sobriety isn't sainthood: the House furnished by boosting
the nameless local AA ex-con, who—since sobriety doesn’t exactly mean instant sainthood—used to lead select teams of early-recovery dope fiends on after-hours boosting expeditions at area furniture and housewares establishments.
Context
The gift-economy's honest shadow: the founder outfitted the recovery house by leading teams of newly-sober addicts on burglary runs, because getting clean does not overnight make a thief a saint. The House is literally built from stolen goods, and the lore keeps the detail rather than cleaning it up — recovery here is a direction, not an instant moral state.