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July 14, 2010
Thousands of Laptops Stolen During Nine-hour Heist
On March 6, as many as seven people broke into iGov Technologies at 9211 Palm River Road and stole 3,000 laptops and other electronics, according to a search warrant.
Thousands of laptops stolen during nine-hour heist
Thousands of laptops have been stolen from the Florida office of a private contractor for the U.S. military's Special Operations Command.
Surveillance cameras caught up to seven people loading the computers into two trucks for nine hours.
U.S. Special Operations Command coordinates the activities of elite units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. A spokeswoman said Tuesday that none of the stolen laptops contained military information or software.
The Virginia-based company iGov was awarded a $450 million contract earlier this year to supply mobile technology services linking special operations troops worldwide. A company executive says iGov is cooperating with authorities and the March 6 break-in at its Tampa facility remains under investigation.
Laptops stolen from government contractor
TAMPA, Fla., July 13 (UPI) -- Thieves allegedly took an estimated 3,000 laptop computers from the Florida warehouse of a military contractor, police said.
The thieves arrived by car at iGov Technologies in Tampa, a contractor for the top secret U.S. Special Operations Command, and broke in through the roof, the St. Petersburg Times reported Monday.
The heist took place during a 9-hour period on March 6 -- a Saturday, when no one was around. The intruders loaded up two semi-trailer trucks with the computers and other equipment, police said.
The Times said the details of the alleged burglary came to light only recently, when a sheriff's detective, having notified the FBI, requested a search warrant in Hillsborough County Circuit Court to find phone records for one of the suspects, which he obtained on June 23.
The warrant sought the phone records for Oddit Perez-Reyes, 39, the owner of the car that pulled up to the warehouse, records showed.
Based on the phone information, the FBI and the Miami-Dade Police Department said they found 1,911 items of the stolen goods in a warehouse in Miami.
Earlier this year the Department of Defense awarded iGov a $450 million contract to provide mobile technology services connecting special operations troops all over the world.
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Thieves swipe thousands of laptops from Special Ops contractor
TAMPA — The thieves hit on a weekend when no one was around.
The target: a military contractor for the super secret Special Operations Command, the elite commandos who help coordinate the war on terror.
The intruders entered through the roof, gaining access to iGov Technologies, which occupies suite 110 in the beige corporate center at 9211 Palm River Road.
For the next nine hours, they loaded up more than 3,000 laptop computers and other equipment into two waiting semitrailer trucks .
Those details came to light only recently, when a Hillsborough County sheriff's detective filed a search warrant in Hillsborough County Circuit Court seeking phone records for one of the suspects.
What was on the laptop computers? Was it a crime of economics or a crime of security? Did the burglary compromise the safety of any troops?
The answers remained a mystery Monday.
A SOCom spokeswoman said officials are aware of the iGov break-in, but she could not immediately provide a response.
Earlier this year, iGov was awarded a $450-million contract by the Department of Defense to supply mobile technology services linking special operations troops all over the world.
The company is headquartered in McLean, Va., with locations in Springfield, Va., and near Tampa. An iGov facility manager referred calls to the corporate office. Officials there did not return a call for comment.
According to the warrant, the operation went down on March 6, a Saturday. A surveillance camera captured images as a red Lincoln Navigator drove up to the business and as many as seven people piled out.
They broke in through the roof and spent nine hours gathering loot, which included about 3,000 Panasonic Toughbook laptops and other electronics.
The Sheriff's Office notified the FBI. Sheriff's Detective David Thatcher obtained a search warrant June 23.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said that she was unaware of the theft and that Thatcher no longer had the case. It was assigned to a second detective who also was transferred, and she did not know which detective was now handling it.
The Sheriff's Office records division was unable to find a report of the break-in on Monday. A clerk did locate a record of when the call was received and which officers responded.
The warrant seeks phone records for the owner for the Lincoln Navigator, a man named Oddit Perez-Reyes, 39.
Perez-Reyes' cell phone was in contact with four phone numbers the day of the heist. Satellite records tracked each of the four phones to the iGov office that day, the warrant stated.
Sprint Communications said the phones were on prepaid accounts and cautioned that subscriber names could be fictitious, the warrant said.
Detectives filed for access to Perez-Reyes' cell phone for records that include contact information, messages, calls and pictures and videos.
As a result of the investigation, the FBI and the Miami-Dade Police Department located a warehouse in Miami that was used to store the stolen property, the warrant stated, and about 1,911 items were recovered.
A spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department said Monday he could find no record of property seized at the warehouse within the past four months.
Hillsborough sheriff's records show iGov's facility manager, Mike Kalinowski, reported the missing computers to the Sheriff's Office after he arrived at work March 8.
However, when a Times reporter asked him about the case, Kalinowski responded: "I don't even know anything about that."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
OMG 9 HOURS???? 9 HOURS!
They have everyone who every email/text/voice call records in analytics systems 24/7. This had to be an inside job.
They say they don't know if any data was compromised? They don't even know what detective is investigating the case?
This stinks of an inside job all the way!
It says it happened on March 6th. And this is the first they are sharing about what happened.
....Thank you JohnE PFC U.S. Army for sending this to me.
Soldier/Generator Mechanic
Companies: 288TH Q.M. Co
Posted by Wild Thing at July 14, 2010 07:49 AM
Comments
This sounds like it might be different level law enforcement agancies arguing over who has the jurisdiction on this case.
Posted by: TomR,armed in Texas at July 14, 2010 04:27 PM
I got a letter in the mail from the Department of the Army. It said something about stolen computers and possible ID theft. Then I saw this story. I don't know how Special Ops translates to the Reserve but I probably should get something like LifeLock anyway.
Posted by: JohnE at July 14, 2010 05:43 PM
Tom good point, yes it does, I had not thought of that.
JohnE., good idea, just in case. I know a lot of the guys get the one I use it is the one I sell that is handled by the people that tracked down Osama bin ladens accounts etc. If you want to know about it just email me.
Posted by: Wild Thing at July 15, 2010 01:43 AM
