Evening Edition: Are American Athletes Being Targeted By A South American Crime Ring?
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Learn more at phrma.org slash IPWorksWonders. I'm Tyrus. I'm Ainsley Earhart. I'm Trey Gowdy, and this is the Fox News Rundown. Friday, November 22nd, 2024. I'm John Saucier. Even if you don't know anything about sports, you do know this simple fact. When athletes are playing in the games, they obviously aren't at home.

Criminals know this also, and they've been taking advantage of the situation. We all know when they're not in the house, and oftentimes the families will go with them. And these guys, this is a non-confrontational burglary ring. So they're not doing strong-arm robberies at all. They wait until they have an empty house. This is the Fox News Rundown, Evening Edition. ♪upbeat music playing♪

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The NFL and NBA both urging their players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of homes owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. In a memo to team officials, the NBA revealed the FBI has connected some burglaries to transnational South American theft groups. A lot of the reporting that's out there, a lot of people are quoting these anonymous sources or FBI sources who are suggesting that they're transnational gangs.

We're speaking today with Fox News Chicago-based correspondent Mike Tobin. What we have really hard and fast with the evidence is the commander, the chief from the Novi, Michigan Police Department. And it gets a little complicated because the robberies aren't necessarily limited to athletes, but the athletes are easy marks. So they end up front and center in this. But they're hitting a lot of expensive houses, these groups that apparently are traveling around. And what

we got from the chief of the Novi Police Department is the people that they've arrested thus far are from Chile and Venezuela. So you said these athletes are easy marks. Why is that? Because we all know when they're not going to be home. They seem to do some surveillance and it looks like they've even gone as far as to dress up like delivery men. Apparently they use jogging paths because anyone could be on a jogging path and not be suspicious. So they keep an eye on the home, but published years ahead of time is when game day is.

So we all know when they're not in the house, and oftentimes the families will go with them. And this is a non-confrontational burglary ring. So they're not doing strong-arm robberies at all. They wait until they have an empty house. And apparently they know exactly what they're after. And the trend is they don't really go beyond the master bedroom and some of the closets.

They go in, they're after watches, they're after jewelry, they're after cash and expensive handbags. So they get what they're after and they're in and out of these houses in a matter of minutes. And they go as far as to jam the Wi-Fi because if...

You know how security systems work today. Almost everything ultimately goes through your web connection. So they jam the Wi-Fi, the security system doesn't work, and they're in and out of the house in a matter of minutes. And they do it knowing when these athletes won't be home. And, well, something we do in the news business all the time is we track people down. You can always find through open source where people live.

Yeah, very interesting. It sounds like it's sophisticated methods here, too, where they're running in, running out, and the whole jamming the Wi-Fi sounds like something out of a movie. And the idea that these people might be connected or at least maybe coming from other countries, do you think that there is something bigger, a bigger conspiracy here at play, Mike, as far as maybe a gang association with some of these countries in South America? That is coming through a lot.

of the reporting and these anonymous sources who are making the tips, they're suggesting that there's a connection to some sophisticated gangs. Clearly there seems to be some organization. And another thing we got from the police chief in Novi, Michigan, is that these burglaries are happening in waves. So that's a key indication that you have a group that is moving around together.

If they hit one area and suddenly a bunch of homes are subject to a similar burglary and then they just move on,

Well, that indicates that these people are traveling together, they've got their targets and they go after them. And it's not like what you think of with a lot of burglaries with crackheads or whatnot who are just looking to generate some money to get through the next day. That's always very impulsive with all the sophistication, the surveillance, the jamming of the Wi-Fi. This is more organized.

Yeah, pretty thawed out as well. And I think your waves comment really hits it too because, you know, it's all happening at once. So these people have got to be talking about how, why, and where to do it. We today are talking with Fox News Chicago-based correspondent Mike Tobin. Our subject today is thefts happening at a high-profile athlete's home. And the police have seen...

with these robberies. Notice some patterns here. So we're taking a look at that as well. Some of these high-profile athletes, Mike, talk about maybe one of the highest-profile athletes in the United States right now, football player Travis Kelsey. Now, was he one of the first? It was one of the first that I heard of when this happened in the Kansas City area, along with him and Patrick Mahomes. Right. He was hit on October 7th. There's also a couple of developments in this case.

One, we know on the day that he was hit, his girlfriend, his very famous girlfriend, was supposed to stay in the house with him that night, but they got out and went to a hotel because they just didn't feel safe in that house. The other development with the Travis Kelsey case is apparently his watch has turned up. Now, previously we knew that the value of $20,000 was taken from the house. We didn't know that a watch was missing, but it turned up in Providence, Rhode Island.

So, you know, if you rob a house and you fence things through a pawn shop, it could move anywhere. Someone could take it. But the fact that it popped up in Providence out in Rhode Island so quickly that it kind of leads me to believe that there's a sophisticated fence there as well. Professional athletes with some trouble off the field after an alarming burglary trend has emerged that the FBI is now looking into. So are we.

And today it's Fox News Chicago-based correspondent Mike Tobin on the case. He's got details on this criminal trend and we'll continue the conversation next.

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So what can these players do? I mean, are the leagues stepping in? Because it's not just NFL players. I know a couple of NBA players' homes were hit also. I mean, are they taking any steps now to safeguard these homes? Because obviously we're noticing this trend. Well, the NFL put out a warning to the players, warning them of the trend.

And it's tough to think what they can do beyond that. They told them, you know, don't post things on social media. Try to minimize the extent to which you would identify your home or identify that you've got valuable things inside of their house. But it's kind of hard for young guys with money to resist doing that sort of thing.

Then beyond that, Bobby Portis with the Milwaukee Bucks, he used to play for the Chicago Bulls, he got online to plug his own website and asked for help from the general public to say, if you know anything about my stuff, report it to my website. So they're doing the best they can, but it's also...

Kind of clear that these guys are sophisticated enough that they're not leaving a lot of evidence behind. We don't really know. The FBI is generally tight-lipped until they don't want to be tight-lipped. So we don't really know that anybody has anything like DNA evidence, but there's no indication that they do.

Yeah, so we don't know if there's leads or not, but of course the investigation will continue on. I guess at this point, if we don't know what the evidence is, maybe they're waiting for them to hit again, although we're hoping that doesn't happen. Maybe these guys can beef up their personal security at home, maybe even hire some security guards.

for the time being, especially if they're going to be away at games or on the road or something like that. I don't know if that type of stuff might help. What about the average Joe? And maybe not even just the average Joe, but someone who's not a professional athlete and maybe you've got a home and a nice area that you think might be targeted. Are police warning these people as well? Because off the top of this, you said it's not just athletes who have been embroiled in this.

Right. And I keep referencing Novi, Michigan, just because we had an opportunity to speak with the police chief there. But that's all regular guy houses that have been hit out there, but regular guys in wealthy neighborhoods. So these these these burglars aren't going for the cheap stuff. They know where the nice houses are and they're targeting them. So, yeah, people are.

being encouraged to take all the precautions they can, security systems. And then in the case of the athletes, when everybody knows they're not going to be home and they've got enough money to hire some security, it would make sense to make sure there's a live person in that house.

I've read a headline recently also that people are going on Google Maps and blurring out their homes because what's happening is burglars are casing neighborhoods by using Google Maps. I mean, Mike, you've probably been on there before. You can go on the street view and actually feel almost like you're in a neighborhood looking around the homes. And that's potential maybe to scout out a home's weakness. Have you heard anything like that?

Well, I know I do that frequently. Yeah, so do I. Not to rob homes, but, you know, check out a neighborhood maybe you're not as familiar with. Well, for work, I do it all the time. We're going to go to this area to do a shoot. Well, let me have a look at it. If I can survey the area we're going to ahead of time, I'm going to take every advantage I have.

But I didn't know you could get on and blur it. I know with the time I've spent in Israel, there was a long time where the Israelis didn't make Google Maps available. One of the things the Israelis do now is they call it spoofing, where they make your location on your phone turn up someplace else. Mike, how do you feel about those Chicago Bears this year?

How disappointing can the Chicago Bears be? We were all so excited with a new quarterback, and they just don't give them any time in the backfield. It's the opposite of Mahomes. Mahomes could have a picnic back there, and the Chicago Bears were just getting sacked like crazy in that disappointing kick.

Well, you know, being a Bears fan is about having a broken heart, so that's how we work. Do you think they're going to stay at Soldier Field? You know, I always thought that the whole idea of moving the team to Arlington Park was bargaining because they didn't get along with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. So it looks like the Arlington Park thing has fallen apart.

And I think the Chicago Bears will stay in Chicago when the smoke clears. One of the many things I love about the city of Chicago is when you're driving down Lakeshore Drive, heading southbound, and you look over to your left, and there is one of the most historic football stadiums in this nation, Soldier Field. I just can't imagine that not being news. I can't imagine Chicago Bears not playing there anymore. I mean, it's a landmark not only for the city, but really for the country.

It's Sacred Soil, Gail Sayers, Dick Butkus, Walter Payton. You know, all of those guys play there. Doug Buffon. I could keep going. All right. Well, I would love to keep going, too. But first of all, I'm a Patriots fan. And second of all, we're out of time. But Mike, we appreciate your time. And thanks for being with us on the Fox News Rundown Evening Edition podcast. Good talking to you, John.

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