Organized retail theft to equal racketeering

By Marc Kovac

Baby formula is the top target of the theft rings, a lawmaker said.

COLUMBUS — A Cincinnati lawmaker introduced legislation Tuesday cracking down on organized retail theft rings that target stores for everything from baby formula to small appliances.

Republican Sen. Bill Seitz said such crime is costing retailers billions of dollars annually in lost sales and state and local governments some $88 million in sales tax revenues.

Seitz’s SB 320 would add “organized retail theft” to the list of offenses Ohio law categorizes as “corrupt activity,” ranking it with racketeering.

Individuals or groups convicted of stealing and then selling the stolen merchandize for $500 or more within a six-month period would face increased penalties.

Additionally, victims could seek restitution and law enforcement could seize ill-gotten gains.

Seitz was joined by retailer groups, including representatives of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants and the Ohio Grocers Association, during a press conference at the Statehouse unveiling the proposed legislation.

The bill is aimed at groups that target quantities of “fast-moving” consumer goods, including allergy medications, small appliances, dietary products, video games and hand tools.

Baby formula is the No.1 item stolen and hawked by organized rings, Seitz said.

“I’m not just talking about a bottle for junior,” he said. “I’m talking case after case [of formula].”

Seitz and Tom Jackson, who heads the Ohio Grocers Association, described organized efforts in which thieves take large quantities of items by setting off security alarms as diversions or running to awaiting vehicles parked just outside stores’ doors.

The goods are then sold from street corners or at flea markets, vacant storefronts and other locations.

“We are talking about organized retail theft,” Seitz said. “This is not simply a shoplifting bill, by any stretch of the imagination.”

mkovac@dixcom.com