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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
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Investigation wraps up crime ring
Four men face burglary, fraud charges James Weldon
jweldon@nsnews.com
POLICE in West Vancouver and other municipalities believe they have brought a year-long crime spree to a halt with the arrest of four men they say committed a series of frauds and burglaries stretching across several Lower Mainland communities. The suspects were taken into custody over several days this month following an 11-month investigation that involved some 34 officers from West Vancouver, Vancouver and Burnaby. Together, the men face more than 30 charges, including break-and-enter, robbery, fraud, possession of forged credit cards and possession of a weapon. Investigators are now combing through unsolved cases from all over the Lower Mainland on the suspicion many may be connected to the alleged spree. “They’ll be looking at probably hundreds of police files,” said Cpl. Brenda Gresiuk, a spokeswoman for the Burnaby RCMP. “We’re absolutely expecting a lot more charges.” The men came to police attention in January this year after a Burnaby RCMP crime analyst noted a spike in residential break-and-enters in that community. The apparent spree seemed to follow a pattern: The perpetrators would target single-family homes in upscale neighbourhoods, generally with a fence or hedge hiding them from view, enter through a backdoor or open window and make See Alleged page 5
You can take the clothes off these firefighters have your say at nsnews.com
Jane Seyd jseyd@nsnews.com
Boardroom
NEWS photo Mike Wakefield
HANNAH Dubois (left) and Julia Vodarek flank the Penguin Plunge mascot in anticipation of the 29th annual Deep Cove Penguin Plunge. The event runs New Year’s Day from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Panorama Park, with the Plunge itself taking place at 2 p.m.
A group of local firefighters has raised the temperature on charity fundraising with a brand new calendar app that lets users slide the shirts off some firefighting hotties on their iPhones. “It’s the first of its kind that’s ever been done,” said Eric Blank, a professional firefighter of 16 years who works in West Vancouver. The cellphone app features a 2011 calendar with 13 hunky firefighters from across the Lower Mainland, including five who work in West Vancouver. But when the calendar is turned upside down, each firefighter’s jacket slides off to See Money page 5