Wow. Cloning of Cars. If I had to apply a criminological theory to this, I would apply the theory of social control, which states that people in society commit criminal acts because of the weaknesss of forces restraining them from doing so, not because of the strength of the force driving them to do so. Basically, the theory implies that its not the factors that influence us that make us commit crimes, but its the factors that do not prevent us, that make us commit crimes. In this case, the car cloning is not a crime that is common, so it can be extremely hard to detect. Thus, there are very few forces that are preventing the car cloners from cloning. So while the police are focusing on the murderers and drug dealers, these car cloner’s do not have much of the law watching their everyday moves. Social control also states that if an individual has closer social bonds in their community, they are less likely to commit crime. So maybe the owners of this cloning car dealership did not have close bonds to their family, friends, community, etc. Although this characterstic of the theory is hard to determine by the information in the article, it is possible and could be true.

I have never heard of a car cloning ring before. I definitely agree with Briana about theory of social control. Apparently this crime isn’t committed often. These individuals got away with scamming people and stealing cars for 20 years before getting caught. That is insane.
I have never heard of anything like this before. It’s really interesting. I feel bad for Pirrone because now he has to pay almost 600 dollars a month for a truck he no longer owns. Hopefully suing the used car place will help in some way. Seeing that these cars are actually being sold at dealerships and not on the streets by random people really shows that these individuals had their plans down. And it shows that sometimes you really can’t trust a dealership. Maybe dealerships should have a certain certification guaranteed that their cars are legit… or do they already have that? Whatever the case, these scammers should serve some jail time and pay restitution.

This case is shows that people commit crimes in some very imaginative ways. Too bad they wasted their ideas for such things instead of something productive. But in any case, according to Edwin H. Sutherland the “car cloners” committing these crimes were doing so because the criminals learned how to do these things. His differential association theory suggest that these criminals were brought up on crime and that it’s not a biological situation. So if they learned to use these ideas to good use then they wouldn’t be doing crimes.

I agree with Brianna as well about the theory of social control because clearly this is not a “typical” crime that people hear of everyday. People commit this crime because clearly officers are not focused on crimes like this, they are more focussed on murdering and robberies. Car cloning is very far-fetched to think about. I feel bad for Pirrone but in a way it is a good thing that this happened to him because it opened up everyones eyes to the struggle of this crime. This article really shows that you need to be extremely careful when purchasing certain objects because many people are very crazy out there and do absurd things. It very unfortunate that Pirrone has to keep paying around 600 dollars a month but hopefully he will win his lawsuit and not have to pay because he shouldn’t have to pay for something he doesn’t even own anymore.

Well that just sucks…it will be interesting to see if the courts say that the dealership is responsible for Piorre’s balance left over on the truck. He bought it in good faith and he shouldn’t be held responsible for this. Goes to show ya that anything is possible these days and criminals are just looking for new and creative ways to rip people off. I heard the other day on NPR radio that the theft of radios in peoples cars has gone down because the criminals just arent making the profits they used to with the radios…so now it’s cloning

This just shows that criminals can be intelligent and know how to evade law enforcement for a long time, they just got greedy and not they are going to be prosecuted. I don’t see how Piorre could be held responsible for the remaining balance, the police should step in and say he something because it was stolen property. On the other hand I don’t feel the car company should be able to get sued over it either, I doubt they knew it had been stolen in the first place. This just shows the social disorganization in today’s society. People just do anything they please with no regard to others. This all probably has surfaced recently due to the economic struggles people are having.

This story is very interesting because there are a lot of places like Car Max that sell used cars and I wonder how many more cars are like that. Conflict theorists would look at this quite simply. Since the cars were stolen and sold probably for drugs and other things, this sounds like a non-white collar crime. These people obviously knew they were dealing with a similar class- a class that does not buy a new car and is looking for a deal. The conflict theory says that people of a class have similar values. The theory also says that if they are a lower class that they are opposed to the rules set by the upper class and almost feel natural to commit a crime. They would see this as a natural tension between classes.

This is just an excellent example of how criminal activity has spread throughout the country to a highly organized, streamlined organization. They have obviously setup offices and other establishments to purchase these vehicles and clone them. They also have marketing avenues to dispose of the vehicle once it is ready.
There is nothing that even the banks can do to help these victims purely because they have already given out the funds and they need it back, they are running a business not a charity. However the only relief for victims is probably to have some level of theft insurance, it may be more costly but in situations such as this it would probably be a life saver.
In a lot of Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia they steal the cars and then drive them across the borders and sell them in neighboring countries with false papers. Once it is in the new countries registration database it is almost impossible to find it.
The advice that the FBI officers have given is absolutely correct. Buyers should be aware of where they purchase their automobiles from, if the deal is way too good to be true it probably is.

I found this article to be very interesting it’s crazy to think that people can clone cars alone, never mind getting away with it for twenty years! I would hate to be in the situation Pirrone is in, I feel extremely bad for him and don’t think that he should be held responsible for the remaining balance of the pickup truck he no longer has. It is true people really do need to be more careful where they purchase cars, especially when it comes to buying it off a stranger. But Pirrone bought it off a dealership lot, in this case i feel as though they should be held responsible for the remaining payments because when your buying a new car if you can’t trust a dealership who can you trust? I don’t see how these people got away with 1,000 stolen vehicles and 25 million dollars in losses with consumers and banks. It’s good that the FBI finally caught on because now people will open their eyes and be more aware of what they are buying, and who they are purchasing it from. I’m interested to hear if Pirrone will win his lawsuit.

Criminologists that view this from a strain theory perspective would claim that the pressures of society caused these people to set up this car cloning operation. Strain theory focuses on the pressure people feel to succeed and that when it cannot be achieved by the conventional methods delinquent behavior can result. People are desperate to succeed and live the life style they feel they are suppose to. This often results from the unequal opportunities that are present in society. The access to education can be directly linked to success and not all people have access some are forced to work to help support the family. Strain theory theorists would look at the social structure surrounding the people involved in this crime in order to determine what the reasons they committed these crimes.

Why does this not surprise me? The criminal is thinking outside the box and finding ways to prey on the weak and abuse the system. I have a theory to how they manage to clone these vehicles because I’ve had many run-ins with scammers online. When I was searching for a vehicle to buy on craigslist one day, it dawned on my that a person can call up the seller and ask the general questions about the car and then request the VIN number for a “carfax” lookup. The seller most likely will oblige and now the thief has a VIN to match to a similar vehicle and sell it. I feel really bad for Pirrone and hope he can settle with his bank. But kudos to the F.B.I. for the efforts in this case.

I find this article interesting for two reasons. Firstly, I have to buy a new car soon and this article allowed me to realize how cautious I will need to be. I have to look at everything very carefully because I don’t want to end up in the same situation as Pirrone. Secondly, I’m considering joining the FBI after I attend law school. And even though I can’t choose where I want to live, this car cloning business mainly took place in Florida and the field office in Tampa took charge of the investigation. I hope to stay in this area and it is good to see this field office in effect and making changes in people’s lives.

Furthermore, criminals are very creative people. I would never know how to change a car so that no one will be able to tell that it’s stolen. Only very desperate people would take the time to learn and perfect how to clone a car. Everyone is suffering in today’s economy, but not everyone is turning to crime to fix their problems. I hope that the FBI continues to find all the people that were involved in the car cloning, so they don’t continue to hurt undeserving people.

As an owner of a used car like many other college students, this article caught my attention. As I was reading the article I began to realize how amazing this was, that for 20 years this “car cloning” ring had I assume been running with no problems what so ever. If I’ve been reading correctly the scam was removing the stolen car’s VIN number and other information and replacing it with a legal car’s VIN number, the legal car being a “similar make and model.” The word similar causes me to raise a few questions, since there so many different brands, makes and editions out there today, for example an F150 truck comes in either a, XL, XLT with either standard, extended or crew cab seating. If the VIN number your checking shows an F150 XLT 2008 and on the lot your seeing a F150 XL 2008, don’t take the car sales men’s word for it that it must of been a typo. Investigate it more and usually with all the different options you can get when purchasing a car from a manufacture, you will maybe be able to spot a few more differences between the VIN number and vehicle in front of you. I agree with other bloggers that this is a sort of looked over spot where crimes can be committed, but if one of those car buyers over the past 20 years just did there homework a little bit more and were not so captivated by the good deal this might not of taken 20 years to catch these guys.

#6
This article fits very well into our chapter 11 info, organiztional crime as well as consumer fraud. It is truely amazing how something this large could go on for 20 years, and what is more amazing is this newly created U.S. Database did not exsist before Febuary. Criminals know that law enforcement does a very poor job of communication across state lines this it what aids the large criminal organizations and what they truely count on.
Today in our vast information age, law enforcement needs to catch up to thier criminal element counterparts.

All though motor vehicle theft if declining in the US, it is still a problem that could affect anyone, anywhere. Motor vehicle theft is most common in metropolitan areas, with motives ranging from joyriding, to transportation, to stealing for a profit. Many car that are stolen are brought to a chop shop, where the vehicle is stripped any parts of value and sold on the black market. When thieves have a chop shop, they are looking for a particular make and model that is common. Thieves that steal cars to resell, change the VIN numbers, plates, and stickers to show the car as clean, or not stolen.
In this article, the FBI arrested several thieves that were cloning cars. They changed VIN numbers, plates, and stickers that were stolen of similar cars and resold. This hurts the person deeply, and in many cases the owner will end up with nothing. Guiseppe “Joe” Pirrone is an example. He unknowing purchased a truck that was stolen. The police took the vehicle leaving him nothing except a hefty loan to pay, with no truck to show for it. Recently, my friends parents had their house broken into, where a valet key was stolen. Several days later, their vehicle was stolen right from their house in the middle of the night. The vehicle was later found ditched in the woods, with much damage. They were lucky though, because their insurance paid for the losses. It just goes to show that anyone can be a victim of motor vehicle theft.

This article is about a car theft ring, the largest in U.S. history that was busted by the F.B.I. in March of 2009. Called “Operation Dual Identity,” the car thieves cloned vehicles by taking license plates, VIN numbers, and other tags and stickers from a legal car and place them on stolen cars of similar make and model. According to the F.B.I. the ring has been operating in the U.S. for more than 20 years and has racked up more than $25 million in losses for consumers and banks. 17 arrest warrants were issued in Tampa, and Miami Florida, Chicago Illinois, Mexico City, and Guadalajara, Mexico. They were accused of cloning vehicles.
Motor vehicle theft is one of the most common larceny offenses. It’s defined by the F.B.I. as the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle, including automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motor scooters, and snowmobiles. In the U.S. about 1.2 million motor vehicles are stolen annually. Since 1992 motor vehicle thefts have increased with rates the highest in the south and west. Car thieves steal for many reasons including joyriding, short term or long term transportation, or profit, and as such there are many different types of car thieves. To combat motor vehicle theft, insurance companies and auto alarm companies have created a variety of antitheft devices to make it more difficult to steal cars, including some armored ignition starter cut off switches, steering column armored collars, fuel cutoff devices, steering wheel locks, and alarm systems. Still, thieves have ways of disarming these useful tools, but better parking lot facilities and guarded lots have helped to keep peoples cars safe. When it comes down to tracking down chop shops, garages where stolen cars are broken down into their component parts for resale, geographic information systems have proved useful in identifying motor vehicle theft patterns, distances, and directions.