July 27--A Florida man who authorities said shoplifted $2 million in Legos and other merchandise pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges at a court hearing in DuPage County at which he was threatened with contempt.
The formal reading of a 10-count indictment against Ignatius Pollara, 49, of Tamarac, Fla., took longer than it otherwise might have because Pollara interrupted several times to say the charges against him are false.
At one point, he wondered aloud whether someone had been paid off to keep him in the DuPage County jail. At another juncture, while his criminal past was being recounted, he erroneously asserted that there was no such place as Orange County, Fla.
After Judge Brian Telander said Pollara was accused of stealing a frying pan from a suburban department store, Pollara exclaimed, "I would love to see that video. That is a ... lie."
Pollara then turned to his court-appointed lawyer and added, "We've got a lot of work to do."
Telander patiently waded through the interruptions, telling Pollara that the indictments are allegations that will have to be proven in court.
"You just can't help yourself," the judge said to Pollara after another outburst.
Finally, though, Telander told Pollara that he was ready to hold him in contempt unless he stopped disrupting the proceedings. He then remained quiet as Telander finished the hearing.
Pollara was arrested July 3, after authorities say he stole paintbrushes from a Hobby Lobby store on Roosevelt Road in Lombard. Last week, a grand jury indicted him on counts alleging thefts from an Office Depot, a Carson's department store and a Crate and Barrel.
Police tailed Pollara after his Florida probation officer tipped local authorities that he was traveling to Illinois. He is on probation in Florida following his conviction for operating an organized shoplifting operation that authorities said took in about $2 million worth of stolen high-end Lego sets and other merchandise.
Pollara, who enlisted his mother as a lookout, earned almost $1 million from selling the stolen goods, money which financed a lifestyle of well-heeled international travel, police say.
Although Pollara told his probation officer he planned to visit family in Illinois, the officer knew Pollara had no relatives here. At a court hearing earlier this month, a DuPage prosecutor said Pollara spent four nights in four different hotels, each located near a large shopping center, before he was arrested.
He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail and is charged with felony retail theft and burglary. His next court appearance is set for Sept. 2.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
