For oddball crime news in Toronto for 2008, it's difficult to top the saga of Igor Kenk.

You want a talking-point crime? For weeks after his arrest, if you rode by Kenk's former bicycle shop at Strachan Avenue and Queen Street West on the 501 streetcar, people would fall silent.

Then a low hubbub would build, punctuated by an excited "Three thousand bikes!!"

The story even made the New York Times, which suggested Kenk could be the greatest bicycle thief of all time.

Kenk could often be seen out front of the Bicycle Clinic, his 927 Queen St. W. shop, working on bicycles in the summer months. Some say he occasionally offered free repairs to people passing by. But others found him less than pleasant. And many people say if your bike had been stolen, check out Kenk's place.

However, at that time, he was a still relatively anonymous member of the city's streetscape.

But Kenk's profile shot up to notorious levels when police announced his arrest.

Detectives in 14 Division began an investigation after a planted police bicycle was allegedly stolen. They allege that Kenk told a man to steal some bicycles using a bolt cutter.

On July 17, police executed search warrants, seizing hundreds of allegedly stolen bicycles.

But they kept finding more bicycles stacked up in rented garages around west Toronto -- 16 storage places in all.

About 2,900 bicycles would ultimately be recovered.

"It seems that in the media, to some extent, he's being blamed for every bicycle that's disappeared in the last many, many years in Toronto," Lon Rose told reporters outside the Old City Hall courts on Aug 1.

"It would appear (the response is) a bit overblown by the public."

People trudged down to warehouses just off Strachan Avenue to pick through the seized bicycles -- or what was left of them. Many had been stripped for parts, so people would just be picking through bike frames. Five-hundred-eighty-two bicycles would ultimately be returned.

Police have charged Kenk with 58 offences, mostly related to theft and drug offences.

Co-accused Jean Laveau, 47, pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000 and possession of burglary tools in August and was sentenced to an additional 14 days.

Kenk made bail in early August. The judge set bail at a total of $275,000. He ordered Kenk to stay away from the clinic or possess any bicycle and to live with one of his guarantors. However, Kenk was allowed to return to his rented Yorkville home that he shares with his partner of seven years, Jeanie Chung.

Chung, a 37-year-old classical pianist, is charged with possession of stolen property and possession of cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The year ended on a bad note for Kenk.

On Dec. 14 police arrested Kenk and charged him with three assault-related charges. He had gone to one of his rented garages with one of his guarantors when the alleged incident occurred.

As Christmas arrived in Toronto, Kenk was stuck in the Don Jail.

Over the summer, someone had scratched the following onto a steel plate adorning the front of Kenk's old shop: "Centre for poor karma and pain research."

Other oddball crimes

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are some other noteworthy crimes where no one was physically hurt:

The masked bandit

On Sept. 23, a lone suspect in a Grim Reaper costume complete with rubber gloves and surgical mask went into a TD Canada Trust branch on Queen Street East with a box. He passed the teller a note saying the box contained a bomb.

The staff thought initially thought the whole thing was a joke.

The robber fled the bank without money, running up Booth Avenue. Upon examining the box, police found it contained chunks of plaster and smashed-up wallboard.

The barefoot bandit

Dozens of homes in the Beaches neighbourhood were broken into this fall. The suspects entered the homes between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.

After finding a pair of black, white and red shoes during the investigation, the suspect became known as the "barefoot bandit."

However, police arrested two teens on Dec. 4, recovering some allegedly stolen items.

The cop-car thief

A fellow decided to jump in an unmarked police cruiser parked at a collision scene and drive off with the shotgun-toting vehicle.

He made it two blocks before crashing the car into a building. He took off on foot, but officers caught up with him.

In 2009, Simon Jackson, 36, of no fixed address will have to answer to a number of criminal charges.