Associated Press
May 14, 2001
BY LISI DE BOURBON

Megan Panzer wasn't looking for anything in particular the first time she poked around the online auction site she had heard about from her friends. She just liked the name: StealitBack.com.

Now she owns three bicycles, two of which cost only $30 each. But she could have just as easily wound up with a traffic light. Or a pair of gold pumps for a buck or a Sprint cellular phone for $24 or five pairs of silver earrings for $13.

This eclectic collection has a common thread-chances are they were swiped, seized or recovered from the scene of a crime.

A group of former police officers, among them former Los Angeles Chief Daryl Gates, recently launched StealitBack.com, also known as propertyroom.com, as a site for law enforcement agencies to auction merchandise that's clogging up their evidence lockers.

"It was fun to see what's out there," said Panzer, a free-lance writer based in Los Angeles. "It's stuff you would never think of looking at."

Nonetheless, it's stuff some crime victims might still be looking for.

Most police departments let recovered or unclaimed property accumulate for months in warehouses and then send it to auction, where they collect pennies on the dollar, said Tom Lane, chairman and chief executive of Property Bureau, the Web site's San Clemente, Calif. based parent.

"It was never a very satisfactory way of dealing with it, but it was a way to get it off our backs," said Lane, a former New York detective.

Property Bureau's alternative is to pick up the unclaimed property from law enforcement agencies-32 have signed up so far-and take it to a central location for testing and repair. Jewelry is appraised. The company then photographs the items, writes up catchy descriptions and posts the images online. Purchased items can be shipped within the United States and Canada.

Other goods offered on the site range from stereos, cameras and computers, to games, toys, gardening equipment, artwork and antiques. Cars and motorcycles might soon be offered. There are no drugs or guns.

This week's "Hot Pursuit Specials" included a mountain bike and a series of 18 collectible spoons featuring faces of US. Presidents. 

[Note: "Steel It Back" and "Property Bureau" web sites no longer exits - Webmaster]