State Rep. Mary Brandenburg ambushed at Kmart
Tags: crime, Kmart, Mary Brandenburg, West Palm Beach
| Tuesday 25 August 2009 8:28 am
Brandenburg
It was a classic pickpocket’s scheme.
One woman started asking State Rep. Mary Brandenburg about the different products in the fabric-dye section of a Kmart.
Another lady behind Brandenburg unzipped her pocketbook and took out the state legislator’s wallet.
Within the five minutes that it took Brandenburg to notice something was wrong Sunday afternoon, the women had vanished and used one of her credit cards to download more than $800 worth of music from the Internet.
“Many people come up to me for different reason,” Brandenburg said, “and I’m polite, so I talk to them. This sort of thing never happened to me. I’m astonished.”
Brandenburg spent most of Monday replacing her drivers license, two credit cards and warning the bank that checks were stolen. The 60-year-old former West Palm commissioner also lost $220 cash.
“I had photos in there, too, so I hope they threw out the wallet somewhere and someone finds it,” Brandenburg said.
The Democrat, who has been representing central Palm Beach County in Tallahassee since 2002, said the head of security at the store, located at the corner of Okeechobee and Military Trail, promised to review the store’s security tapes to id the suspects.
“I just hope they get them,” said Brandenburg, who declined to describe the women except to say they both are middle-aged.
Brandenburg, meanwhile, said it’d be unfair to characterize West Palm Beach as crime-ridden just because of what happened to her. Crime has been an issue for Mayor Lois Frankel, a Brandenburg political ally.
“This is was just a random act and it could happen to anyone anywhere,” she said. “Besides, I think the store is outside the city limits, in an unincorporated area.”
According to my map, the store is, like, inches outside the city limits!
Store manager Harald Junkes said he was shocked to hear about the incident.
“I’ve been working here for two years and, other than shoplifting, I have never heard of criminal activity at the store,” he said.
(With The Palm Beach Post’s Bill DiPaolo)
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Now she knows what the taxpayers feel like. She’s been picking our pockets for years. She’s never seen a tax increase she didn’t support.
Karma’s a bitch. Maybe if she paid more attention to the things around her and current issues this wouldn’t happen.
Fat belly equals fat wallet. Go on a diet.
hah! there’s a twist…a taxpayer ripping off a politician…have a nice day
This store is NOT within the city limits of West Palm Beach.
It is located in the unincorporated section of the county.
It simply has a mailing address of West Palm Beach.
Your reporter should do his homework better.
its just the price you pay to live in paradise, lets see if i can add up the costs,
crime
taxes
corruption
immigrants overunning us
summers
insurance
traffic
i think that about covers it, oh and what a paradise it is.
2 things- As a Democrat, how many times has she questioned the need for more law enforcement because we all know the dems are the anti-police/military party. I say this as neither a dem or republican but as a person who pays attention. And why would she not provide a description of the 2 females. Without sounding racist, I’ll a paycheck they are black. I say this from using experience and statistics.
This is the best person we can elect? She’s a poster child for getting out to vote.
WPB is a crime infested rat hole thanks to the incopetant police chief. Now the rats are starting to feed on the ruling class!
It is unincorporated palm beach county. The north side of Okeechobee is City of WPB - south is county.
These posts are becoming nothing but a tool to give bigots and negativity a public forum. We need to get rid of the trolls. Just because you have free speech doesn’t mean I have to listen to your BS. That’s MY free speech right to ignore you.
The question we should be asking is: What security measures is K-Mart taking to ensure that people invited to shop in the store are protected from crime? The police can’t be everywhere at all times and we shouldn’t want them to be–that would be the fascist police state many people complain they don’t want. Merchants have a vested interest in making sure that their patrons feel safe in their stores. If they need to warn their shoppers of pick-pockets, confidence men, and other assorted scammers they refuse to escort off the premises, so be it. I’m sure there’s a videotape or digital recording of this crime–anyone who has been in a K-mart knows how much money the store has spent on surveillance to protect ITSELF from thievery–those cameras can work to protect the customer, too.
That is, unless K-Mart didn’t have the camera on, erased the tapes too early, pointed the camera in the wrong direction or didn’t clean the lens. Or they may have destroyed the evidence so they can try to say they aren’t responsible–it’s all Brandenburg’s fault for personally interacting with other shoppers/constituents and not being cordoned off by taxpayer funded bodyguards.
Go Karma. What Goes Around is a narrow minded liberal bigot.
Big Daddy, if you don’t like reading the blogs, I’ll bet your computer has an off switch, just like mine. Obviously, you haven’t ignored us or you wouldn’t be responding directly.
Mary is not the only one to be a victim of crime in West Palm Beach. There are many crimes in the city (on near the city) every day. She gets the press because of who she is. Interesting that she declined to describe the women, except to say they were middle aged. A good liberal would never include the term black female.
This kind of crime happens everyday. Victims names bever get publicity. All you want is to get in good with the powers that be/Lois Frankel/ We’re going to get rid of her in the next election as well as toady hangers on like you
Why is it that where ever crime happens you and the Post find a way to blame in on West Palm Beach. I had to read your entire story to find out that Representative Brandenburg was actually robbed out in the County not in West Palm Beach, If Representative Brandenburg had been robbed even further West in unincorporated Palm Beach County would you still be saying this is another example of Crime in West Palm Beach.
I got news for you Crime is an issue all over Palm Beach County. Stop trying to make West Palm Beach look bad. I was just downtown and it was a safe place to visit.
K mart’s security is to keep THEM from getting robbed not YOU, get it?
When I go these upper class stores, I usually dress like a Have Not.
She is her own worst enemy in this case. I worked security details for many years in my youth. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to tell a women to zip up her purse or to not leave it in their cart while you have your back turned. I don’t rave ignorance, I shout stupidity. This is 2009, not the 1950. I hope she and others learned by this inexpensive, but time consuming error.
1. Loose weight and be a public example instead of a public disgrace.
2. Go to somewhere other than Wal Mart to get your hair done.
3. Your in Kmart. Surround yourself with dogs, you’ll get fleas.
4. Its the WPB area. If you have not noticed by now, its one big trailer park full of dengenrates, people who don’t speak English and animals who prowl the streets at night.
What was she doing shopping at Kmart? Last time Kimberly Mithchell was shopping at Winn Dixie- Don’t they make enough money to be shopping at proper stores and not be trolling around in the low rent district?
It was Monica Mossey and the Leon Gang.Since Don Pickett and Samuel Marshall didn’t get them enough child support,they decided to go rob Donny’s good friend instead,Kathleen Kroll was probably in on it as well like usual. The Irish bunch are out to lunch.
Yes the City of West Palm Beach has it own problems, but the county as a hole is attempting to fight the crime head-on. I have a serious problem when people who have no idea began to bad mouth the Chief of the West Palm Beach Police Department or the city as a whole. Crime has drop in the city as a whole, yes we still have people being killed. But the department with the leadership of Chief Bush and her command staff, we have more people presence with the limited resources that are avaible. Please do not judge, yes there has been better police chiefs in the past, but Delsa Bush is a very educated women. She is doing her best with what she has, do not think because the police officers voted for the sheriff merger has to do with the direction the police department is going or the leadership. The officers voted because the city did not want to work with their contact.
I hope the police react better than they did for me. My credit cards and drivers license were stole out of my golf back while I was on the driving range warming up before a round of golf. Luckily, threatening weather prevented us from teeing off and the theft was discovered early. Two cards were used however and one was at a 7-11 with video security. I asked for the video but was told the police must do this. The police did not request the video before the video was erased after two weeks.
Property owners and employers need to be arrested for harboring or employing illegal aliens.This is one big problem that can be solved!!Illegal aliens will deport themselves if they have have no where to sleep or work!!!!
I’m more dumbfound by the level of this discussion than the theft itself. Even more disturbing, I’m actually commenting! How about everyone that hates Florida leave now. The knee jerker who just like to bitch leave next. Bigots, racists and snobs _ you’re out too. Crazy ass criminals and gang bangers - leave or get shot. If you’re not willing to vote or run for office, offer some constructive ideas, volunteer for public service, leave as well. Now, let’s see who’s left……..okay, the three remaining people can handle things here now and maybe recreate paradise lost.
I had my purse picked at Walmart’s in Green Acres. As you did, I was approached by a woman and engaged in a conversation. Unknown to me, my purse was being picked by her friend in crime. My purse was on my shoulder. They took several thousand dollars from credit cards and checks. I had to replace everything. It was like my privacy had been invaded! Walmart was not helpful. They were rude. When asked to use their phone, I was told that I could not use their phone. Thank you for letting me vent.
Seems Mary can’t do anything right these days. She’s helped ruin the science museum in West Palm and has done almost nothing to deter crime or make things better for the residents of the area. Goes to a lot of big gala’s and parties though.
… i still think it’s funny she got her upscale oversized middle-aged pocket picked at a Wal-Mart… and I’m sorry, I agree with #1 Karma. oh, and I LOVE Florida!
…and I’m shutting MY computer OFF now… Big Daddy-O’s gonna follow me now… RIGHT?!
…did I mention she was a FAT A$$???
BIG DADDY…..take it ez….you’re going to bust something. Women that carry purses with all their money and valuable information inside are begging to be robbed. Economy being what it is, crime is up. North or South of the county, unincorporated or not, whatever it is alive and well. And her not mentioning the race of the pickpockets is totally irrelevant, does it matter what color they were? They’re thieves plain and simple and I find it interesting that some people here naturally assumed they were of African American descent. That speaks volumes as to how far this country has come with race and its inference thereof. As long as race is an issue in this country we dont have to worry about being assaulted by foreign countries. We will self destruct from within. 2009 and look how far we’ve come. Amazing.