Toronto's most notorious bicycle thief pleaded guilty to possessing 10 stolen bicycles and six drug charges on Wednesday, resulting in a 30-month prison sentence.
That guilty plea covers just a few of the 2,200 to 2,900 stolen bicycles that Igor Kenk, 50, had stored away in his bike shop, his home and in 10 garages he rented around the city.
Cooperating with authorities, Kenk allowed the government to confiscate those bicycles as well as a couple of motor vehicles and one of the buildings that housed the bikes.
The court is considering auctioning off the entire lot, which would be one of the biggest bike auctions ever. Many of the bikes were chopped for parts and are valued at about $20 each. The court estimates the auction would bring in about $50,000 for all the bicycles.
In a deal worked out with authorities, Kenk would get to keep some of the proceeds from the building sale.
Because of time Kenk already has served awaiting trail, he'll be jailed for about four more months before being released, according to CTV News.
Kenk's trove of stolen bicycles may never had surfaced if he hadn't tried to steal a couple of decoy bicycles that police were watching last summer. At first Kenk and an associate walked past the bikes, but Kenk directed his assistant to cut them free and they rode off on them.
The native of Slovenia was known to put street people and outpatients from a nearby mental hospital to work, and police said that included stealing bikes.
He returns to court next week on assault charges sparked by a visit he made to one of his bike garages.
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