NILES Arrests bring probe of theft ring

'The Dockers Gang' attempted a theft at Eastwood Mall, police say.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- What started as a routine shoplifting report has turned into an investigation involving police departments from several states and the possible end of a crime ring known as "The Dockers Gang."
When security personnel at Kaufmann's in Eastwood Mall detained two men Wednesday afternoon with pairs of Dockers pants, Officer Ron Wright was called in to make the arrest.
The men -- 26-year-old Casey J. Ennis and 60-year-old Michael J. Ressa -- told police they were from New Jersey, and Wright said he noticed a Mustang with New Jersey plates parked in front of the store.
"We looked in the back seat, and there were about six more pairs of Dockers," Wright said. When store employees identified the merchandise as theirs, officers had the vehicle towed.
During an inventory, they found much more than just pants, however, Capt. Guy Simeone said.
Wright and Officers Rich Bayless and Jim Villecco searched the car and found a scanner and copier, copies of bogus receipts for J.C. Penney's, stacks of tags from Penney's for Dockers pants, blank rolls of Penney's register tape, a device to cut the tape to make it look like it came from a register and fake receipts.
Ennis and Ressa were each charged with one count of receiving stolen property, one count of criminal simulation and five counts of possessing criminal tools.
Ennis also was charged with a single count of theft, while Ressa was additionally charged with a count of complicity.
All the charges are felonies, Simeone said.
The men, who are listed in court papers with the same address on South Ninth Street in Philadelphia, were arraigned in Niles Municipal Court and remain in the city jail on $75,000 bond each. A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Details of alleged scam
The men reportedly are part of a group of people who would steal pants from one store, generate a bogus receipt, and then return the items at another store for cash.
Simeone said his department has been fielding calls from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Indiana and Ohio about the men.
"I guess they've been doing this for years and got quite a bit of money doing this," he said. "One officer told me they are known as 'The Dockers Gang.'"
The men could face additional charges from local departments, as well as in other states, Wright said, based on other items found in the car.
"They had maps from Mapquest [an Internet Web site]," he said. "They had about 70 pages of maps of all the J.C. Penney's stores on the East Coast, and Niles was number four on the list."
Wright said the men apparently had visited stores in Boardman, Austintown and Hermitage, Pa., earlier in the day.
"We've faxed the information we have on them to several other departments," he said. So far, no other departments have pressed charges, but Wright said he believes additional charges against Ennis and Ressa may be filed, and other people may be arrested.
slshaulis@vindy.com