Laundry detergent for padlocks in NYC wine cellars as shoplifting hits new low

They join the chain gang.

Desperate Bronx grocers crack down on serial thieves by threading steel chains through the handles of laundry detergent bottles and locking them with padlocks – a new low in the fight against shoplifting in the Big Apple.

“I sent detergent to jail,” complained José Dario Collado, owner of Yankee Food Deli in University Heights, who started locking up $27.99 Tide bottles and $12.99 Dreft containers because thieves were cleaning — worth at least $1,000 each. month in one detergent.

“Before the pandemic, New York was the best. Now I don’t know what happened to the people,” Collado snorted.

Four miles from Pamela’s Green Deli in Crotona Park East, the “tide” has also changed.

Near the back of the store, $21.99 Gain bottles and $6.99 Era detergent bottles are protected by a yellow Tuff Stuff chain and padlocks.

José Dario Collado with detergent on a chain in his Yankee Food Deli wine cellar.
Jose Dario Collado started locking up expensive detergent in his Bronx wine cellar a few months ago after losing $1,000 a month to shoplifters.
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“It lets people know you know they’re stealing, so they’re going to stop,” said Fernando Rodriguez, a 59-year-old deli owner who paid $15 for the new security measure.

“We have to confront these guys, and sometimes we are even scared,” he added. “Sometimes they come armed when we don’t know.”

According to Fernando Mateo, the organization’s president, the “lock and chain” strategy was developed by United Bodegas of America after a surge in theft.

Exterior view of Pamela's Green Deli in the Bronx
Bodegas like Pamela’s Green Deli lock up cleaning supplies to prevent thieves from stealing expensive items.
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“The justice system just isn’t cooperating and it comes to the point where you either have to lock up all the items that are about to be stolen or you have to fight back,” Mateo said. “And if you resist, you risk going to jail for protecting your property.”

The city’s shoplifting crisis shows no signs of easing: petty theft — or theft of less than $1,000 — rose 14% this year through January 15, compared with the same period in 2022, according to NYPD data.

Residents, stunned by the latest security inconvenience, said local hordes of drug addicts, as well as the city’s revolving door justice system, were largely to blame.

Chained bottles of Tide and Xtra detergent
Residents blamed drug addicts and a weak justice system for chained detergents in their wine cellars.
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Chained Tide Detergent Bottles
United Bodegas of America advised its members to use chains and padlocks to secure high value products.
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“We live in an area where there are a lot of drug addicts,” Tylik Miles, 41, said, adding that thieves are quick to sell expensive products at a discount.

“The police can’t help,” Manuel San Miguel, 61, lamented, referring to the state’s controversial 2019 bail reform law, which prohibits judges from setting bail in cases involving non-violent crimes and offenses such as theft in store.

A group representing 4,000 independent grocers is demanding that “repeat thefts” be eligible for bail, repealing some of the bail reform legislation and calling attention to the fact that petty thieves are generally not prosecuted.

“They know they can steal less than $1,000 and they know they will leave,” Rodriguez exclaimed. “The pledge needs to be changed. They must punish [these] people.”

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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