Leggo My Lego

Glad to see that Hillsboro is making international news. I'll be out at the Washington County Courthouse on Monday. Perhaps this guy can hook me up with an X-Wing Fighter

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — A man accused of stealing massive quantities of Lego sets from Target stores and reselling them on the Internet was indicted on felony theft and attempted theft charges Friday by a Washington County grand jury.

William Swanberg, 40, is being held in the Washington County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.
Authorities say Swanberg had been selling the stolen Legos on a Web site called Bricklink.com., similar to eBay but used only by buyers and sellers of Lego items.

Records from Bricklink.com indicate that Swanberg has sold nearly $600,000 worth of Legos since 2002.

Based on the information from Washington County detectives, the U.S. Postal Inspectors office became involved. Agents served a search warrant in Reno on Swanberg's residence and needed a 20-foot truck to haul away the evidence.

Target estimates its loss at $200,000.

Detectives contend Swanberg devised a way to replace the bar code on expensive sets with ones from less expensive sets. He purchased the Legos at the reduced price and then sold them for close to the retail price. Target says it identified the scam after Swanberg allegedly committed the same crime in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.