If Kryptonite ever improves on its “New York Fehgettaboudit” bicycle lock, they might want to rename it the “Igor Kenk.”
That's because Igor Kenk is the unofficial world champion bicycle thief — not an achievement that's going to win him a spot on a box of Wheaties.
The 49-year-old Toronto bike shop owner was last credited with possessing 2,865 stolen bicycles. They were at his shop, his home and 10 garages he rented around Toronto.
Arrest
Kenk's bike thievery ended earlier this summer when he and an accomplice approached two decoy bicycles that police were watching. The pair passed the decoys, but Kenk directed the man to cut the locks on a couple of other bikes and the two rode away on them.
The two were taken into custody, and police found hundreds of bicycles when they searched the shop. Other raids followed, and now the top floor of a police warehouse is littered with nearly 3,000 bicycles, arranged by brand.
Reporters sniffing around about the story describe a man who sounds like a character from a Dickens novel. He put street people and outpatients from a nearby mental hospital to work, which included stealing bikes. Some bike theft victims even knew to go to the shop to get their bikes returned, sometimes paying a finder's fee.
Hated
The former citizen of Slovenia was considered a street philosopher, and he was the subject of an unfinished documentary. Now he's described as the most hated man in Toronto.
What was he doing with so many bikes? One theory is that he was going to melt them down for scrap.
If you've ever had a bike stolen in Toronto, it might pay to swing by the police warehouse. Some 15,000 people have looked for bikes there, but only 469 have been identified so far.
Good story at the International Herald Tribune; also Biking Toronto.
Thanks to Michael McGoldrick for the tip
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