# Stolen MTH trains



## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Had a rude awakening today. Seems like somebody broke into one of our storage units and stole $7000 worth of MTH trains. The guy thought it was me because I knew he had the trains and I like trains and have the layout at work so he figured I took his trains. Told the police that too and I've just spent the last two hours answering questions and defending myself from untrue accusations. Just because I have trains and like trains I must have been the one to steal his trains. Kinda like a bunch of little kids. Wish I did have his trains. They were super and all MTH stuff.
So if anyone sees or hears about somebody selling a large batch of MTH from down this way please let me know. Pete


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

norgale said:


> Had a rude awakening today. Seems like somebody broke into one of our storage units and stole $7000 worth of MTH trains. The guy thought it was me because I knew he had the trains and I like trains and have the layout at work so he figured I took his trains. Told the police that too and I've just spent the last two hours answering questions and defending myself from untrue accusations. Just because I have trains and like trains I must have been the one to steal his trains. Kinda like a bunch of little kids. Wish I did have his trains. They were super and all MTH stuff.
> So if anyone sees or hears about somebody selling a large batch of MTH from down this way please let me know. Pete


Sue him for false accusation, slander, false arrest. Inconvenience, loss of work time,depression and you can't have you know what anymore. 

Tell the *** to watch Craig's list and e bay.
Did he at least apologize to you?











You got any trains for sale?


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Sorry to hear that. It will be someone who knows him and knew where he kept them though. Nobody's going to take that much without knowing what it is, how much it's worth and where to dump it.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Pete,

Yikes! Sorry to hear you were (falsely) put in someone's rage & gunsights. Let your honor and integrity be your best advocate, and things will hopefull work out OK.

TJ


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

May I suggest that you watch ebay and see if they appear there


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## N scale catastrophe (Nov 18, 2012)

Sad for one train guy to accuse another of such a heinous act. All train people I've met respect each other's collections, the time and money put into them, and wouldn't think of ever accusing another modeler of something this infantile. Sorry you had to deal with this, but I do hope he finds his trains and whomever the slime is that stole them.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's pretty low class for him to accuse you without any evidence at all! I'd have to slap him around a bit, that's not right.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Sorry to hear what you went through...good luck and watch eBay an CL!


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

That is just plain crazy!!! Were they really stolen, or is they guy claiming they were stolen in order to collect some insurance money?

By accusing you, I think it may be a set up, or a friend of a friend that knew about the stuff, where it was stored, and the "victims" schedule.

Unfortunately, everyone that had access to the storage area is a suspect.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I think I've been exonerated by the sheriff deputy as she has been here before for similar situations and knows me at least a little. The big thing here is that the guy has three storage units and is way behind on his rent. He has been sent a letter informing him that unless he does something about paying what he owes his stuff will be sold for the back rent. In this case it's well over a thousand bucks. Now each of the three units has a front door and a back door and the three back doors have our lockes on them as he didn't have enough locks of his own. We loaned him the locks. Two of the three front doors have our locks on them too and the third front door has one of his locks and one of ours. He does not have a key to our locks so he is effectivly locked out of his units because of the back rent being due. Our maintenance man,me and the office people/managers have keys to these locks so the guy has naturally decided that one of us has taken the trains and I don't really blame him for thinking this. However the thief had to know where the trains were as that's the unit that has the guys lock on it. The thief cut his lock off and had a key to our lock,went in and took the trains. This of course makes us look guilty as hell. I also found out that since Friday when the theft was discovered five boxes of the MTH stuff have been put back in the unit again using a key to our lock to do so. This is very strange indeed. I guess what I will do is check out every unit that has only our lock on it to see if the trains have been stashed on the property somewhere. Then we will have to go buy all new locks and destroy all the old locks.
What a mess. And Merry Cristmas to all of you too. Ha! Pete


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## Grbauc (Dec 13, 2012)

yikes something is fishy here. sounds like he has a key and shananakins for sure!!


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Do you have any security cams to look at the tapes and what not? If not they might be a wise investment...and I too think ill shenanigans also....good luck man!


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Oy!...gevald...


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## hoscale37 (Nov 20, 2011)

So- has the maintenance man been questioned by the sheriff as well? Not to point fingers or anything, but you mentioned that your maintenance man has a key to the locks as well... just a thought. 

From your description it sounds like if the thieves were looking for something high profile, they may have taken it and placed the box back in the unit to make it look like nothing was missing...

Just sucks though- I have had my car broken into and I know about the whole "violated" feeling. 

I certainly do hope that the thieves are found.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Why in the world would you put your locks on someone else's locker? I'd just tell them they're on their own as far as locks! You're just opening yourself up to such issues.

Am I missing something basic here?


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Why in the world would you put your locks on someone else's locker? I'd just tell them they're on their own as far as locks! You're just opening yourself up to such issues.
> 
> Am I missing something basic here?


grj,
In the storage business if you get behind with your rental fee after a designated period of time the owner places his own lock on the unit too.
This prevents you from moving out in the middle of the night and skipping out on what you owe them.
Most storage unit contracts give them the right of ownership and the right to sell or auction off the contents of the unit after a specified period of time if payments aren't caught up.
Bob


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Why in the world would you put your locks on someone else's locker? I'd just tell them they're on their own as far as locks! You're just opening yourself up to such issues.
> 
> Am I missing something basic here?


Your so right there John but I think the maintenance man was just trying to help the guy out by loaning him some locks. Now that has backfied and the MM is a prime suspect. On the other hand I have been completly absolved of any responsibility by the sheriffs detectives. Besides I don't have to steal his stuff anyway. All I have to do is wait till he gets deep enough with the rent and I'll get it ALL for free. On the other hand we don't really want his stuff. We want the money. Found out this morning he owes over 2k now so he could be next on my list.
Oh well. We have a new manager now so he can get his feet wet by handling all this. Good experience for him. Ha! Pete


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## rrgrassi (May 3, 2012)

You know, its quite easy to get keys for pad locks. All you need is the lock MGR, and the code off of the lock. All the person ahs to do is contact the lock maker give them the code and a new key is sent out. Your storage locker renter could have done that.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

rrgrassi said:


> You know, its quite easy to get keys for pad locks. All you need is the lock MGR, and the code off of the lock. All the person ahs to do is contact the lock maker give them the code and a new key is sent out. Your storage locker renter could have done that.


Actually, the code is on the keys, not the lock, at least on the two locks I looked at.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

norgale said:


> Your so right there John but I think the maintenance man was just trying to help the guy out by loaning him some locks. Now that has backfied and the MM is a prime suspect.


OK, that makes sense. I couldn't imagine what was going on there.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

These locks are the round kind and it's very difficult to copy the key without the key to copy. Bolt cutters will not even dent them but I have a generator and a disc grinder and even that takes awhile to cut through the shank.
Today I was told that this renter has until Monday to pay up or we seize his stuff.Too bad somebody else got to the MTH first unless the guy took the stuff and hid it somewhere himself. That's a distinct possibility at this point. He also has some super woodworking tools in there. Big commercial stuff that I'll have to get a forklift to move. Should be a very interesting week.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

I'd bet the Farm.....its the Butler!!


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh no. The butler has been exonerated. He was fired two weeks before the theft for getting drunk on the job and telling the owner to "Kiss my butt" when she ordered a cold beer. That lady just has NO sense of humor. Pete


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## pookybear (Feb 3, 2011)

Well something is fishy here. You got 3 lockers and as I understand it
6 doors. 3 on the front and 3 on the back. You have locks on all
six of the doors and he has a lock on just one of the doors. Has to
be either someone with some skill picked the locks or inside job. 
Someone should be sweating over there. The maintenance man better
be careful as he gave out the locks. Any other people who could caught
up in this?

Pookybear


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I think he stole his trains as he knew he could not pay the bill.
He has them stashed somewhere,

Tail him Pete.


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## Hold'ErNewt (Nov 27, 2012)

Right on, stakeout. I'll get some donuts and bad coffee...


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Turn him in to the police for a false police report.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Train your new pet fly to attack him!:thumbsup:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

norgale said:


> Oh no. The butler has been exonerated. He was fired two weeks before the theft for getting drunk on the job and telling the owner to "Kiss my butt" when she ordered a cold beer. That lady just has NO sense of humor. Pete


Laugh my *** off!!!:laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

pookybear said:


> Well something is fishy here. You got 3 lockers and as I understand it
> 6 doors. 3 on the front and 3 on the back. You have locks on all
> six of the doors and he has a lock on just one of the doors. Has to
> be either someone with some skill picked the locks or inside job.
> ...


Nobody else so far. The guy either stole his own stuff or there is someone that we don't know has a key. I don't think it was the maintenance man. I know him pretty well and he's a great guy. Don't think he would do such a thing. We have new managers taking over today so we'll see what they do.
Pete


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Hold'ErNewt said:


> Right on, stakeout. I'll get some donuts and bad coffee...


Too cold for a stake out and I hate bad coffee. However I am always up for a donut anytime. Ha!


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Turn him in to the police for a false police report.


Huh? Say what?


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

big ed said:


> Train your new pet fly to attack him!:thumbsup:


That stupid fly didn't come out this morning. Too cold I guess.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

MacDaddy55 said:


> Laugh my *** off!!!:laugh::laugh::laugh:


I'm still laughing too. Don't know where that one came from. HA!


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Pete, Whenever we had a claim come in, one that might have strange circumstances we'd run a credit check.
Funny how many times their credit was in the toilet, the car that was "stolen" was in the process of being repo'd, their house that burned being foreclosed.
Many people have the belief the insurance company adjuster is a heartless, hard nosed< insert bad word here>.Honestly I wasn't but I wasn't a fool either. I know I paid fraud claims but didn't have the time to prove it. I've also testified and had people sent to prison. Good, why should we pay for scum buckets who try to scam insurance companies?
I really liked working with commercial accounts, sure they tried to inflate the loss amount but when confronted with facts we shook hands and departed friends. 
FWIW I despise thieves.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Jack,
There's a little 'burb about 4 miles from my house that had a guy (now taking a dirt nap) that owned about 50% of everything commercial within a 5 mile radius.
He burned down his supermarket twice, his bar once, and flooded his mobile home park. I was good buds with the insurance adjuster and it drove him batty that he couldn't prove anything on this dude. He raked in millions on stenchy insurance claims over the years.
He finally met his maker this past summer. Only his immediate family showed up at his funeral!
Yep, I hate theives too.
Bob


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Two of my all time favorites, guy burned his car down outside of his house in the driveway claiming he was fixing a leaky fuel line,,I had to tell him his insurance had been cancelled for lack of payment the month before. He was,hmm, perturbed.
Other guy drove to the southern part of the state [big deal, maybe 25 miles] bought a gas can at Western Auto, bought gas on his credit card and drove to a golf course. Walked into the town, found a bar, got drunk, started a fight and got locked up for the night. Cops smelt gas but he claimed he had no car.
Couple of days later he reported the car stolen but it had been found already so I requested the police report, police also included his arrest report. When he got antsy about answering my questions he wanted to drop the claim. I had the cops question him. He got two years for attempted ins fraud and arson.

Worst was a washer hose that burst. Flooded the basement. Two days before Christmas and this woman had all her gifts stored in the laundry room for her 3 kids. Wrote her a check on the spot,said screw the deductible and hoped the best for her. Caught he77 for waiving the ded, told the office manager I had seen it done for the higher ups in the company and I'd pay it if it might that much to him. 'Next time call"

Miss that job.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Jack,
The flooded basement story sure hit home! 
My wife is a "decorate the house for Christmas aholic". We put up FOUR trees in our modest 2000 sq. ft. shack every year. Needless to say, we have LOTS of Christmas trim. 
About 20 years ago we had a one week monsoon pass thru Michigan. Basements were flooded everywhere, including ours, because our sump pump couldn't keep up with all the water. By the time it was over we had almost three feet of water in our basement and ALL of our Christmas trim was destroyed. The adjuster had us make a listing as accurate as possible of our loss using pricing from Bronner's of Frankenmuth (the worlds largest Christmas store) as a guide for our claim. It was MANY pages long, as my sweet wifey knows every item by first name and middle initial.  We also had lots of clear pictures of our Christmas trees, etc., from past years.
When the smoke cleared, the adjuster approved payment of $8,750 and also waived the deductible because the pump didn't fail, just couldn't keep up.
We then went to Bronners (30 minutes away) and replaced our trim. Good thing I was driving a large Buick station wagon at the time because we had something like 35 LARGE shopping bags of goodies. We're still using 90% of that stuff to this day.
Bad deal, but happy ending! :thumbsup: :laugh:
Bob


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

SO now the people at work are calling me Jessy. Ya know why? Did Jessy James pull the Great Train Robbery? I didn't think so but Lord knows he robbed a bunch of trains. 
As for insurance I don't know if the trains were insured or not. But the guy had a list of every item he owned,when he bought it,where he bought it and how much he paid for it. Who does that?
We are still looking for the trains and the thief, and I think we will be looking for a very long time. Those trains are gone. Shoot! Pete


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Pete,
If I had made a list of what I paid for all my train stuff, and my wife found it..............whoa, it's lights out at the ranch!   hwell:
Bob


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## N scale catastrophe (Nov 18, 2012)

If I had a list of how much I've spent on train stuff I think I would faint! This all still sounds fishy to me. Guy is either OCD or overly organized for a no good reason. Hope he's out of your hair soon!


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## broox (Apr 13, 2012)

raleets said:


> Pete,
> If I had made a list of what I paid for all my train stuff, and my wife found it..............whoa, it's lights out at the ranch!   hwell:
> Bob


This man speaks the truth. 




norgale said:


> SO now the people at work are calling me Jessy.


Jessy. I like it. You bad *** train robber, you :thumbsup:


Yeah, thats gonna stick :laugh:


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

If my wife had sold my woodworking tools for what I said they cost somebody would have gotten a heck of a deal. When I did sell them and she saw I had gotten a lot more than what I had said she thought I was salesman o' the year. I think the trains fall into the same category.

Remember, it's far better to beg forgiveness than beg for permission....


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

N scale catastrophe said:


> Guy is either OCD or overly organized for a no good reason.


There is a reason N. Every year I do a walkthru of our house with our camcorder including inside closets and drawers. The tape was kept at my BIL but now at my brothers. In the event we ever come home to a smoldering foundation I have proof of what we lost. Reciepts, which the adjuster will ask for are gone, burned up.

Collections like coins,stamps,_ antique _guns and jewelery should be on a rider, I'm thinking those with a big, extensive layout might consider a rider too. 

Too many years handling insurance claims taught me to document everything.


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## N scale catastrophe (Nov 18, 2012)

Too many years handling insurance claims taught me to document everything.[/QUOTE]

I understand what you're saying, but honest people do things for the right reason (like you said above, too many years...) dishonest people copy honest people but with bad intentions. Just can't shake the feeling that this was planned if only the trains were stolen. Someone who is not involved in model railroading would have no idea what those trains were worth and would assume they were toys. Unless someone who knew him, what he had and what it is worth took them. Still hope you don't have to put up with this for much longer.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I say him did it himself!
If he accused me I would be tailing him!:thumbsdown:

Pete, you were just an easy target for his scheme/scam.

Call the Miami vice, Don Johnson will get him! 
He is not doing much these days.


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## trainguru (Jun 28, 2011)

*Trainguru's Soapbox Time: Good Will Toward Human Kind!*

Mr. Norgale, my advice is to forgive and move on. So the guy thought you stole his trains. You didn't! He has MTH, most likely big O-scale Boomers, and you are what, an HO man (BGC), so what would you want with trains fit for only a Christmas Tree, or museum layout? Atleast you are free from the suspect list D). Now send the guy some good Christmas cheer, with a cake or a train dvd (somthing to show no hard feelings), and sing *"Hark the Herald Angel Sing"*, like in a Peanuts Special, while the fake snow falls in Florida. -  

Happy Christmas, Merry New Year, Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Human Kind, and All of the Heavenly Father's Creations (Organic, and Train Kind alike! - :laugh. From your neighborhood Soapbox in that little Hamlet we call Model Train Forum:

TRAINGURU


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## Prospect193 (Nov 30, 2011)

I agree!!!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Pete,
My advice would probably get you 25 to life in your parts, not so much in mine.
Besides they gotta find the body to make it stick!


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Between the snakes and gators I don't think Pete will lose any sleep over the body being found.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Hey no bodies guys. There are too many bodies out in the Glades already. Actually I have more or less forgotten all about this fiasco and I havn't seen the guy since the day the cops came to chat. I'm not the type to hold a grudge or let something like this bother me. Now you steal from me or hurt my dog then that's a way different story with the dog being most important. Then I will never forget you and I will get even.
I don't know what the boss will do about this guy but I think the end is very near for him. Probably won't hear anymore about this until after the end of the year. Come January first and the boss takes invetory of what she's owed then the axe will fall. Last January she handed me a list of 12 closed accounts and said "Clean 'em out" and that was it. Took me six months to clean all the units out and there's still some stuff left in the store. This guy is going to be a very unhappy camper I think. pete


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

The prehistoric Fly Pete,
What happened to that new Florida bird your feeding?


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Ed that fly is still in the birdhouse and still moves around when I bump the house. Havn't seen it again since the first time. Kinda like a stupid fly just isn't very exotic or interesting. I'd still like to get a picture of it though. Maybe this week. Pete


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

norgale said:


> Ed that fly is still in the birdhouse and still moves around when I bump the house. Havn't seen it again since the first time. Kinda like a stupid fly just isn't very exotic or interesting. I'd still like to get a picture of it though. Maybe this week. Pete


Maybe it is laying eggs, the next time you see it there will be a thousand of them.


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