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'Grab and run' bandits target upscale Back Bay stores

Wanted

Boston Police report they are looking for four guys who have made a habit of busting into Back Bay stores and making off with whatever they can grab.

Police say their most recent hit was Friday at the Chanel store, 5 Newbury St., where they grabbed 45 handbags and other accessories worth a total of $100,000 and then escaped by running into the Public Garden.

Police say they did the same "grab and run" at the Louis Vuitton store at Copley Place on both Sept. 16 and Sept. 26.

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Comments

Pricing a handbag at $2,000 is pretty criminal itself.

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Why? All the buyers are volunteers. They don't steal your credit card to process the charge.

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Doesn't that pweshus widdle tiny purebred dog that will spend its days in that bag with the i-phone and $40 lipsticks deserve a comfortable ride?

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So... you don't like small purebred dogs or people who own iphones or those who buy designer handbags. Hey, at least they're spending money and therefore keeping people who work retail employed. Get over it, and thanks for playing!

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Then don't put them in a purse. I like dogs too. So do my neighbors, who are veterinarians. They get to see the vanity dogs that get too hot, too cold, injured in crowds, or start getting snappy and poopy because their needs aren't being met.

Seems that life as living, breathing fashion statement for a self-absorbed ditz isn't exactly so grand.

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Secondly, congrats for having a neighbor who is a veterinarian.

Not sure who was advocating carrying tiny dogs in handbags... so take a deep breath and relax.

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got punked badly by Swrrly, BADLY

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Swrrly is using the $2,000 handbag, purebred dogs and iPhones as a metaphor for conspicuous consumption. The people who purchase them don't distinguish themselves by the ability too "keep people who work retail employed" -- as anyone who shops a Wal-Mart, Stop & Shop or 99 cent store accomplishes the same end -- but by the visible and obvious largesse with which they conduct their purchases.

The nation's rich backed away from this form of consumption two years ago when it became clear that the nation was heading into an economic downturn. Their logic was that, by flaunting their advantage during a period of upheaval, they were being insensitive at best, but making themselves targets for the kind of crime featured above at worst.

The purchasing of these items alone isn't what's drawing Swrrly's ire, but the free and open display of these items that was prevalent last decade and the calling card of "celebutantes" like Parris Hilton, Nicole Richie and members of certain Brahmin stock who could be seen keeping small dogs in Kate Spade bags while strolling Newbury. The aristocracy flouting its toys while the peasant classes struggle for scraps and unemployment benefit extensions is what spurred that comment, and the lack of taste and potential consequences associated with those actions have driven America's turn toward consumer frugality, austerity and modesty.

The nation isn't going to "get over" last decade's ill advised purchases and lavish displays of the tech, housing and hedge fund nouveau riche, but it's definitely learning from it. Perhaps if the retailers took on some of their customers' newfound modesty, they wouldn't be targeted in this fashion.

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gas guzzling mini-van AND your super fancy snotty designer bicycle. BONUS point for me!!!

Kneel before me my iphone-less subjects!

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Sweet lord, who cares if someone buys a bag, or if a company makes money selling expensive bags. Your laissez-faire attitude toward these crimes speaks volumes about your distorted view of the world.

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How dare you voice an opinion in a forum? Don't you know that your willingness to help make this an open exchange of ideas and opinions does nothing but really piss off the anonymous?!!!

For your penance, you must make either 10 postings in the Herald comments in any story about Tom Brady or Scott Brown or 1 posting saying something complimentary about Ayla Brown's incredible talent.

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Who's come back for another asswhipping by Swrrly. Ignorant snark loses EVERYTIME. Talking about ignorant snark, Universalhub is full of it (no not Adam) provincial turds.

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The people laid of by the companies whose execs purchase these bags, the people who spent money on these bags last decade and are still paying the debt today, the consumers who drive our economy and see conspicuous consumption of these bags and other luxury items not as "aspirational spending" but as impetus for the recent economic downturn and evidence of a consumer base that lost any and all sense of its priorities.

The general public reacts to these crimes the same way it reacts to the publisher of Bazaar when she insists that stemming the tide of knockoff handbags should be a law enforcement priority -- scoffing and general laughter. Swrrly's "laizzez faire" attitude toward this crime isn't a statement on the crime itself, but on the socioeconomic conditions that led to it. If you haven't made it past the Ideas section or the Bill Brett party photos in the Globe lately, it might surprise you to know that the city's murder rate has increased somewhat and that crime in neighborhoods along Blue Hill Avenue is of somewhat greater concern to residents there than a few handbags on Newbury Street.

Considering the quality of the photo, I have no doubt that the people involved in this theft will be apprehended and prosecuted. That resolution, however, will do little to change the lack of public sympathy toward a luxury sector that seems more concerned with inventory and potential overstock than the city blocks beyond its shopping districts.

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45 seems like a lot of bags to be able to get in a 'Grab and Run' situation

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Theft insurance is one way to cash out unsellable inventory.

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I wonder if these items will be on Ebay or Craigslist?
Maybe they'll be returned for store credit!
Most likely they'll be traded for a lil' somethn' to smoke.

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Compete with all the counterfeits?

If it's not an insurance scam, I'd guess they're ultimately for girlfriends of drug dealers. The news clipping can be the certificate of authenticity.

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want to break into the profitable world of fencing to a drug dealer's girlfriend.

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I'm imagining some Smoove-y gang leader, "Baby, I will acquire for your use, 45 Louis Vuitton handbags of the finest fashion, to elevate your status among your girlfriends. And then, baby, I will freak you."

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How do you "run" while carrying fifteen handbags?

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The same way half the criminals on physical or severe asthmatic 'disability' are jacked up bodybuilders out of prison or known for running like gazelles over fences evading police. This is their profession, they know all kinds of tricks.

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