the lights of las vegas flash day ask night, beckoning visitors. but not far from the dazzling lights, a darker side of vegas is buzzing with its own kind of action. inside this little shop -- >> i have two malibus. >> shady deals are going down. stolen goods for sale. >> i just got a plasma. >> 51-inch. >> this guy is cashing in on a truck he carjacked, bragging about beating up the driver. [ bleep ]. >> none of these people have any idea that they've just walked

into a police sting operation or that we've tracked down their victims. >> i was violated, and he's laughing about it. >> on the other side of town we're on the scene with undercover detectives watching from just yards away as thieves steal cars. >> he jumped in and took off and we're following him down the street. >> get your hands up. put them up in the air! >> we're riding with these cops, following a pimp. >> and a few miles away, a career crook goes to work as cameras roll. you'll watch the crime in progress and the capture as it happened. >> that's him running? >> that's him rung. >> and as you'll see, perhaps the most telling part. >> no, i was not her pimp. >> is when i chat with the suspects. >> how did you end up getting

into this jam? >> i don't know what jam i'm in, to be honest with you. >> i wasn't selling stolen cars. >> i'll reveal they've been caught on hidden camera. >> you've been caught in a sting operation? >> you're about to be. >> for them, what's happening in vegas won't be staying here. tonight we'll take you on an undercover journey through an underground world. we'll start with extraordinary video with criminals, shoplifters, thieves at work. they're cool, confident and totally convinced they'll never be caught and we'll introduce you to the victims of the crimes and what they lost can't be measured in dollars and cents and finally, you'll meet the criminals themselves as they discover they have been caught on hidden camera. it all happens right before your ice here on "vegas undercover." >> our vision here at the las

vegas metropolitan police department is to be the safest community in america. >> sheriff gillespie encourages his force of more than 3,000 officers to be creative. >> policing cannot be reactive when people call you for help. you have to be proactive and come up with different ideas, some old, some new, don't accept just being good. so the vegas police find opportunities to catch thieves in the act. >> as you may remember from our last report we're once again riding along with lieutenant bobby duval who runs the specialized unit formed to combat auto theft. hundreds of cars are stolen each month in las vegas costing victims millions of dollars. three years ago vegas led the count rye in auto theft with aggressive policing, the numbers have been dropping. this theme uses specially designed bait cars rigged with hidden cameras.

they leave the vehicles in high-crime areas and wait for them to be stolen. watch how it works. >> why are you following me? >> it begins with undercover cops faking a fight. >> then they appear to abandon the car in the chaos. >> the fights are out on the streets all of the time and the cars get left behind. >> within minutes, the bait car is stolen. >> the vehicle is controlled remotely from a laptop. >> arm it, disarm it. you can honk the horn. you can kill the ignition. >> the suspect is 27-year-old marco flores. look at how he's covered his hands presumable toe avoid leaving fingerprints. >> but he need aren't have bothered. >> put your hands up! hans up! get out of the car. hands up. all of the way up! >> once he's in handcuffs i get a chance to speak with him. >> chris hansen with "dateline"

nbc. we're doing a story on auto theft. can you tell me what happened here tonight? >> nothing. well, just messed up. >> i'm having a hard time understanding what you're going to do once you grabbed the car? pick up your girlfriend or give her a ride? go to dairy queen? what? >> nothing like that. flores pleaded guilty to grand larceny auto. >> another night, another fake fight attracting another suspect. the man drives off and has no idea the cops are tracking him. he parks the car, gets out and runs. >> how often does this happen when someone tries to run? >> not often. >> the cops surround the area. >> we have a helicopter. >> stand by!

>> whatever it takes. >> whatever it takes. >> the police give chase for an intense 15 minutes. get him out. >> so this is the suspect right here who was missing between this street and the next street over, but once they brought the chopper in and dogs they were able to flush him out. the alleged car thief is younger than 18 so he'll be charged as a juvenile. how does it feel to pull this off? >> feels good. zee a capture. >> in vegas, car theft seems to be an equal opportunity crime. any age, man or woman like 25-year-old tiffany montoya. >> female is in it. >> the cops tail her and she's startled by the sirens. >> let me see your hands! open the car from the outside. >> she says she has no

identification, but she offers a creative solution. >> i have my name tattooed on me, though. >> tiffany who has a prior conviction for prostitution pleaded guilty to stealing the car. >> our next suspect, as we'll learn later, has had too much to drink and his friend on the phone warns him not to take the car, but as you can see, he just doesn't listen. [ siren ] >> he drives less than a block before he's arrested. >> let me see your hands! >> right here! >> you have the right to remain silent. >> he's 44-year-old eliseo gonzalez who thinks this is all very funny. >> i didn't get a hold of my friend. they told me don't do. >> so they told you not to do it

and you took a chance or what? >> i did a stupid thing, and i have to pay. i have to pay. yeah. yeah. and they told me and i'm not stupid. and i'm stupid. >> eliseo pled guilty to grand larceny auto. >> what's your favorite part about this? >> my favorite part is the catch. using technology the way we're doing to turn it back on the thieves, to see that look in their face when they realize they've been had, nothing better than that. nothing better. >> so what do thiefs do with the cars they steal? >> some take them here. when we come back you'll see how the las vegas police are beating these criminals by joining them. ♪ ♪ that's next and coming up later, the bad guys get some bad news. they find out for the first time they've been caught on hidden camera. >> it was a sting operation.

>> okay, if it was a sting operation i'm busted. >> can i show you some of the videotape? >> still ahead on "vegas undercover." most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every purchase, every day. that's setting the bar pretty high. owning my own business has never been more rewarding. coming through! [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a $500 dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. life opens up when you do. ♪ ♪ ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪

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>> i wonninged out into the garage, and i just looked around and said wow! where's my car? >> some time during the night as debbie streeter slept a thief sneaked into her garage and stole her 2007 kia sorento. >> hi, yes. i need some help. my car's gone. >> every time you walk outside you're looking around and see if someone's watching you. at:night you're double checking doors and windows that you never did before. >> what happens to cars after crooks steal them? >> as we've shown you for nearly a year we've been watching this fencing operation from behind the scenes. a place where thief comes to sell stolen goods to other

criminals. >> what's going on? the guys behind the counter aren't crooks. they're really undercover detectives. it all happens at this little store tucked away in the shadow of the vegas strip and meant to look like a shop that sells and installs car audio systems. it's where we first saw suspects selling guns and cars. >> i got $2,000 on me. >> and an alleged counterfeiter making bogus bills. business at this storefront is still booming. this guy is here to sell a grenade and he's looking for top dollar. >> 300 is what the final sale was. >> and on ebay, right? >> lieutenant dave loge you're sees the store front operation and he says most of their customers are career criminals. suspects who have done jail time and are now out. >> some are very violent,

convicted of robbery and people that are ex-felons and this is what they do for a living. >> meet brad young, a six-time convicted felon. >> i have 29s and i've been in prison four times. brad would turn out to be one of the shop's best customers, bringing in six cars in six weeks. >> i'll give you 750 for this car. >> but just as important, he'll spread the word, sending in more thieves all unaware they're walking into a sting operation. >> right now he's frustrated because his accomplices can't seem to remember where they parked a stolen vehicle. >> would you go out to the parking lot and show these [ bleep ] where the truck is, please? >> brad is here selling a different one and he's eager to it will the undercover officers how he stole it. >> and i pistol whipped him in front of the camera. >> he says he was in the drive-through of a fast food

place when the driver of the pickup passed him, scraping his car, and i got out of the car and brad re-enacts how he says he punched his handwrite through the driver's window. >> and hit him one time and [ bleep ]. you know what, dude? and -- the driver was black and brad is apparently a racist. >> i don't like [ bleep ]. in addition to the two vehicles he's selling today brad says he's got a different deal in the works. >> i have 62 others, pistols and rifles. >> he collects his money for the two cars, $1500 and makes plans to come back soon. cops want to know more about brad and his friends so they let

him walk, but keep a close eye on him. police say decisions like this are always a delicate balance. the plan is to arrest brad and all of the other suspects once the investigation is over. >> nice to meet you. >> four days later brad is back. this time he's brought a friend with another stolen pickup for sale. >> two of them. >> i have 860 on me. would that be all right? >> they agree on $860 for the 2005 ford f-150 and brad takes a cut. >> here comes another referral. we met her in our last investigation. the drug-addicted mother of three. she calls herself chevy. she says brad sent her. >> did brad tell you what this was all about here? >> well, he told me a little bit. >> detectives want to keep spreading the word and give chevy incentive to help. >> he shows up and says your name you'll get money on the back end and the better it is,

the more you'll get. >> a few days later, she's back. this time she's brought three friends. the little shop is becoming standing room only. >> what's up, brother? good to meet you. billy is here to sell a car and a gun. >>. >> a week later, one of the men, levi, is back. >> you look so much happy year than the last time. the 22-year-old says he's a tree trimmer who has just become a father and he only steals cars to help support his family. >> i have a full-time job and i have a family. >> levi has two cars to sell. one of them a kia, bragging about how he stole it. >> the keys were sitting right next to the car. >> idiots. >> right next in the driveway. >> no, in the garage. >> the garage door is still closed. >> which brings us back to

debbie streeter. the woman you met earlier whose car was stolen as she slept. levi just sold it to the undercover cops. we showed debbie the undercover tape, but she wasn't careless with her keys the way levi claims. he's laughing and he's happy and joking and he thinks it's a big joke and that frustrates me. >> he's boasting to the undercover officers how he did it. >> yeah. i was violated and that feels crappy, you know? and he's laughing about it. >> but as you'll see, he won't be laughing for long. >> chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. coming up. >> he was a good con artist. >> on the trail of a salesman. his product, women. >> i had a quota. $1200 $1500 a night. >> how much of that would you get to keep? >> none of it.. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service,

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we're with vegas police on a man hunt.

>> hi. i'm back. >> looking for the man who brutally beat this woman, jessica roddick. >> my eye was swollen shut and my lips were swollen. the bruising just started to go down. >> the wanted man is mario davis, a pimp accused of taking advantage of young, vulnerable women. >> it looks like they're slaves. >> where are they going to go? >> detective chris hoffman, part of the police unit called the pimp investigative team is passionate about catching pimps, stopping them from victimizing young, impressionable women. >> for me, there's no greater reward than possibly rescuing a girl. >> he hunts guys like mario, a man known to enslave women through fear. >> what they will do is tell the girls i know where your family lives at. if you try to run from me and i'll go to your family and i'll hurt them. i'll shoot them. >> the detectives started looking into mario a year ago. >> back in september there was a girl that had came forward that

wanted some help. >> her name is elizabeth serrano, both jessica and elizabeth worked as prostitutes for mario and both say he abused them. >> he was a good con artist, you know? >> elizabeth said it started when she was 18 and on her way to becoming a code breaker for the air force. >> she was about to be deployed, she says, when she was arrested for joyriding in a stolen car. as a result, the air force dropped her. >> i was already processed, and was waiting to graduate high school. >> elizabeth says she was sitting in jail when she was approached by another woman in the lockup. >> she said she had a friend that owned an escort service, and she could get me in. >> out of money, and desperate, elizabeth called the owner of the escort service mario davis. soon, she was turning tricks. >> i had a quota, you know? i had to meet that quota. >> what was the quota for you? >> 1200 to $1500 a night.

>> how much of that money would you get to keep? >> none of it. she says she tried to leave, but he wouldn't let her. >> he'd be, like, all right go pack your stuff and if i actually did it, oh, he'd beat me severely. she says she finally escaped when mario took a trip out of town. >> he wasn't there to stop me. >> the detective got the case and he knew just who he was looking for. turns out the detective and the pimp went to high school together where mario was a star basketball player. >> did you ever imagine 20 years ago in high school that this basketball star, a year older than you, would become the target of one of your major investigations? >> nope. small town. >> small town. >> the detective arrested his former classmate and charged him with pandering, selling elizabeth's body for sex. >> he said he'd been doing it, these girls were drawn to him. >> a few months later when mario was out on bail the detective got the call about another abuse

case. it was jessica, the woman we introduced you too earlier. >> my mouth, i can't open it because my jaw's bruised. bruises on my arms, i got kicked in my kidneys. >> she says she met davis when she was a vulnerable, drug-addicted 22-year-old. >> how did he convince you that you'd be better off living a life of prostitution? >> the money, the clothe, the jewels, the nice clothes. >> he'd make it sound glamorous. >> yeah. it sounds good by that time you're already attached and you think you love him or you do love him and you get confused and make it seem like this is how it should be. >> how can you love a guy that makes you go out every night and turn tricks? >> he tells you that he's the one that ever loves you.

>> jessica says things just changed. she got a text from another man sending him into a jealous rage. >> he pick mead up and threw me off the couch. >> what did he do? >> he fell on my arms. >> he pinned you down. >> uh-huh. and he started to hit me in my face. >> she says after the beating he chopped off her hair. >> mario here? >> when police enter mario's house, he isn't there, but they find crucial evidence. upon. >> so this is the hair that you recovered? >> yes, it is. >> hours later detective hoffman gets a call from mario's attorney. the accused pimp has agreed to turn himself in. >> turn around. i'm going to pat you down, real quick, mario. mario arrives as scheduled outside the jail. >> spread your feet.

is this your phone? >> he's given a date to appear in court and is released from jail. >> chris hansen "dateline" nbc. >> did you ever beat jessica? no. >> did you ever beat elizabeth? >> the only thing i am guilty of is being black and having a girlfriend that's a prostitute. that's what i'm guilty of. they were just two of at least a dozen women working for mario. >> there's no crime in having 15 girlfriends. i'm not married. i'm still young. >> there's no crime in having 15 girlfriends, but the question is were they going out turning tricks and giving you the money? >> no, that's what i'm saying, no, they wasn't. >> how do you make a living? >> i'm a dude. i'm an escort myself. >> mario might be an male escort, but now he's a felon. he's pled guilty to pandering with force. as part of a plea bargain he'll be on five years' probation.

the detective believes for now he's put mario out of commission. >> has justice been served in this case? >> i believe yeah, 100%. 100%. >> but mario davis is not behind bars. >> no, he's not. and -- >> he took a deal. >> he did take a deal. he makes one mistake. if he does something wrong and he goes to prison anywhere from eight to 17 years. >> that's good enough for jessica's father who is deeply grateful to the detective for bringing his only daughter home. >> all i did was hold her until she fell asleep after the detective brought her in. that's a great guy over there. that's a dedicated man. >> when you can help a girl, someone that no one else was able to help and it's probable the most rewarding thing i've ever done. >> coming up, the ups and downs of a shoplifter when "vegas

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>> hello. i'm milissa rehberger. most of america's jobless have been out of a job for so long they're not getting unemployment anymore. they haven't had a job for more than a year. jeff san curvingy is facing charges for allegedly abusing eight young men. the athletic director and vice president are both facing charges for perjury and failure to report the suspected abuse. now back to "vegas undercover." we've been given a front-row seat riding with a squad of detectives who focus solely on repeat offenders? we concentrate on habitual criminals and repeat offenders? lieutenant ted lee says it's the career criminals who commit most

crimes. 20% of the people that commit 80% of the crime within a city. >> convince these crooks won't stop committing crimes, police in vegas secretly tail them catching habitual offenders in the act. tonight we're riding with the sergeant as he follows a suspect who is a six-time convicted felon. >> it's the perfect example of a habitual criminal, repeat offender. roger jones. >> what has roger been up to? take a look at what he did a year ago october. you're watching a professional shoplifter go to work. the cameras pick him up and follows him as he heads down the aisle looking leak a regular shopper, stopping and browsing. soon, he makes his move. watch as he takes a $139

amplifier out of the box, shoves it down his pants and covers it up with his shirt. >> feeling the squeeze, he takes off his belt and ditches it. he head to the check out and pace for a different item in his cart. all looks normal as he exits the door, but security isn't fooled and they move in for the arrest, tackling him. roger was charged with a misdemeanor and released. you'd think that arrest would have scared him, not raja. one month later he enters this convenience store and he thinks the coast is clear. seconds later he comes out with cartons of cigarettes and stuffs them in his coat and walks out. roger was arrested and this time charged with grand larceny. he was released on bail and later pleaded guilty. but his crime spree is still not

over. last spring he was caught robbing lockers at a 24-hour fitness gym. detective ethan grimes got the case. >> i spent approximately four weeks on this case. >> he found out one of his victims was aris laf, a professional acrobat in cirque du soleil's mystere. >> you go to the locker and what do you see? >> no clothes, no shoes, no wallet, no credit cards. >> everything was gone. >> so upset i called my wife and told her to close all my credit cards. >> but it wasn't just credit cards he needed to worry about. roger also allegedly stole his identity, using it to buy a cell phone and even something you might not expect. >> i got some call from a dental office. >> a dentist's office. >> police say raja used his

identity to get his teeth x-rayed. >> detective grimes linked raja to the crimes. took a look at his long criminal history and turned the case over to the repeat offenders unit. >> they can find the people they want to do surveillance on. >> that's why tonight, they have decided to follow raja jones. >> what are the chances he'll commit a crime while the police and our cameras are watching? >> as the evening begins it looks like raja may have changed his ways. he and his girlfriend head to a narcotics anonymous meeting, but the night is young. >> his next stop, a familiar place. a 24-hour fitness gym. he's right there at the counter. it's a short visit and a few minutes later, raja comes out. >> we can't confirm anything was broken into because a lot of lockers are open.

radja and his girlfriend are off. it seems like he might be up to his old tricks. >> we followed him into's couple of stores and he's going in where the female is distracting the clerk while the male subject appears to be a term. ing to check doors. the cops don't think he stole anything here, but what about this next stop at a 7-eleven? >> he's pulling into a 7-eleven. >> a surveillance camera rolls as raja's girlfriend goes in first and as she did in the last stop, distracts the clerk. >> now here comes raja. >> i believe he's going to be in. ♪ ♪ >> watch him go into the back room. you can guess what happens next. he takes two large boxes full of cigarettes and leaves out a back door. >> he went in a back room, triggering an alarm. the cops follow him. he heads to this parking lot to meet a man waiting to buy his

stolen stash. >> that's him running? >> the police quickly catch him and raja is tackled again. >> raja and his girlfriend, 26-year-old melissa beatty are arrested on burglary and grand larceny charges. he doesn't want to talk to police. why did you run? >> but his girlfriend does. >> he doesn't tell me what he deals. he doesn't tell me what he does. he's my girlfriend, and i -- i'm not working right now. we just got a new house. >> he she tells them the theft was all raja's idea. if i would just go watch for him, just distract, then that's me earning my share, two grand and that's the honest to god truth. melissa beatty has pleaded guilty. also arrested in the parking lot is the man who bought the stolen cigarettes. detectives find the two crates and $1500 in cash in his car his

name is norm mansour and owns a small vegas smoke shop. he's arrested for receiving stolen property and is released on bail. that's when i pay him a visit. >> mr. mansour? >> chris hansen with "dateline" nbc, we're doing a story about the investigation being done by the police about receiving stolen cigarettes. i wanted your side of the story. >> no comments. no comments. >> when police arrested raja jones. >> he was found guilty on possession of stolen property. >> chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. >> we went to see raja jones now behind bars. >> i wanted to know if you had anything to say about it, if you were willing to talk to us and get your side of the story. >> no. >> it involved cigarettes. ? >> i have nothing to say. >> raja who has pleaded guilty may not want to talk, but back at the storefront operation,

suspects are still filing in and coming up, i have a lot say about how they're ripping people off. >> and you tuesday came from the valet? ♪ ♪ >> a car thief who thinks he's a hero. >> he doesn't appreciate what he got. >> not surprisingly. his victim disa agrees. >> i hope he gets the maximum. >> when "vegas undercover" continues. d economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

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>> are you ready? >> ready? >> for the last nine months we've been watching from the back room as this storefront has been a revolving door for criminal suspects selling their loot. ♪ ♪ >> they think they're selling to crooks, but the buyers are actually undercover detectives. it's all been caught on tape.

[ bleep ]. >> remember 29-year-old brad young, the violent six-time offender? he sent many of his criminal friends to the fencing operation, taking a cut of each deal along the way. brad hasn't been seen for a while. turns out he was arrested on a different case. but here comes his girlfriend, alicia napadano. >> now i'm the one trying to run around trying to get money and it's just ridiculous. >> are you working right now? are you talking even rent? >> i've never had a job in my life. >> how old are you? >> 21. >> you never had a job, ever? >> i never had to. >> she'll make nine visits to the storefront. this time it's a stolen bmw. >> you said it came from a valet if. >> yeah. >> she explains it was stolen from a casino. >> the valet will drive it into the parking spot and you drive

it into the casino or whatever. >>. >> who are you? >> hi. >> she sends this guy. he's a friend of brad's. >> alicia said you knew him. >> yeah. >> he's todd mcclairy. he's here with five vehicles. one of them a $230,000 bentsly. >> i got them all here, believe it or not. [ bleep ]. it's been a nightmare. >> todd, a 43-year-old carpet layer explains he's the middleman, not the thief. >> i just coordinate it, man. >> the actual thief, he says, is waiting ourselves. his former cellmate. >> his name is james remington or j.r. j.r.e plains that after he burglarized a house he found he had unknowingly taken the titles to two cars which gave him an idea. >> and i left with the stuff

that i had and i got home and i find the titles to these cars, and i'm, like -- i didn't go to the garage. he made an exception and went back and stole the two cars. >> okay, went back and said ooh, wee. >> and the undercover detectives make him an offer. >> i can give you 2500 for both rides. >> $2,500 for cars worth nearly $300,000. the cops tell j.r. they don't have enough money on them and convince him to come back the next day. >> as he warms up to the cops he explains why he thought what he did was justified. >> apparently, some people and they're worth, like $10 billion, so i don't feel bad. if it was an average joe working, i don't do -- like that. the guy has three houses and

he -- >> he cheats people like [ bleep ]. >> we wonder if the owner of the bentley and the mustang would agree. we tracked him down. >> he doesn't understand how violated that made me feel. >> his name is michael lipscomb. he's in the oil business who says he's a self-made man who worked hard for every dollar that he earned. >> my wife and are are com are comfortable and we do have two houses. when i left i had $237 and what i gotti got by working on it. >> we showed him of j.r. >> what do you hope happens to this fellow? >> i hope he gets the maximum. he thinks he is completely in the right. >> without the storefront investigation, do you think you would have gotten the cars back? >> i don't think we would have. >> j.r. and the rest of the gang are about to be put out of

business. >> we'll get a chance to speak with them. >> hey, brad. >> and i'll reveal to them for the first time that they've been caught on hidden camera. >> i'm wondering if i can show you videotape. >> it was a sting operation. >> i've never been caught in a sting operation. >> you're about to be. [ male announcer ] we asked real people if they'd help us with an experiment for febreze fabric refresher. they agreed. [ experimenter 1 ] relax, take some nice deep breaths. [ experimenter 2 ] what do you smell? lilac. clean. there's something that's really fresh. a little bit beach-y. like children's blankets. smells like home. [ experimenter 1 ] okay. take your blindfolds off. ♪ hello? [ male announcer ] and now new and improved febreze fabric refresher with up to two times the odor elimination so you can breathe happy, guaranteed. well... 'cause i could pay a little at a time... but actually we do -- and my kids would be like, "awesome, mom!" oh!

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put your hands up! >> let me see your hands! >> with our all-access pass, we've been right there as the biggest police take down criminals like pimps and car thieves. >> put your hands up! >> now they're rounding up the suspects from the undercover fencing operation. in all, police recovered more than $1 million in stolen cars, arresting 38 suspects, most of them repeat offenders who are now behind bars.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> we went to the local jail to speak with some of them. >> hey, brad? >> chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. how are you doing? >> we start with the ringleader, the man who police say was at the top of the criminal network. brad young. >> he is the guy connected to the theft of nine cars, bragging about beating a black man after stealing his truck. [ bleep ]. >> brad has no idea he was caught on hidden camera in a police sting operation, but he's about to find out. >> we're doing a story on a investigation that was conducted by the metro vegas police department. >> investigation for what? >> well, for a lot of things, including people who are selling stolen vehicles. do you know anything about this? >> absolutely not. >> not at all. >> did you sell anyone any stolen vehicles? >> no. >> no trucks?

no dodge chargers? >> absolutely not. >> are you sure? >> i'm positive. >> imf wondering if this was a mixup. >> i wonder if i can show you a videotape. >> watch brad closely as the video begins to play. his face starts to twitch. how do you explain that? >> explain what? >> explain what was going there? >> i was talking to somebody. >> you were talking to somebody? >> who were you talking to? >> i don't know, but i'm done talking. i want to talk to my attorney. brad has pled guilty and has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. >> how are you? >> chris hansen with "dateline" nbc. >> then there's levi, the new dad that bragged about stealing debbie streeter's kia. >> the keys were sitting right next to the car. [ bleep ] idiots. >> levi doesn't know that he's been caught in a sting operation. >> you actually show up in this investigation selling stolen cars. >> i wasn't selling stolen cars.

>> you weren't selling stolen cars? >> no, sir. >> you think it's funny? >> i don't think it's funny at all. i really don't think it's funny. >> here ate thing, during that investigation, hidden cameras and microphones were rung the whole time, and i have a video that i'd like you to see if you'd like to look at it. >> yes, sir. >> after seeing the video, he changes his story. >> you also talk about going in the house, getting the car keys and stealing the car. >> that was just b.s. >> why would you say that? >> why would someone admit to a felony if they didn't really do it? >> a lot of the stuff is -- i don't know. a lot of stuff is b.s. that we do talk about. >> what wasn't b.s. is if you put together seven deals to sell stolen automobiles, right? >> with them, i did. >> yeah. yeah. >> seven times. >> yeah. i mean, just as much as they had

seven deals. i had seven deals. yeah. >> how much money would you get? >> i would get a percentage. 50 bucks a car. >> it was worth it? >> levi says he commits crimes because of drugs. >> every time i've ever been arrest order any time i've ever been in trouble is being high on crystal meth or being high or doing dope. >> is there anything you want folks to know about your situation? >> i don't know. i'm sorry to the victim that i took the car from. >> levi pleaded guilty. >> hi, todd. how are you doing? >> next, todd mcclairy, the guy who calls himself the middleman. >> i just coordinate it, man. >> also unaware he's been caught on tape, he denies everything. >> have you ever sold any stolen cars before? >> no. >> do you know anything about stolen car rings? >> no.

>> there's evidence that you did get involved in selling some stolen cars in an undercover sting operation. >> i was no part of any undercover sting operation. >> i'm not saying you helped the police with a sting operation. i'm saying you were caught in a sting operation. >> i've never been caught in a sting operation. >> you're about to be. >> can i show you videotape? >> i'm guilty [ bleep ]. >> that's you, right? >> yeah. >> you denied it in the beginning of our conversation until you saw the videotape. did you just forget about it? >> no. >> you knew it? >> yeah, i knew it. >> how much did you make off of all that? >> not much. >> i mean, it looks like you were counting off a pretty big stack. >> i didn't make -- there was only a couple of times that i had my hands on the money first, but for the most part -- wow! >> as we've heard before he says he needed the money to get high.

>> i did some things, that i'm paying for right now. i'm sure i deserve it, but at the same time, you know, i need help. >> todd pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine and a half to 26 years in prison. >> hey, john. >> how are you doing? >> remember j.r.? the bentley thief? >> he doesn't give it to somebody who might. >> he's not looking as confident in his prison blue snoops how did you end up getting in this jam? >> i don't know what jam i'm in to be honest with you. >> let me ask you this, j.r., did you ever take stolen cars to a storefront? >> no, i never did personally sell anybody any car. >> i was there with a friend of mine. >> did you ever get any of the money for these cars? >> no, i didn't get any money, no. >> did you bring over a 2008 bentley? >> yes. you did. >> and where did that bentley come from in. >> i had no idea.

>> you have no idea. >> you didn't steal that bentley. >> did you ever steal any cars? >> did you ever break into any homes? >> no. >> most of the time the house -- >> my question about the storefront make j.r. suspicious of the guys who were working there. >> who are they? >> it was a sting operation. >> okay, if it was a sting operation i'm busted. >> right. >> for going there and i'm sure they had a camera on me. >> in fact, they did. >> would you like to take a look? >> he makes about $10 million. >> you're bragging there, j.r., about robbing a guy and you don't feel bad about it. >> after seeing himself on tape, j.r. says he was just blowing smoke. >> this is just a made-up person. >> you just made it up. >> yeah, i just made it up. >> you talked about taking the bentley. you taking the bentley. >> well, at the time -- i don't know, trying to be cool. >> j.r. has pled guilty and was

sentenced to ten years to life in prison. >> i've never had a job in my life. >> shut up! >> then there's alicia, the woman who bragged she's never worked a day in her life. she's pled guilty for the crimes related to her visits to the storefront. >> the sheriff says his department's proactive policing is working. >> our crime numbers are down. >> and warns that crooks should think twice before committing a crime in las vegas. >> what do you say to criminals who may see this, who have their eyes on las vegas? >> watch out. we're in a lot of different places and doing a lot of different things, and you may think you're good at your trade, but we're that much better. and you're going to get caught. >> and we'll be watching as we continue our coverage of "the v vegas cops close up and under cover. you'll find more information about this underve