Ill-gotten gains turned good
It had all the drama of a great crime show. Credit card fraud, drugs, stolen luxury cars, bad guys ripping off other bad guys – but with a happy ending.
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott and other members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office delivered 82 boxes of top quality laminate flooring to Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties last week – headquartered in North Fort Myers – as part of the confiscated goods in a prominent area cloned credit card case.
The 82 boxes amount to approximately 2,650 square feet worth approximately $5,000 or more at resale.
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore shop will make great use of the donation, said Donna Clavin, vice president of the Habitat for Humanity retail store. “The flooring will be sold by Habitat for Humanity with the proceeds going toward local charitable efforts.”
The drama itself began with a bust in September of 2011, which involved a collaborative investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Highway Interdiction Unit and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.
A search of a vehicle resulted in the discovery of 20 cloned credit cards along with a computer and magnetic card writer utilized to manufacture them. (The recovered cloned credit cards had an approximate value of $160,000.)
The investigation led to a marijuana grow house operation in Lehigh Acres and more property obtained illegally that was seized, including the flooring, BMWs and even an ATV. Some items were purchased by the criminals from other criminals, said Scott.
The “ill-gotten gains,” said Scott, are a “win” for the local community.
“It is great, particularly in our local community, that we can help out folks in need by taking away from the bad guys to give it to the good folks. That’s a good day for me.”
Scott said he is not partial to any one community receiving a windfall, but it is special to him because he is a North Fort Myers resident.
He said he used to live a “stone’s throw away” from the Habitat facility when he was a child, now a local charity where his office can donate.
Officials also on hand included Manager of Evidence Ron Rolls, who helped deliver the goods, and Cpt. Rick Joslin, who is the commander of Forensic Science for the Sheriff’s Department.
Joslin said, while the whole drama seemed like a CSI episode, the real world at the Sheriff’s Office is different – yet with a sophisticated 85,000-square-feet of space that handles the confiscated goods, evidence and more.
“We have also opened a second store in Bonita Springs,” said Habitat’s Clavin. “We’ve been very fortunate to receive more and more donations, like through the Sheriff’s Department, but we need more.”
“It is a store where everyone can get fantastic values, not just our homeowners.”
Proceeds ultimately go to Habitat’s homeowners.
“It is a handsup, not a hand out,” said Habitat spokesperson Ginny Cooper. “Our homeowners are paying a mortgage, but they are vested homeowners, pay toward closing costs, mortgages and ‘sweat equity’ – have to spend 250 hours toward Habitat causes.”
Habitat for Humanity now has two retail outlets called ReStore. They are at 31 Willis Road in North Fort Myers and the newly recent opening of the 27821 S. Tamiami Trail store in Bonita Springs. They are both open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For information, call 652-0434.
“We really like to give back to those organizations who work so hard to make a difference. in these tough economic times, for our local citizens. I am so glad we could take what were ill-gotten gains of criminals and turn it into a benefit for Habitat for Humanity – this makes this story a happy ending,” said Scott.