Modus Operandi Read online

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  1 Arsonists

  Examining the most underreported of all crimes. Cause Origin

  Automobile and Other Vehicle Arson

  Arson for Hire

  Pyromaniacs

  Firestarters

  Typical Arson Scenarios Some Final Thoughts on Arson

  2 Art, Antique and Jewel Thieves

  The ugly business of stealing beautiful things. Types of Art Theft The Role of the Fence in Art Theft Capturing Art and Jewelry Thieves Criminal Penalties for Art Theft Conclusion

  3 Carjacking, Hijacking, Skyjacking and Auto Theft

  The methods and reasons behind modern-day piracy. Who's the Victim? Basic Auto Theft Carjacking Chop Shops

  Vehicles Stolen for Export Gray Market Vehicles

  Heavy Industrial and Construction Equipment

  Hijacking

  Skyjacking

  Vessels and Aircraft

  4 Con Artists

  The art of swindling. Salesmen of Fraud Swindles Against the Elderly A Glossary for Con Artists

  5 Counterfeiters and Forgers

  Stealing a free ride on someone else's hard work or ideas. Currencies

  Credit Card Fraud/Counterfeiting Other Documentation Marketable Goods Forgery

  6 Fencing

  Converting stolen goods into cash. Fences and the Law Types of Fences

  How to Become a Professional Fence Depicting a Professional Fence

  7 Homicide

  Determining the manner and cause of death. Medical Examiners Killing and the M.O. Passion Killings

  Premeditated Domestic Killings

  Adjunct Homicide

  Serial Killers

  Contract Killers

  Ritualistic Cults

  Stabbing

  Death by Gunshot Things to Remember Suicide or Homicide

  8 Kidnapping

  One of the most terrifying and cruel crimes committed against another human being. Gang Kidnappings Ransom Seekers Cults

  Fanatics and Terrorists Parental Abduction Stranger Abduction Apprehending Kidnappers

  9 Prostitution

  As long as there are people willing to pay for sex, there will be people willing to sell it.

  A Brief History of Prostitution Causes of Prostitution Prostitute Categories Prostitution and the Mob

  10 Armed Robbery

  Using force to get anything you want. The Professional Armed Robber Bank Robberies Armored Car Robberies The Amateur Female Armed Robbers

  11 Safecracking and lockpicking

  Overcoming security obstacles and precautions. Surveillance

  Getting Inside the Property Getting Inside the Building Inside the Building Safecracking Lockpicking

  12 Smuggling

  Trafficking vice worldwide. Cocaine Heroin

  Methamphetamine Designer Drugs The Old Standbys Asian Gangs

  Jamaican Criminal Groups The Mob Black Gangs Turkish Smugglers Countries in Conflict Smuggling People Into the U.S.

  13 Shoplifters

  An increasingly popular crime among "normal" people. Reasons Why Amateurs Lift The Professional Shoplifter Catching the Shoplifter

  14 Whitecollar Crime and Money Laundering

  Committing crimes with and against businesses. Telephones and Computers Money Laundering Loan Sharking

  Modus Operandi, or method of operation, is really a term that refers to the habits, techniques and peculiarities of behavior of a criminal. All criminals have a modus operandi, and enough of them have distinctive methods of operation to justify the classification of crimes by like characteristics. The modus operandi of a criminal is his "signature."

  Law enforcement agencies maintain modus operandi files which enable detectives to recognize a pattern of criminal behavior, to associate a group of crimes with a single perpetrator, to predict approximately the next target of the criminal and the next time he will strike, and to assist complainants, eyewitnesses and detectives in recognizing the perpetrator through recorded characteristics of the criminal activity. The modus operandi file is most effective in personal contact crimes such as felonies against the person, confidence schemes and burglaries.

  The traditional method of compiling a modus operandi file is still considered effective after forty years of use. In this system the following are considered important elements in the effectiveness of such a file.

  1. Property — the type of stolen property provides an excellent clue in larceny or burglary crimes.

  2. Description — if the criminal was observed, a verbal description is usually the most important clue to the identity of the perpetrator. If the person has been arrested before, the file will also contain a mug shot.

  3. Observation at the Scene — the use of all senses at the scene of a crime is important because it may result in finding a useful pattern. The objects and substances seen, heard, smelled, tasted or felt will contribute to the complete picture.

  4. Motive — in addition to the taking of property, there are many other criminal motives. Occasionally, such as in murder, rape or assault in general, a pattern of behavior may be seen in a series of crimes. This pattern

  is particularly common in crimes committed by a psychopath.

  5. Time — the time at which the crimes were committed is an important element in the pattern. Naturally, since the exact moment of occurrence cannot be readily established in many cases, the detective must try to establish the time of occurrence within reasonable limits.

  6. Peculiarities—weaknesses of character will ordinarily reveal themselves in the unaltered surrounds of the crime. Peculiarities such as drinking a victim's liquor or eating a victim's food, defecation at the scene or a particular location, and theft of items that seem unimportant, such as ties or cufflinks, are significant.

  7. Observed Peculiarities — an observer of the offense may be able to supply valuable clues by noting the criminal's idiosyncrasies. Speech patterns, a lisp or an accent are important clues to identity. Also, enunciation, dialect and diction can be recorded.

  Detectives compare the way in which a crime was committed with records stored in the modus operandi section of police records. If these comparisons are successful, a detective obtains data on possible suspects. Detectives also report the modus operandi to other detectives at monthly meetings to make comparisons. Police agencies use modus operandi files extensively; they are very successful in solving burglary, robbery, grand theft, fraud, sex and fraudulent checks crimes.

  The modus operandi file contains so much information about the method of operations of known criminals that it often reads like a biography. These files can identify a perpetrator by naming suspects whose modus operandi in past crimes fits the facts of the current crimes. Of course, a suspect's past crimes and operations must be sufficiently similar to be identified. They must have several features in common with the crime under investigation to warrant making a connection between the two.

  Similarities in methods of operation, in combination with other leads, are important tools in identifying criminals, for they decrease the likelihood of a mistake in suspecting a person of a crime. Storing data on crimes according to modus operandi allows police to compare unsolved crimes with the criminal technique of an apprehended criminal. Connecting these unsolved crimes to an arrested person means the police must continually update their modus operandi files; otherwise pertinent criminal activity may be missed.

  Here is an example of how modus operandi works: While working as a detective for the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, Joe had investigated a series of home burglaries that occurred in Brooklyn. During the course of these burglaries, the thief would defecate on the kitchen table no matter what time of the day or night he struck the uno
ccupied home. In some instances, defecation is used as revenge against a particular person. However, in this particular thief's M.O., he would always defecate in a particular location — the victim's kitchen table.

  A man named Nick was recently released from prison and had started to burglarize homes in the area. While Nick was incarcerated, he learned the tricks of his trade even better. After all, consider jail a kind of college where you learn your trade better than if you were out in the cold, cruel world and had to work for a living. Nick learned how to pop open windows better, how to jimmy the garage door better, and how to bypass the alarm better. He also learned how to select his victims, so he would get bigger and better takes of merchandise in the same amount of time. But one thing Nick did not learn was a new modus operandi: After breaking into a home through his usual methods, which happened to be through a patio door or rear window, and always starting at the rear of the home, then he would defecate on the victim's kitchen table. He did this for one reason: He was nervous! His criminal activity created such a turmoil in his body that he actually had to move his bowels.

  Now, why did he choose the kitchen table? The real reason was because he was obsessive-compulsive about germs — he constantly washed his hands and was constantly concerned about getting sick from germs. While he was incarcerated, he was known to take piles of toilet paper, magazines, books, paper towels or whatever he could and place them on the seat of the toilet so that his bare skin did not actually touch it. Also, he didn't like to flush the toilet with his hand on the handle, so he would use a disposable object, such as a stick. He would not even stoop to flushing the toilet using his shoe, because that would make germs on the bottom of his shoe which could possibly spread to his body.

  In the early stages of these home burglaries, Joe noted that Nick would frequently defecate in the person's bathroom, and the detectives would find the toilet seat layered with many, many pieces of toilet paper. Coincidentally, Nick did catch an infection in his genital area. He attributed this to using the victim's toilet, although it was not a possibility because of the toilet paper placed on the seat. So from that point on, he simply defecated on the victim's kitchen table.

  When this particular M.O. showed up, Joe simply went to Nick and casually confronted him. During a casual, approved search, to which Nick consented, the criminal's home was found to contain many items that were linked to the burglaries which had occurred weeks and months earlier in Brooklyn. This is a classic case of a criminal's method of operation leading the police to his capture.

  In this book, you will learn how and why criminals operate. Their modi operandi, which, until now, were clandestine and known only to themselves and the police departments investigating them, are now known to you. So, let us step into the shoes of the criminals who operate day or night and learn the tricks of their trade. Be forewarned — the experience can be arresting!

  Arson is the most underreported of all crimes because evidence that could be left behind is usually destroyed by the fire. Fire investigators are trained to determine the origin (where the fire started) and the cause (what started the fire). If an arsonist performs his craft perfectly, the fire investigator will find it extremely difficult to determine the origin and the cause of the fire.

  Amateur arsonists attempt to fool the fire investigator by placing a flammable or combustible material in or near an electrical outlet. The arsonist thinks that the investigator will see the burn pattern (the direction that the fire burns, also known as the V pattern) at the electrical outlet and determine that the fire started through faulty wiring or electrical devices in the building. However, a trained fire investigator knows that for an electrical short to start a fire, certain other elements must be present.

  These elements are a fuel source, an oxygen source, an ignition source or heat, and an uninhibited chemical reaction among the three. This is known as the fire triangle.

  1. Fuel can be any type of flammable or combustible material—solid, liquid or a vapor.

  2. An oxygen source is necessary so the fire can "breathe" and maintain a strong, steady rate of burn.

  3. An ignition or heat source could be the striking of a match by the hands of an arsonist or an electrical malfunction which causes overheating and/or a spark.

  4. The uninhibited chemical reaction is the above three elements —the fire triangle —coming together to start a fire.

  The trained fire investigator must evaluate these four elements in deciding whether or not the cause of the fire is accidental or arson. By comparing these elements with other factors, the cause can be properly determined. For example, in dealing with the electrical short circuit, some factors, such as the wire beading up, or forming small balls of melted metal at the point of the short, or sleeving, the loosening of the insulation from the wire, will indicate arson or a malfunction. Also, a circuit breaker will "trip" off when the wire is overloaded. These are the tell-tale signs that an arson investigator will use to make his determination.

  To incorporate arsonists in whodunits, the writer must first understand the legal definition of arson. A person is guilty of arson if he or she starts a fire or causes an explosion whether on his property or another. Arson is covered in the law by degrees, which accommodate different intents of the arsonists, such as causing death or bodily injury to a person or collecting insurance for destruction or damage to the property.

  Cause

  There are two types of fire causes. The first is accidental. An accidental fire is caused either by someone's carelessness or by equipment malfunction.

  The second fire cause is the incendiary fire. This fire is started on purpose by an individual with the intent of destruction. An incendiary fire may have indications of multiple fire origins, and a flammable or combustible material used to start the fire may also be found. There may be few, if any, contents remaining in the building, but valuable or irreplaceable items, such as photographs, insurance papers or money, will not be recovered, as the arsonist may steal such items thinking they will be presumed lost in the fire rather than stolen.

  Origin

  Origin and cause are closely related. When considering using arson and fire investigators as part of your plot, keep the following rules of fire in mind:

  1. The cause of the fire will be found at the point of origin.

  2. The fire will burn longer at the point of origin than at other places to which the fire has spread.

  3. If any flammable or combustible materials were used to ignite the fire, a sample should be found at the point of origin.

  4. The fire will spread from the point of origin to the rest of the building (this is known as the direction of fire travel).

  5. Determining the point of origin will either confirm or refute the stories of the principals involved.

  Obviously, there are many ways to start a fire. Here are some of the most common, along with other attendant terminology.

  Dynamite is basically used to blow up an object, but it could be used in conjunction with another fuel source, such as gasoline, to create not only a blast but a fireball that would spread the fire quickly. Sticks of dynamite are short and fat or long and thin. They are stamped with a product

  name (gelatin dynamite), a date-shipped code, and the manufacturer's name.

  Cast boosters are small and stronger than dynamite. When detonated, cast boosters look like soda cans. These explosives are used to increase or support other explosives, and they can be used like dynamite to spread the fire faster. They are stamped with the product name, size, weight, and a date-shipped code.

  An Electronic Detonator or Blasting Cap is an aluminum-shelled primer —a smaller explosive used to ignite a larger blasting agent —about the size of a small rifle cartridge. This aluminum shell has two wires at one end. The aluminum shell is placed into the explosive, either dynamite or plastic, to begin a chain reaction once the primer is set off. The wires exiting the aluminum shell of the primer are attached to a pair of electrical wires and then to a detonati
ng device.

  Black powder is basically gun powder, similar to what was used in single-shot muzzle-loading rifles and pistols. It can be compressed in a container to cause an explosion. These containers become pipe bombs. Black powder can also be used to refill inert fragmentation grenades which can be purchased through military surplus stores.

  Cartridge count is the total strength of an explosive composed of the explosive's weight, density and strength.

  Detonation occurs in three ways: manual (lighting a fuse), electric/electronic (sending a current), or mechanical (pulling a pin out of a grenade).

  Military explosives are compact, waterproof and olive-drab, shipped in cardboard containers or coated by a Mylar film package.

  Commercial explosives are more brightly decorated than military explosives, stamped with a description of use, and safety warnings.

  Primacord (also referred to as detonating cord) is a spool of multicolored fabric-covered wire. Inside the fabric covering is a high explosive used to send a detonating wave. If you wrapped the cord around a tree and detonated it, the tree would be cut in half where the cord rested. Primacord is utilized by the military to quickly clear LZs (landing zones) or to cut through bridge supports.

  A delay mechanism can be either an electrical, chemical, or mechanical time-delay element. This device can be used alone or in combination with others. It could be as simple as a burning cigarette resting on a book of matches or a wristwatch wired so that when the hands come together an electric circuit is completed.

  Incendiary material burns with a very hot flame for a certain period of time and is used to set fire to other material and eventually the structure itself. These materials need not be sophisticated or scientific; they could be as simple as a cigarette.

  Automobile and Other Vehicle Arson

  Automobiles seem to be very combustible. As you are quite aware, they contain flammable liquids, have many electrical circuits, and their interiors are made of combustible material. Combine that with a careless smoker and you have a vehicle fire, or so you would think. But actually, with new technology, most interiors are fire resistant—a cigarette will seldom ignite a seat cover or floor mat, the fuel systems are designed with safety in mind, and the electrical circuits are shut off by fuses and other interrupt devices.