Vehicle crimes hurt bureaus

A man on double probation for automobile break-ins is accused again.
& lt;a href=mailto:meade@vindy.com & gt;By PATRICIA MEADE & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Property crime -- vehicle break-ins downtown -- is helping to drive the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to a secure location in Boardman.
Frank A. D'Alesio, ATF resident agent in charge in Youngstown, said the move will take place by late fall. ATF currently rents office space at City Centre One.
D'Alesio said ATF rents 16 parking spaces at the USA Parking Systems on North Champion Street for roughly $1,300 a month. Vandalism and break-ins to ATF cars occur with regularity, the most recent in July, with repairs likely topping $20,000 in the past 21/2 years, he said.
"With the government paying exorbitant rent, you'd think they'd want to keep the business," D'Alesio said of the parking facility. "'Park at your own risk' is what the lot says."
Doors in the parking deck stairwells aren't locked, which allows people to walk the ramps, he said. Last year, kids damaged a dozen cars they broke into, he said.
Jeff Hamm, USA Parking Systems operations manager, said his car has been broken into, too. Losing ATF cars, he said, "concerns us" but the parking business, based on the revenue it takes in, can't afford security measures.
"It's just not feasible to put [guards] on 24 hours a day," Hamm said. "We are looking into security cameras."
Hamm said he provided four entry passes to police last month, which permits them to ride through the deck at night to do their own security checks.
Security analysis
Security surveys done for ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is also located in City Centre One, found no suitable spot downtown to relocate, said D'Alesio and Douglas E. Lamplugh, DEA resident agent in charge in Youngstown.
The government has security requirements for buildings and parking, they said.
"We are also looking to move," Lamplugh said.
D'Alesio said the security analysis is part of the reason for the move, but the "driving force" is reoccurrence of break-ins.
ATF isn't the sole victim of the vandalism and thefts at the parking deck. Also affected are government cars used by FBI and DEA agents, city police and other law enforcement, as well as vehicles driven by private citizens who work downtown, D'Alesio said.
"When people complain, what's an employer going to do? Move," he said.
One main culprit
For the ATF, DEA, FBI, Youngstown Police Department and others, Clifton L. Ritter, 32, of Tod Lane represents the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. He isn't responsible for all the break-ins over the years, just the most recent, D'Alesio said.
In January, Warren Municipal Judge Terry Ivanchak sentenced Ritter to three years' probation for possessing criminal tools and vehicle trespass, the clerk's office said. He has also been convicted in Warren of theft, criminal trespass and criminal damaging, records show.
YPD Detective Sgt. Mike Kawa, who investigated last month's parking deck break-ins, said it appears Ritter "just popped into town -- most of his record is in Warren."
In Youngstown, Ritter was caught July 7 after allegedly ripping a stereo out of a Jeep on Hazel Street.
On July 16, Ritter pleaded no contest in municipal court to theft and criminal damaging. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. sentenced Ritter to 180 days in jail, suspended him for 171 days, gave him credit for nine days served prior to trial and placed him on one year's probation.
The judge also ordered Ritter to pay $800 restitution to the Jeep owner, which records show he hasn't done. It's not known if the judge considered Ritter's probation status in Warren before also sentencing him to probation.
Judge Douglas asked, through his secretary, that The Vindicator submit questions about the Ritter case in writing. The judge was advised, through his secretary, that the newspaper does not conduct interviews that way.
"I'm sure if [Ritter] broke into judges' cars they wouldn't want him out in nine days, time served," D'Alesio said of the sentence handed down by Judge Douglas.
Recent break-in
On July 20, four days after Ritter's court appearance, a DEA agent discovered the rear window of his car shattered, the trunk lock popped and tactical gear stolen.
That evening, YPD Detective Sgt. Tom Parry spotted Ritter at the North Champion Street parking deck, looking into cars and carrying a heavy camouflage backpack later found to belong to YPD Detective Sgt. Mike Lambert, a member of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force gang unit. The backpack had been stolen from Lambert's personal car at the deck.
Parry stopped Ritter near Market Street and found inside the backpack an FBI agent's radio and a DEA agent's cell phone, flashlight and knife, reports show.
Ritter told police that he bought the cell phone for $50 and that the radio, flashlight and knife belonged to people he knew, reports show.
Kawa said the stolen property came from five cars used by YPD, FBI, DEA and the Columbiana County Drug Task Force.
Ritter remains in the Mahoning County jail, unable to post $35,000 bond. He faces five counts of receiving stolen property and one each of carrying a concealed weapon (the knife) and possession of criminal tools.
Justice system
This past week, the two felony charges, receiving stolen property (the FBI radio) and possessing criminal tools, were bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury. Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set trial for Sept. 16 for the remaining misdemeanor charges.
D'Alesio said that what he understands is the philosophy of the local criminal justice system -- probation for 60 percent of criminals and jail for 40 percent -- should be reversed, with more criminals put in jail.
The message, D'Alesio said, is clear: Break into cars, steal, come into court, serve nine days, then go back out on a criminal spree. He said it's worth the risk to criminals to spend a few days in jail if they're selling stolen goods for $1,000 each time.
& lt;a href=mailto:meade@vindy.com & gt;meade@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;