Four honored for bringing down thieves

BOTHELL — An observant woman in an ATM line and three Bothell police detectives were honored Thursday for helping bring down a ring of thieves who stole debit and credit card information.

U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan, who leads the Western Washington office, praised the four during a brief ceremony at Bothell police headquarters.

The woman, who didn’t want her name released, reported suspicious activity involving two men at a Bothell bank in December of 2010. The detectives were able to track down the suspects, Romanian nationals in the U.S. illegally.

A federal investigation later nabbed the ring leader, who has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $350,000 in restitution.

Federal officials estimate the thieves stole more than $1 million through their “skimming” scheme of attaching reading devices to ATM machines that recorded customers’ credit and debit card information.

The detectives are Michael Stone, Ryan Odegaard and Jon Caban.