Firm's Solicitors Cited In Elmhurst And Burr Ridge

ELMHURST, IL — Aptive Environmental is in the field of pest control, but police in at least two Chicago suburbs are apparently seeing the company's solicitors as pests.

In the last two weeks, the Elmhurst and Burr Ridge police departments have cited four solicitors on charges of going door to door without permits, which are required in the towns.

Provo, Utah-based Aptive has been going door to door around the country for years. Its solicitors have gotten in trouble with municipalities in states such as New Jersey, Colorado and Louisiana. The firm has gone to court and prevailed in places that have banned door-to-door solicitations outright. Aptive has offices around the country, including in West Chicago.

About noon July 9, an Aptive solicitor was reported going door to door with an iPad in the 6400 block of Manor Drive in Burr Ridge. Officers saw the man, Luke C. Wogoman, and issued him a citation, according to a report. The man's company has been warned before that solicitors were required to have permits, police said.

Several hours later, another resident complained about a solicitor from the same company. That solicitor, Adrian M. Vilchez, was cited on Norris Drive on a charge of soliciting without a permit, according to a report. The Burr Ridge reports did not say where the solicitors were from, but Wogoman appears to have ties to Indiana.

Last Thursday, Elmhurst police cited two Aptive solicitors, Gregory John Carbo, 24, of Gainesville, Ga., and Sydney Paige Encinias, 21, of Fishers, Ind., for going door to door without a permit, a report said. They also were violating the city's pandemic solicitation restrictions, police said. They were released on bond.

On his LinkdIn page, Carbo variously calls himself a sales manager or a team lead at Aptive, having worked there since April 2019. While police listed Carbo's residence as in Georgia, he appears to have ties to Indiana as well. His LinkedIn page says he was the 2017-18 student body president of Ball State University, an Indiana school with more than 20,000 students.

Both Carbo and Encinias are among 11 Aptive solicitors listed as approved on the website of suburban Plano, which is near Aurora.

Patch had trouble reaching Aptive this week and last. After several calls and long waits, a reporter reached a human. Told about the situation in Elmhurst and Burr Ridge, the Aptive representative said it was "interesting" and that he would refer the reporter's call to the media relations department. After about five minutes, a voice could be faintly heard and then the call was disconnected.

Moments later, the reporter reached the representative again and asked for media relations. The reporter was sent to the main number with the menu of options for customers seeking pest control.