Florida's Felony Lane Gang now in Maine

A loosely knit, yet highly functioning group of identity thieves that blossomed in Broward County, Fla., is suspected in a string of car break-ins and thefts in Maine and New Hampshire.

The group, known as the Felony Lane Gang, is thought to be behind recent Freeport, Maine incidents and several in Merrimack, N.H., last April.

The Freeport incidents earlier this week all occurred in the area of the town's YMCA; gyms are a typical hot spot for Felony Lane Gang activity.

Gang members roam pretty much nationwide now, traveling in rented or stolen cars to do their business, according to FBI reports. They frequent places where women might leave their purse and other valuables in their car while going to the gym, daycare or other place of business.

Then they quickly swoop in and steal purses, GPS's and other valuables from unlocked cars or use a window punch to gain entry into locked vehicles.

But they're not done there. Once they've stolen checks and credit and debit cards they begin making card withdrawals to drain victims' accounts, usually using the farthest drive-in bank window to avoid suspicion, hence the gang's name.

Gang members often wear wigs to replicate the victim's general appearance.

Rochester Police said they haven't had any contact with gang members, but said motorists should always lock their vehicles - even if they're going to be gone just a short time - and to keep all valuables out of the sight of passers-by who may have designs on belongings inside the car.

The Felony Lane Gang has its origins in Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale.

Their origins remain mysterious, but Broward County Sheriff's Detective Mitch Gordon thinks "it pretty much started here in Broward County. 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 last March resulted in 10 suspects being convicted, accused of stealing about a million dollars and victimizing 150 people.

Police reports of their telltale tactics are pouring in from states as far north as Maine and Wisconsin and as far west as California. But federal and state investigators think most of these thefts are perpetrated by unrelated groups who may have learned the same set of ruthless techniques from the original gang.

Typically, the packs of thieve break into higher-value vehicles, collecting wallets, purses and driver's licenses, and drive to gas stations in a neighboring town to try the stolen credit cards and make sure they are valid. They avoid going into the stations or convenience stores to steer clear of surveillance cameras.

The suspects recruit females who are normally prostitutes and/or drug addicts to assume the identities of the theft victims in order to cash stolen checks belonging to other victims. The suspects normally supply the recruited check cashers with wigs in order to create a physical appearance similar to that of the victims whose identification was stolen.