskam.  On the other side of the street people will have the opportunity to vote for another Republican, Randy Hultgren.

And added another sign saying “Vote No.”

That’s a follow up to the four by four sign against the “County Czar” on the other side of the mail box.

Not favoring concentration of power, I shall be voting against Jack Franks’ County Executive referendum.

Ex-McHenry Policeman Dale Hojnacki has been indicted by the McHenry County Grand Jury136

The thirty-five year old resident of McHenry has been charged with two counts of theft and five counts of official misconduct.

All are felonies.

Ever see an indictment?

Thought you might find the prose and contents of interest, so it is posted below:

"STOP STEALING MARY ALGER'S SIGNS" signs will probably have more impact that her original ones.

Tea Party Republican candidate for the McHenry County Board in District 2 seems to have gained more traction than I had thought.

The evidence?

Here you can see the "Stop Stealing" sign followed by one of Mary Alger's replacement signs and one for Mary McClellan.

Political opponents are stealing her signs.

Her reaction has been by far the best I have seen.

She is posting signs saying,

“Stop Stealing Mary Alger’s Signs”

The Tea Party symbol Mary Alger designed,.

The woman who designed what will undoubtedly become the symbol of Tea Party Republicans nationwide now has come up with the ultimate rebuttal to those who sneak around at night and steal yard signs.

I would make two additional suggestion to any candidate whose signs are stolen:

• report each theft to the police or Sheriff’s Department
• rig up a camera that will take pictures or a video in the dark

I’d have to conclude that someone very intensely does not want a Tea Party Republican beholding to none of the establishment to serve on the McHenry County Board.

The following email came from a Lakewood resident to my computer last night.  All images can be enlarged by clicking on them.

A local (Lakewood), Crystal Lake family is thinking about canceling Halloween at their house because thieves stole all their animation and extensive decorations on the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

And all of it was caught on their security cameras.

Lakewood Police were called on Wednesday morning.

Officer tells 10 year girl,

“Don’t expect to see those decorations again”.

What do we now tell our kids?

And why aren’t these police even interested in trying to catch these thieves.

When asked if they wanted a copy of the security disc, he says, sure you can drop it off at the police station, but then stops talking.

And then to top it all off, my wife calls for a copy of the police report, she is informed that it will take 5-7 days for it to be ready and it will cost her $5.00 for a copy.

We pay $22,000 a year in property taxes and they want to charge me $5.00 for a report, what do they need lunch money now!

= = = = =

So we have a really unhappy taxpayer.

Do you recognize the adult and two teens?

As you go trick or treating, be on the lookout for decorations that look like these.

With moral lessons like this, I would not be at all surprised to see the three arrested for some more serious crime.

First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.

Here is the Crystal Lake Police report on the arrest in the September 21st break-in of the First Methodist Crystal at Dole and West Crystal Lake Avenues:

“On Friday, October 22, 2010 Crystal Lake Police arrested Jonathan L. Tully (M/W D.O.B. 09/17/1973), an area homeless man, for his alleged involvement with the burglary to the First United Methodist Church located at 236 W. Crystal Lake Ave., Crystal Lake.

“The burglary was initially reported to authorities during the early morning hours of September 21, 2010.

“Preliminary findings revealed that the church had been entered by force and that unknown offender(s) obtained control over two laptop computers belonging to the First United Methodist Church.

Jonathan Tully

“Tully was developed as a possible suspect when some of his personal property was found adjacent to the church on the morning the burglary was reported.

“On Friday, October 22, 2010 Jonathan Tully was located by Crystal Lake Police at the local PADS site and was found to be in possession of one of the laptops reported as stolen by church officials.”

“Police reviewed their findings with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office who approved criminal charges against Tully for

• one count of Burglary (Class 1 Felony) and
• 4 counts of Theft (2 Class 2 Felonies – having a prior conviction and 2 Class 4 Felonies intending to permanently deprive First United Methodist Church of the use of the property).

“Bond to be set by a Judge.”

= = = = =

That’s the police report.  Here’s the scuttlebutt:

The guy who broke in though Wesley Hall,  the room where the free Community Dinner is held each Sunday night, cut himself.  Blood was found in the church, as well as “some of his personal property,” as the press release says.

While two computers were stolen, one was reported abandoned near the Home State Bank downtown. It was the newer of the two.

The newer one had a GPS device that was traced to a Chicago residence.  A photo of a teen using it was taken by the camera on that computer, which had apparently been taken home by the father after being found near the bank.  A Facebook posting was made by the first teen’s sibling.

= = = = =

Finally, part of what Senior Pastor Steve Bullmer wrote to church members after the burglary:

As I prayed about what to do, I found myself praying The Lord’s Prayer.

When I got to, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” God said,

“Stop! Do you really mean what you just prayed?”

Was I actually asking God to forgive our trespasser? And I had to say,

“Yes, Lord. I really mean it.”

Pastor Steven Bullmer in the pulpit.

Now “forgiveness” does not mean “free pass.”

“Forgive and forget” is not in the Bible.

Forgiveness does not mean a miscarriage of justice.

But it does mean I have to relate to our trespasser as a child of God who needs healing and hope more than he or she needed those laptops.

Forgiveness means retribution and revenge are inappropriate responses from a Christian.

Forgiveness means I throw mercy at our trespasser, and I don’t “throw the book” at him.

Forgiveness means I try to find a way to say to him or her,

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

This break-in is a test of our Christian character. Not cheap grace, but grace nevertheless.

God has sent us a lost person. Are we going to offer them Jesus, or a jail cell?

His whole email is here.

If you live in Huntley’s Covington Lakes, you might be interested in this report of cars robberies in your neighborhood from the Huntley Police Department:

Car Burglaries reported in the Covington Lakes Subdivision

Two car burglaries were reported in the Covington Lakes Subdivision. The burglaries occurred between Friday October 1, 2010 and Monday morning October 4, 2010.

No forced entry was reported in either of the cases. Items taken included GPS devices and cell phones.

Please make sure to lock car doors and remove all valuables when leaving the vehicle parked in the driveway.

Anyone with information on these crimes is encouraged to contact the Huntley Police Department or use the department’s confidential tip line at 847-515-5333.

An Algonquin man is one of eleven charged with defrauding the unemployment compensation system, according to the U.S. Attorney’s press release that appears below:

U.S. CHARGES 11 CHICAGO AREA DEFENDANTS WITH FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS TOTALING $255,000

CHICAGO — Eleven Chicago area defendants have been charged separately with fraudulently obtaining thousands of dollars each in unemployment benefits from the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), federal law enforcement officials announced today.

In each case, the defendants allegedly lied about their eligibility for benefits, claiming to be unemployed when they were not, and fraudulently obtained benefits ranging from $15,232 to $41,764.  Altogether, the charges allege that IDES was cheated out of more than $255,000.

Five of the defendants were charged with felony mail fraud and six were charged with misdemeanor theft counts in 11 separate criminal informations or grand jury indictments filed late last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

According to the charges, each defendant applied for unemployment insurance benefits, certified their continuing eligibility to receive payments, and collected unemployment insurance while gainfully employed in various occupations, including two U.S. Postal Service letter carriers.

In Illinois, unemployment insurance benefits are funded primarily by contributions from employers, with IDES’ administrative costs funded primarily by the federal government.  During periods of high unemployment, the U.S. Treasury also funds unemployment payments.  Several of the cases allege that after February 2009, federal stimulus money was provided under the American  Reinvestment and Recovery Act to expand unemployment insurance benefits.

“The unemployment insurance program is intended to provide financial assistance to workers who are unemployed due to lack of suitable work.  The Office of Inspector General, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to safeguard Department of Labor programs against fraud.  We thank the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General for their efforts in this investigation,”

said James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Thomas P. Brady,  Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago,  said:

“Unemployment insurance benefits help bridge the gap for workers while they pursue employment opportunities.  We must preserve the available funds for those who are legitimately entitled to benefits, while making sure that others who cheat the system are not allowed to benefit at the expense of those who are honestly deserving.”

Scott Caspall, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, said:

“At a time when unemployed citizens are in desperate need of benefits, it is unfortunate that certain individuals, not to mention Postal Service employees, have allegedly partaken of these benefits.  The Postal Service does not tolerate criminal conduct by its employees and will take appropriate action to investigate and prosecute such behavior.”

The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  The federal agencies conducted the criminal investigations following referrals of suspected fraud from IDES.

In each case, restitution is mandatory and the felony mail fraud counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the misdemeanor theft counts carry a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.  The indictments and information  contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Here are the details of the Algonquin man’s indictment:

Nicholas G. Boulahanis, 36, of Algonquin, was charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly fraudulently obtaining approximately $19,440 in unemployment insurance payments that he was not entitled to receive while employed as a bricklayer at various times in 2007 and 2008.  (Assistant U.S. Attorney  Shoba Pillay).

Crystal Lake Jewel Osco Store

The following press release has been received from the Crystal Lake Police Department:

On May 13, 2010 at approximately 3:32 p.m., police responded to Jewel Osco located at 6140 Northwest Highway in regard to a theft investigation. Upon arrival responding officers made contact with a store manager who advised that Jewel Osco Security Staff was detaining an employee for theft.

Debra Gilio (District Loss Prevention Manager for Jewel) informed police that while monitoring store surveillance cameras, employee Donna L. Dowell (F/W D.O.B. 06/28/61 of 134 Illinois Street, Crystal Lake) was observed taking money from the register and placing it in her pocket. Dowell worked in the Pharmacy Section at the Jewel Osco.

Donna Dowell

Loss Prevention Manager Gilio advised that the store’s internal investigation also revealed that Dowell may be responsible for a number of additional thefts from her employer and is believed to have taken in excess of $10,000 over a ten week period.

In an attempt to conceal the thefts, Dowell was reportedly entering false refund transactions into the register and then pocketing the money for herself.

Once in custody, police located several different types of controlled substances concealed on Dowell’s person. A subsequent search of her residence also yielded numerous types of controlled substances, all believed to have been taken during the course of her employment at the Jewel Osco Pharmacy.

Dowell was charged with 8 counts of Theft over $300.00, 3 counts of Possession of Controlled Substance and 1 count of Theft under $300.00.

The following was received from Deputy Chief Gene Lowery of the Crystal Lake Police Department:

The Crystal lake Police Department was notified by Community High School District 155 of a suspected misappropriation or theft of funds from South High School. 

The police and school district officials are cooperatively investigating the allegations to determine what if any criminal or internal matter is substantiated. 

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office is also reviewing the ongoing investigation to determine what, if any, prosecution is warranted.