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Aug 21, 2009 11:54 pm US/Eastern
DeFede: Stolen Boat Engines Rampant In Keys
KEY WEST (CBS4) ―
Dave Wiley has been a fishing guide in the Florida Keys for more than 20 years.
"This has always been a very safe neighborhood, kind of like where I grew up, a small town," he said on Ramrod Key, near Mile Marker 27 in the Florida Keys. "We never used to lock our doors, we would leave the keys are in the boat, and our fishing rods hanging above the boat."
But not anymore. Wiley now keeps everything locked away. In the past few months, a gang of thieves have stolen more than 60 engines off the backs of boats in the Lower Keys.
"I think folks are taking advantage of our easy going and trusting nature," he said.
It is a crime spree that has become the number one priority for the Monroe County Sheriff's Department according to Undersheriff Rick Ramsay.
"This is a big deal," Undersheriff Ramsay said during a recent interview. "This has been an ongoing problem for years. But this last year we've seen just a huge rise in the number of boat motors, lower units and propellers being stolen. We think it is widespread. We think it is organized. We think there is a Dade and Monroe connection."
Investigators believe the local thieves are working with a crew in Miami that helps them re-sell the engines.
"There are a lot of people who want to buy a cheap engine and they don't care where it came from," Ramsay said. "It's big business."
How big? The Monroe Sheriff's Departments estimates more than half a million dollars worth of engines have been stolen in the Lower Keys in the past few months alone. They even believe the thieves are working off of shopping lists so they can steal specific types of engines.
But even more amazing is the fact that investigators believe many of the stolen motors are ending up in the hands of human smuggling rings. The smugglers – who operate between Florida, Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas – prefer to use stolen motors because they if they get chased by the Coast Guard and have to abandon the boats the Coast Guard won't be able to trace the engines. The smugglers also burn out engines quickly and need a steady supply of new motors.
"We believe a lot of them are being used by the smugglers," said Ramsay, the Monroe Undersheriff.
Longtime charter boat captain Eddie Macko is one of the recent victims when a $20-thousand, 250-horsepower engine was stolen off the back of his boat parked right outside his bedroom window.
"Sunday night the motor was there," Macko said. "I wake up Monday morning, take a walk in the front yard and see that the motor was gone. It was unbelievable. A shock."
Macko said since the engine weighed nearly 600 pounds it was obviously stolen by several people working together. The actual theft is not difficult. All it entails is removing four large bolts which hold the engine to the boat and then cut a trio of cables that hook the motor to the steering column, fuel line, and throttle.
"All they had to do was slide the engine off, load it onto a truck and drive off," he said, adding it has changed his life.
"I feel like I've been violated," he said. "I've been here for ten years, nothing like this has ever happened."
Although several arrests have been made in the motor thefts, detectives say they still haven't had that one break they need to break up this ring and catch the other members. In the meantime, they urge residents to be vigilant and report anything they see that is suspicious.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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