Thief Walks Away with Vets' TV

UPDATE, February 3, 2010: Man who stole veterans' TV is back in jail again
__________________


(Photo/JS Online)

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The dining room of the nursing home at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center isn't such a fun place to hang out anymore.

The 52-inch flat-screen TV around which veterans gathered to watch Packers games, movies and their favorite shows was stolen on a Friday afternoon earlier this month by a man who wheeled a dolly through the building's south entrance, plucked the TV from its wall mount, and walked right back out.

VA police are investigating but have not identified the thief caught on security cameras while entering and leaving the facility, said John W. Zewiske, the center's public information officer. Information about the theft has been shared with other law enforcement agencies, he said.

The residents who enjoyed the big flat-screen, meanwhile, are adjusting to life with an older, smaller TV and wondering just what kind of person steals from a veterans nursing home.

"I don't see how a person could do something like that to veterans," said Bill Crivello, 74, who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars with the Air Force and moved into the center earlier this year after his wife died after a stroke. "It's sad. . . . Anyone who would steal from a veteran, I don't respect."

Based on surveillance video, investigators have determined that the thief walked through the center's W. National Ave. entrance at 3:55 p.m. April 4, pushing an empty dolly down a hallway.

That entrance is open to the public during the day and is monitored by the cameras, not employees, Zewiske said.

The man - who was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt and gray pants and appeared to have thinning hair and a short, dark beard - made his way to the dining room on the ninth floor.

He put the TV on the dolly, covered it with a dark tarp or blanket and was out the door by 4:09, Zewiske said.

John Washington, a resident who crossed paths with the thief, said he and other residents didn't think anything was odd about the incident at first.

"I didn't know (he was) stealing it," said Washington, 82, who served with the Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. "I thought (he) was taking it downstairs for repairs or something. I was going in the dining room when (he was) coming out. We met at the door. I said, 'Be sure to put it in my van,' but that was just a joke. He smiled, but he didn't say anything.

It's said that there's no honor among thieves.

This thief doesn't have a shred of honor.

Stealing a TV from a VA nursing home is really, REALLY low.

The VA police are asking for the public's help in identifying the thief.

Anyone with information is asked to call VA police at (414) 384-2000, Ext. 42222.

Local media are spreading the word. That's good. What's not good is that the theft occurred on April 4.

Why did it take so long to get the information about the stolen TV to the media?

Waiting 20 days wasn't the best way to go about finding the thief.

UPDATE:

Police Chief Timothy Jantz believes it's just a matter of time before his agency catches the brazen thief who walked off with a 52-inch television from the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center but so far today the culprit remains unknown.

Jantz, head of the VA police, and center public information officer John W. Zewiske have both spent most of this morning in multiple media interviews to talk about the April 4th theft, hoping that someone will recognize the man and the dolly he used to swipe the Samsung LCD television from a wall. The thief claimed he was taking it in for maintenance.

"We're confident that we will be receiving phone calls as far as the identity," Jantz said today. "There is enough media out there. Somebody's going to call and give us a name or a possible name of a suspect or person of interest."

Jantz counted as his strongest lead today a phone call from a retired Milwaukee police officer who recognized similarities in the method used to another case involving a theft at a downtown hotel. Jantz did not have immediate details available of when or where that occurred, however.

Zewiske said he has been so busy with media interviews today that he has barely had time to get through the 76 emails waiting for him, some of which include offers of money from people interested in helping to replace the veterans' $3,260 television, which they had only since December.

VA police have sent out information on the theft to all area police detective bureaus, asking for them to alert the agency to any high end items that might have been stolen in a similar manner from either hotels or hospitals. So far, the only hit is from the retired Milwaukee cop. The local agency is also working with the VA inspector general out of Chicago and has put the TV's serial number into the National Crime Information Center.

Again, I have to ask: Why the delay in getting this information out?

What really matters is that the information about the stolen TV is finally out.

Hopefully, the thief will be caught and he'll be held accountable for preying on the vets.