Boulder, CO Man Charged With Theft of 74 Pairs of Skis From Ski Resorts

[Ken_R]

No one seems to want my Monster 88's. I am just looking for an excuse to get a new pair...

 

[scott43]

No one seems to want my Monster 88's. I am just looking for an excuse to get a new pair...

It's the same with cars...

 

[DanoT]

No one seems to want my Monster 88's. I am just looking for an excuse to get a new pair...

Many years ago I was an insurance claim adjuster and part of the training required reading through some specified files.

One file was about an insured who wanted to collect insurance money for his "stolen" vehicle. He lived on a rural property so he dug a big hole and buried the car. The insurance company found out about the buried car from a neighbour who saw him digging a big hole in his yard.

Burying your Monster 88's in the back yard wouldn't require a very big hole, but just do the digging at night.

 

[PNWRod]

I have been quite fortunate. Have never locked up my skis, but also never had them stolen. Lately I have started to use the ski check on busy days at major resorts. My local hill has more of a community feel to it and does not have a ski check or lock racks … this has never been an issue there. I guess I have been lucky.

Next time you are down to Crystal bring your SX's and leave them at the lower rack by the bathrooms at the base lodge. Just let me know the day.

 

[Seldomski]

Time in jail (years) = 1.5 x log_10(pairs of skis stolen)

So, a little under 3 years...

 

[Ken_R]

Many years ago I was an insurance claim adjuster and part of the training required reading through some specified files.

One file was about an insured who wanted to collect insurance money for his "stolen" vehicle. He lived on a rural property so he dug a big hole and buried the car. The insurance company found out about the buried car from a neighbour who saw him digging a big hole in his yard.

Burying your Monster 88's in the back yard wouldn't require a very big hole, but just do the digging at night.

 

[Fuller]

So the guy had 74 pairs of skis at his house? Sounds like he needs an inventory control program to tell him when to discount his prices! Or maybe he was just building his quiver...

 

[James]

Well then there’s the guy who drove his Bugatti Veyron into a lake to get the insurance.
Man who drove a $1M Bugatti into a lake is going to jail

Man who drove a $1M Bugatti into a lake is going to jail

It was less about a "low-flying pelican," and more about insurance fraud.

www.usatoday.com

 

[mdf]

Many years ago I was an insurance claim adjuster

I had a friend (deceased, unfortunately ) who was, I don't know what you call it, but the guy who dealt with the salvage after the claims were paid.
My favorite story was after a fire at Savenor's, the small market / wine shop where a Julia Child used to shop.
By law in Massachusetts, you can't resale salvaged wine, so old man Savenor was pouring them out with insurance witnesses. (Of course the smoke had zero effect on sealed bottles.) Every so often he would say, oh no boys, we can't dump this one, glasses up!

Sounds like a fun day at work.

 

[tball]

More details on how they caught the thief in this article:

Boulder man accused of stealing more than 70 pairs of skis

DILLON — A Boulder man is accused of stealing more than 70 pairs of skis from Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and other mountains around the state. Jason Takeshi Kawaguchi, 40, was arrested in June after deputies...

www.summitdaily.com

Good thing I ride the cheap stuff. I was there on June 1st and 23rd. I bet a lot of others here were too. A-basin was the only ski area open in the state during June, and only Fri, Sat and Sun.

Pretty dumb to keep going back to the scene of the crime over and over. Guess he needed his ski fix.

He was busted on June 29th when he returned for at least the third time. They had a Sherriff waiting who witnessed him stealing skis.

This is what the base area looked like the weekend before he was caught. He was extremely brazen given how few people and skis are around that late in June.

 

[winkdc]

Same here. I’ve said this many time. At my local resorts they have also free ski checks to ensure the skis are safe and folks still let their skis unlocked and unattended most of the time. In the DC/Baltimore surrounding area where we ski I wouldn’t leave anything unlocked I wasn’t reasonably okay with it walking off. Theft is a sport around here.

I agree but have not invested in new locks since coming back to skiing with my own equipement this year....need to.....where are you skiing in the area?

 

[Coach13]

I agree but have not invested in new locks since coming back to skiing with my own equipement this year....need to.....where are you skiing in the area?

In the immediate area Liberty and Whitetail. Both are about 60 min away from Loudoun County. I mostly ski there in the evenings thru the week when crowds aren’t too bad. On weekends I’ll go to Roundtop which is about 90 minutes or to Canaan or Wisp which is about 2 hours.

 

[DanoT]

I had a friend (deceased, unfortunately ) who was, I don't know what you call it, but the guy who dealt with the salvage after the claims were paid.

I came to the realization, as a insurance claim adjuster, that part of my job existed due to the work of thieves. And thanks to thieves, the insured gets a new TV or stereo etc., the guy in the poor part of town gets to buy a hot TV etc. for cheap, the guy factory gets to build another TV etc. and the thief has a pocket full of cash. Is this the reason judges hand out such light sentences?

 

[Coach13]

I came to the realization, as a insurance claim adjuster, that part of my job existed due to the work of thieves. And thanks to thieves, the insured gets a new TV or stereo etc., the guy in the poor part of town gets to buy a hot TV etc. for cheap, the guy factory gets to build another TV etc. and the thief has a pocket full of cash. Is this the reason judges hand out such light sentences?

Trickle up economics!

 

[winkdc]

In the immediate area Liberty and Whitetail. Both are about 60 min away from Loudoun County. I mostly ski there in the evenings thru the week when crowds aren’t too bad. On weekends I’ll go to Roundtop which is about 90 minutes or to Canaan or Wisp which is about 2 hours.

Thanks....we have EPIC and have done a trip to NH and am awaiting a week at Whistler in 3 weeks....want to get to Liberty or Whitetail but son's hockey has been an issue on weekends...never thought about busting out early from work in DC for the night...3pm departure likely works well...Thanks.

 

[Doug Briggs]

...
He was busted on June 29th when he returned for at least the third time. They had a Sherriff waiting who witnessed him stealing skis.

This is what the base area looked like the weekend before he was caught. He was extremely brazen stupid given how few people and skis are around that late in June.

View attachment 91241

FIFY

 

[tball]

I came to the realization, as a insurance claim adjuster, that part of my job existed due to the work of thieves. And thanks to thieves, the insured gets a new TV or stereo etc., the guy in the poor part of town gets to buy a hot TV etc. for cheap, the guy factory gets to build another TV etc. and the thief has a pocket full of cash. Is this the reason judges hand out such light sentences?

That's not the case for most of us facing a similar loss.

With a $500 or $1000 deductible, it doesn't make sense to file a claim for stolen skis, a TV, or stereo. Not going to get much, and don't want that claim on your permanent record impacting your rates and insurability.

 

[David]

The only thing I've lost so far are poles at mid-Vail. If I'm not familiar with a resort I lock them now unless they are my old or cheap poles.

 

[Big J]

Derek Johnson who stole millions of dollars of skis and sold them on Ebay got six years. He also has to only pay back $250,000.

 

[Big J]

I have been quite fortunate. Have never locked up my skis, but also never had them stolen. Lately I have started to use the ski check on busy days at major resorts. My local hill has more of a community feel to it and does not have a ski check or lock racks … this has never been an issue there. I guess I have been lucky.

You have been very fortunate. I have been with people who have had their skis stolen. I used to use gear check but now use a lock. The theory is that they could cut the cable but will steal an easier pair to get.