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Chicago Man Faces Felony after $400,000 in Stolen Merchandise Recovered
A 57-year-old Chicago man is facing a Class 1 Felony Theft charge after the Sheriff’s Police Organized Retail Crime Unit recovered approximately $400,000 in stolen fitness equipment and other goods taken during area cargo thefts, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
In April, the Unit began an investigation after they learned that fitness equipment taken during a cargo theft in Joliet was being sold by an individual on Facebook Marketplace.
After identifying the seller as Isadore House, undercover Organized Retail Crime investigators purchased multiple pieces of fitness equipment from him over the course of several weeks at a storefront in the 1800 block of West 87th Street in Chicago and at a storage unit he controlled in the 0-100 block of West 85th Street.
On June 5, Sheriff’s Police executed search warrants at the storefront and storage unit, where they recovered approximately $400,000 in fitness equipment, gloves, and other items.
Investigators took House, of the 8700 block of West Hermitage Avenue, into custody and on June 6 the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved one count of a Class 1 Felony Theft charge against him.
On June 7, House was ordered released pending trial following his initial appearance hearing at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse. His next court date is scheduled for June 12 at the First Municipal District Courthouse located at 3150 West Flournoy in Chicago.
Sheriff Dart formed the Organized Retail Crime Unit in 2023 to combat the rise in retail crime in Cook County. Since then, the unit has recovered more than $5 million in stolen merchandise.
The public is reminded that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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