Igor Kenk is enemy number one around Toronto as far as cyclists are concerned. Not only an alleged bike thief and drug dealer, he also had the audacity to sell the bikes back to cyclists! Since his arrest some 2700 bikes have been found in some 12 locations around the city. Steve Murray writes about his anger in a National Post article but I think Steve needs to direct some of that anger towards other cyclists
While Kenk might be a bad guy I think cyclists have each other to blame as well. I used to live on Crawford street and walked by “the bicycle clinic” every day and everyday saw people standing in line to negotiate the price of a bike. I knew they were stolen. From the shop I used to work at I watched people come and go buying and selling bikes. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that if you can get a bike that normally sells for $500 at Dukes for $50 then something is amiss.
Everyone in the neighbourhood knew he dealt in stolen goods, but word on the street was there was a quiet deal with the cops in place. If he ever got a bike with a serial number on it and cops came looking for it, then he would had it over. What is astonishing is that it took this long for cops to do something about it.
But the police aren’t the only ones to blame for allowing this blight on Queen street to continue, heaven knows they have more serious stuff to worry about. Every individual who ever bought a bike from him is also to blame for feeding the vicious cycle of theft (pun intented).
CBC did a report on bike theft in Canada and even caught a guy red handed. They let him go when they should have smashed in across the head with a tire iron. The poor little bike thief “Kevin” started crying about how he was a heroin addict and he was stealing the bike to buy drugs. “I just started, this is like my third or fourth bike this week”…ya sure Kevin. Boo hoo.
As long as people are willing to purchase stolen goods then this sort of crap will continue. Stop buying the bikes and these degenerates will begin looking for different ways to get money, maybe even getting a job. There is a special place in Dante’s Hell for panderers and liars, I can only pray there is a place for bike theives and those who purchase stolen bikes.