Tinley Park man charged with theft; store closed
BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com March 1, 2013 5:46PM
Updated: April 4, 2013 6:41AM
A Tinley Park man who allegedly sold stolen items at his convenience store in the village faces theft charges after a monthslong undercover sting operation, police said.
The store, Tinley Family Food and Liquor, Inc., 6800 W. 183rd St., also was cited for health code violations and remains closed, officials said.
Kamal Mashini, 55, of 7708 W. 162nd Place, was charged with four counts of felony theft and two counts of misdemeanor theft after police, acting on tips, investigated an alleged fencing operation, police said.
“We had intelligence that they were buying stolen property,” Tinley Park Police Chief Steve Neubauer said.
Mashini was arrested Feb. 20 at the store, according to a police news release. He is accused of buying stolen cigarettes, alcohol, baby formula, over-the-counter drugs and designer purses and selling them at the store.
The Tinley Park Health and Consumer Protections office also cited the business for numerous health code violations, Neubauer said.
Tinley Park police began their investigation in November and were assisted by the Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Revenue, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cook County Regional Organized Crime Task Force.
Mashini’s business partner was not charged, Neubauer said.
Neubauer said he was “very proud” of work done by police on the case.
“A fencing operation is a public safety and health issue. Products of dubious origin are a danger to the consumer and unfair to legitimate businesses,” Neubauer said.
Village Trustee Brian Maher, who chairs the village board’s public safety committee, commended the investigators, saying “the blatant disregard of regulatory laws creates a danger to our citizens that we will not tolerate.”
Items involved in transactions had been marked by investigators and many of those items were recovered when a raid was conducted Feb. 20, Neubauer said.
“We seized a truckload of products,” he said.
