By Megan O’Toole, National Post

After serving less than two years of hard time, bike thief Igor Kenk is readjusting to life as a free man.

His wife, classical pianist Jeanie Chung, answered the door at the couple’s Yorkville home today, but declined to speak about Kenk’s ordeal.

“Right now we’re just asking for our privacy,” she explained from the doorway of their bright two-storey house, trimmed with forest-green accents.

Kenk, 50, became one of the city’s most notorious figures after a massive police sting in the summer of 2008 uncovered thousands of stolen bicycles in his Queen Street West bike shop and a network of rented garages and warehouses throughout the city.

Residents who suspected Kenk had been operating a downtown bike-theft ring cheered his arrest, and hundreds were able to reclaim their bicycles.

Late last year, Kenk agreed to a plea bargain that resulted in a 30-month prison term for a selection of drug charges and possession of stolen property. He was released from the Don Jail Friday.

Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union said cyclists are concerned he is already free, given the magnitude of his operation.

“The Don Jail is not a great place, but it seems like he got off fairly easy in the grand scheme of the impact he had on so many people,” she said, noting many people wish he had his day in court “in a way that reflected the real issue, which is that he was perpetuating bike theft in Toronto.”

Kenk’s neighbours on Berryman Street say they were unaware he had been released from prison, but did not seem concerned about the resurgence of a theft ring.

“He’d be crazy if he did,” said neighbour Kelly, who did not want her last name used.

Even before Kenk’s arrest, Kelly said she rarely saw him around the neighborhood. But with several bicycles stored in her garage, she is careful to keep it locked now.

Another long-time Berryman resident said Kenk’s operation was “pretty much under the radar,” though she sometimes saw beat-up vehicles and other “junk” in his backyard.

“But it’s well above the radar now, so I can’t imagine [it happening again],” she said.

Kenk’s arrest inflamed debate over the consequences of bicycle theft in the city, with an unintended benefit of raising awareness about how to properly secure bikes, said Ms. Bambrick.

“Bikes will always be vulnerable and easy to steal things off of, and just because Igor’s not in business anymore doesn’t mean it’s a problem that goes away,” she said.

Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/toronto/archive/2010/03/08/free...