SCHUMER: SPIKE IN ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT IS HITTING HUDSON VALLEY AND NYS HARD, HURTING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND DRIVING UP CONSUMER COSTS; SCHUMER LAUNCHES PUSH FOR FEDS TO INCREASE ENFORCEMENT AGAINST CRIME RINGS AT THE TOP DRIVING LARGE-SCALE RETAIL THEFT BY USING RICO ACT TO BUST ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME RINGS AND KEEP COMMUNITIES SAFE

Communities Across New York – Including The Hudson Valley – Have Seen Tens Of Thousands In Merchandise Stolen From Stores Amid Spike In Organized Retail Thefts – Hurting Local Businesses And Shoppers Via Higher Prices And Harder To Access Goods

Schumer Says Feds Must Increase Enforcement Against These Crime Rings & Black-Market Dealers At The Top To Stanch This Problem At Its Source; Senator Pushes Feds To Use Authority Under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act – Which Helped Curtail The Mafia – And Increase Prosecution Of These Crime Rings To Keep Stores And Communities Safe

Schumer: Major Retail Theft Rings Go Way Beyond Shoplifting; It’s Organized Crime—That The Feds Can Bust And Cut This Problem Off At The Source

Standing at the Galleria at Crystal Run, amid a spike in large scale organized retail thefts, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase enforcement, and use all available measures including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which helped curtail the mafia’s organized crime spree, to investigate and prosecute organized retail theft rings in New York.

The senator explained the RICO Act is a strong federal tool for the DOJ to bust criminal, retail theft organizations – which go far beyond run-of-the-mill shoplifters – in the Hudson Valley, and across the state to stop large-scale criminal operations who are hurting local businesses, driving up prices, inconveniencing consumers and risking community safety.

“Organized retail crime rings are spiking in New York and other communities across the country. It goes way beyond shoplifting – these are large-scale, organized theft operations stealing tens of thousands from local businesses here in the Hudson Valley and across the state and it has to stop. That’s why I’m launching my push to get the DOJ to step up their efforts against these crimes, and use the RICO Act, which helped curtail the mafia, to stop these organizations in their tracks,” said Senator Schumer. “We need all hands on deck to cut the problem off at the source and hold the people at the top of these criminal operations accountable. The feds have the power to bust these organizations and I am committed to fighting at the federal level to ensure our local police have the support they need to continue their work and keep our communities safe.”

“We need to support local law enforcement to keep Hudson Valley families safe and hold criminals accountable. I’m proud to join Senator Schumer to bring to bear the full force of the federal government to crack down on organized retail crime rings,” said Congressman Ryan. “We owe it to retail workers, customers and law enforcement to give them the tools needed to do their jobs safely. Pushing DOJ to utilize the RICO Act to hold these kingpins accountable will do exactly that.”

“Recently, the Town of Wallkill Police Department, has seen a dramatic escalation in cases of retail theft as evidenced by the 23% increase in the number of arrests for larceny in 2023 over the preceding year. Furthermore, the number of cases where organized theft rings were the driving force behind the thefts has also recently increased. Consequently, in collaboration with our partners in law enforcement, prosecutors, and the retail community, we developed strategies to respond to this issue. The ability to have the organized theft rings prosecuted under RICO, would provide us with another tool to address this growing problem faced by our community. I thank Senator Schumer for his efforts to provide us with this tool,” said Wallkill Police Chief Robert C. Hertman.

Schumer explained Congress passed the RICO Act in 1970 to help federal agents take on major organized crime rings – which harm communities, businesses, and consumers – by providing the feds with new tools to investigate and prosecute these crime rings and their more sophisticated, diversified interstate networks, rather than focus on individual crimes. Schumer explained using RICO to prosecute New York’s coordinated retail theft efforts would enable federal agents and New York prosecutors to partner to dismantle these repeated thefts – which are driven by profit not by necessity – and take down their entire organizational structure to stop these crime rings from adversely affecting the livelihoods of businesses and workers, and the pocketbooks of consumers.

Schumer said Upstate New York has been particularly impacted by these rings, with Orange and other New York counties having seen rises in thefts and assaults on retail workers in recent years. Last week in Orange County, law enforcement announced that they had nabbed a suspect who had stolen over $33,000 worth of cell phones from a Walmart in Middletown. Also, last week in nearby Poughkeepsie, suspects were charged with felony grand larceny after using forged instruments to steal over a $1,200 worth of goods at an area Home Depot.

A copy of Schumer’s letter to the Department of Justice appears below:

Dear Attorney General Garland:

I am writing to urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate organized retail theft rings that continue to harm businesses and communities across New York. While theft has decreased as a whole nationwide, New York City has seen a 64 percent increase in thefts since 2019, and Syracuse has seen a 55 percent spike since 2021.  Monroe, Orange, and other New York counties have also seen rises in thefts and assaults on retail workers in recent years. Many of these thefts are not driven by necessity but by organized crime rings looking to make a profit.

Everyday New Yorkers are being harmed by these crime rings. Large chain stores and small businesses alike are being forced to close due to thefts. Target announced last year the closure of their store in East Harlem, citing concerns over worker safety and theft as their reason for closing.  Other large retailers and small businesses have followed suit, as the cost of securing merchandise—whether by locking certain items in cases, investing in hired security and security cameras, or securing doors and windows with expensive security gates—has harmed their ability to operate.

Organized crime rings are also incentivizing thieves to use more brazen and confrontational techniques against retail workers who try to intervene to stop them, putting retail workers in danger. Almost half of small businesses owners surveyed by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce say they felt more unsafe in 2023 than during the year before.  Retail workers should not be put at risk so that others can make a profit off stolen goods.

These effects also trickle down to consumers, who are, in many cases, forced to pay higher prices and face fewer choices as their local communities cope with or succumb to retail theft. Small businesses are feeling the effects of retail theft at a greater level than large retailers—many small businesses surveyed this past year were forced to raise their prices solely due to shoplifting.7 Organized retail crime is a problem that will only continue to harm New York businesses and consumers unless the government protects consumers.

Congress has provided DOJ with powerful tools to tackle this problem. One option is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which could help federal agents take on major organized crime rings harm our communities. Rather than focus on individual crimes, RICO enables DOJ to investigate and prosecute these crime rings and their sophisticated, diversified interstate networks. Using RICO to combat organized retail theft rings would allow federal agents to work with local New York prosecutors, and it is critical to use all available tools to dismantle these rings and take down their entire organizational structure. I urge DOJ to take all appropriate actions to stop these criminal enterprises and to provide justice to affected businesses, workers, and consumers.

Sincerely,

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