Highly organized packs of thieves from the Fort Lauderdale area are spreading a rash of crimes across Florida and much of the nation, breaking into cars in Orlando, stealing identities in North Carolina, cashing bad checks in Pennsylvania and providing a model for copycat gangs from coast to coast.
The "Felony Lane Gang" — so named because they use drive-thru bank lanes farthest from security cameras and tellers — began as a group of friends and family in Broward County, and police say marauding members and recruits still send much of their ill-gotten gains back home to South Florida.
Their origins remain mysterious, but Broward County Sheriff's Detective Mitch Gordon thinks "it pretty much started here in Broward County, or the tri-county area. Some are family — cousins, brothers, sisters. It was a bunch of low criminals, and someone said, 'Hey, let's use these criminals to go steal credit cards.' That's how it got organized."
A series of criminal convictions and sentencings in Pennsylvania this month has stymied at least one traveling crew of the Broward-based gang. The 10 culprits were accused of stealing about a million dollars and victimizing 150 people. But investigators expect the crime wave to continue as other gang members roam the country and unaffiliated thieves follow their example.
Source and Full Story Here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-felony-lane-gang-spreads-broward-20140328,0,4559931.story
