3 SOVIET EMIGRES END UP IN GOLF CRISIS

By Michael O. Allen and Patricia Alex, Record Staff Writers | Friday, July 19, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A01

Police say a trio of Soviet emigres caught sopping wet after diving for golf balls in Rockleigh Golf Course ponds early Thursday were carrying free enterprise a bit too far.
Yuri Slobodkin, 20, and Vyachestu Shablvusky, 20, both of Brooklyn, and Pavel Krants, 25, of Queens were charged with defiant trespass and theft of movable property about 2,500 golf balls.
They were arrested after Northvale police stopped them in a 1982 Oldsmobile on Haring Farm Lane at about 3:45 a.m. soaking wet and in possession of wet suits, scuba gear, and a duffel bag full of the duffers bounty.
Detective Jean Rothenberger of the Bergen County Police Department said the men dove for golf balls which fetch from 35 to 75 cents each for a living in New York, where they had legitimate contracts to do so.
“They just came out here to free-lance,” Rothenberger said.
The three were given summonses and released.

Keywords: RUSSIA; GOLF; LAKE; ROCKLEIGH; VIOLATION; NEW YORK CITY; THEFT; NORTHVALE

BOGUS WATER WORKERS SOUGHT IN THEFT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 10, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

An elderly couple were robbed of $1,500 cash and assorted jewelry by two men who came to their home Monday and claimed to work for the “water company,” police said.
The couple whom police said were 79 and 81 years old but declined to identify further allowed the men into their house around noon, Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley said.
The men, clad in matching dark-colored uniforms, said they were checking water theft in the area, Tinsley said. One suspect took the couple upstairs into their kitchen, distracting them while the other man went into a bedroom and took the money and jewelry, Tinsley said.
Cindy Munley, a Hackensack Water Co. spokeswoman, said the men did not work for the water company.
“We ask customers to carefully check the identification of anyone claiming to be from the Hackensack Water Co.,” Munley said. “Anytime that the customer has doubt, they should feel free to call the water company before admitting anyone to the premises.”
Tinsley said anyone with a similar experience should call police. The Hackensack Water Co.’s toll-free telephone number is 1-800-422-5987.

Keywords: ENGLEWOOD; WATER; UTILITY; THEFT; FRAUD

WOMAN ROBBED OF FURS, JEWELRY

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, April 28, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A simple trip to Saks Fifth Avenue to store her three fur coats valued at $80,000 for the season turned nightmarish for a 43-year-old Englewood woman on Saturday when two men shoved her into the trunk of her Rolls-Royce and stole her furs and jewelry, police said.
Karen L. Kitzis told police her gold-and-silver wristwatch and gold-and-silver bracelet were valued at about $13,200, said city police Capt. John Aletta.
The robbery occurred about 12:15 p.m. in the east parking lot of the Riverside Square mall, Aletta said.

Keywords: WOMAN; ROBBERY; ENGLEWOOD; JEWELRY; CLOTHING; THEFT

BURGLARY SUSPECT TURNS HIMSELF IN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, April 4, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | B04

A 27-year-old Union City man, the second suspect in Monday’s burglary of a Bergen Boulevard home, turned himself in to borough police Tuesday and was charged with burglary and theft, police said.
Thomas Cook of 518 12th St. was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Palisades Park Police Capt. Remo Framarin said the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Bergen County Burglary Squad, using fingerprint information and composites, identified Cook as a suspect in the burglary. Framarin said several law enforcement agencies are investigating the two men and others in connection with other burglaries in the county.
Police, responding Tuesday to a call about a prowler near a home that had been burglarized Monday, arrested Luis Ayala, 35, of Union City, as he hid in a wooded area east of Bergen Boulevard.
Ayala, also known as Raymond, was charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen credit cards. Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso said he was preparing charges against Ayala for six burglaries at the Horizon Apartments in Fort Lee during the past three weeks. The credit cards belonged to someone from Fort Lee, Palisades Park police said.
Palisades Park Municipal Court Judge Joseph Dimiglio set Ayala’s bail at $50,000. Ayala was being held in a secured unit at Bergen Pines County Hospital for undisclosed reasons.

Keywords: PALISADES PARK; THEFT

3 RUN AFOUL OF MURPHY’S LAW; BURGLARY SUSPECTS CAR WOULDN’T START

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 6, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Three burglary suspects ran into the long arm of Murphy’s Law early Monday morning: Just about everything that could go wrong did.
First, police said, the homeowner and his wife screamed when James Bradley burst into their bedroom. Then, beating a hasty retreat, Bradley jumped out of a kitchen window and ran to the getaway car, but the battery was dead, police added.
Bradley fled on foot, but his two accomplices were identified by the homeowner and arrested after they asked two township police officers for help in starting the car. Bradley was captured about an hour later, police said.
Bradley, 39, of 22 E. Clinton Ave., Bergenfield; Karla C. Bradley, 40, of 12 N. Front St., Bergenfield; and Kenneth Kees, 30, whose last known address was in Cliffside Park, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday on $20,000 bail each.
James Bradley was charged with burglary. Karla Bradley and Kees were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.
In his report, Teaneck Police Officer Thomas Melvin said James Bradley broke into the bedroom of the East Lawn Drive home shortly before the officers pulled up to the stalled 1985 Ford Thunderbird at 12:35 a.m. Monday.
The homeowner told police he heard someone break into a rear basement window, and then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. When the suspect finally reached the master bedroom, the homeowner and his wife both screamed.
As Karla Bradley was asking Melvin and Police Officer Robert Carney to help jump-start the car, the officers noticed the homeowner beckoning them from the third-floor window of his home.
Bradley was picked up by Carney underneath the Route 4 overpass on Teaneck Road about 1:46 a.m., police said.

Keywords: TEANECK; THEFT

WRONG GUY PICKS UP CAR FROM REPAIR SHOP

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, February 23, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

When Richard Petrocelli called a car dealership Thursday evening to see if the transmission on his 1987 Corvette had been repaired, he was told that he had already picked it up.
A service manager at the dealership, Malcolm Konner Chevrolet Geo in Paramus, had released the car earlier that day to a man impersonating Petrocelli, said Lt. Donald McNair of the Paramus Police Department.
Petrocelli said the manager told him the impersonator displayed a police badge or wallet card and said he needed the car immediately for an investigation, even though the repairs had not been completed.
“I still can’t believe this is happening to me,” Petrocelli said. “All you have to do is say the car is yours, and they turn the keys over to you? “
R. J. Konner, vice president of the dealership, called the situation “odd. “
Konner said Petrocelli knew the car was not going to be ready Thursday because the service department had received the needed parts only that day.
Petrocelli said he was told the work would be completed and the car ready on Thursday.
Petrocelli said his car is worth $30,000 equipped with a $3,000 compact disc player, a $1,000 cellular telephone, and special aluminium wheel rims that cost $750 each.
McNair, who said he has been investigating automobile thefts since 1972, agreed that the incident was “very unusual. “

Keywords: MOTOR VEHICLE; THEFT; PARAMUS; REPAIR

3 MEN ARE ARRESTED IN EQUIPMENT THEFTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, February 22, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS| Page B04

The FBI, with help from borough police, on Wednesday arrested three Long Island men who authorities believe are connected to a ring that stole heavy equipment in New York and then resold it.
John T. Sieber, 29, of Mastic Beach; Julio Santo, 24, of Selden; and Carlos Chavere, 22, of Huntington Station were confronted by three FBI agents and four Mahwah officers at the International Motor Plaza on Route 17 in Mahwah.
Special Agent Gary L. Penrith said the men arrived at the plaza about 2:30 a.m. with a stolen John Deere backhoe. They tried to flee on foot, but Santo and Chavere were apprehended. Meanwhile, Sieber ran north on Route 17, jumped a fence, and ran along a railroad line into New York before he was arrested by Ramapo, N.Y., and Suffern, N.Y., police.
Elliot Peters, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the arrests were the result of an investigation into the theft of farm-type tractors and trucks. Seven other suspects have been arrested, and some of them have pleaded guilty, he said.
Ring members scratched out vehicle identification numbers, stamped the vehicles with new numbers to make it difficult to identify them as stolen, and then sold them in New Jersey and New York State, Peters said.
The three are charged with transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, and may face other charges. Santo was released on $25,000 bail Wednesday. Sieber was held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on $10,000 bail. Chavere was also transferred to the center and held on $25,000 bail.

Keywords: MAHWAH; THEFT; EQUIPMENT; CONSTRUCTION

RAIDS BY BURGLARY TASK FORCE YIELD 3 ARRESTS IN BERGENFIELD

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, February 3, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

Three borough residents were charged Saturday with receiving stolen property following raids on their apartments.
The raids were performed by investigators with a task force formed two weeks ago by 15 Bergen County communities caught in the throes of a wave of burglaries and break-ins.
Leroy Saulter, 27, of 16-B Morrissey Walk was being held on $100,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, and Sandra Hicks, 31, of 12 Carnation St. was being held on $15,000 bail. Florence Beckford, 25, of 16-B Morrissey Walk, was released after she paid $2,500, 10 percent of her $25,000 bail.
Detectives from Bergenfield, Teaneck, Englewood, Fort Lee, and the burglary squad of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office raided Hicks and Beckford’s apartments about 9:30 Friday night.
Police seized items they believe were stolen, including jewelry, fur and leather coats and jackets, stereo equipment, automatic handguns, silver dollars, and rare coins, said Bergenfield Police Chief Richard G. Baroch.
The items are believed to have been stolen in a wave of robberies that has gripped many Bergen County communities in recent months, he said. Bergenfield alone had 75 burglaries in the past six months, including 16 in the first 11 days of 1991, Baroch said.
Teaneck, Englewood, River Edge, Oakland, and several other communities saw several break-ins in late 1990, Baroch said.
Bergen County burglary victims who want to determine if their property is among the items seized should should take a copy of their police report to the Bergenfield Police Department at 198 N. Washington St. on Monday or Friday from 5 until 8 p.m. or on Wednesday from 9 a.m. until noon, the chief said.
Saulter was charged with three counts of criminal possession of firearms, possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, two counts of receiving stolen property a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and a .357 Magnum revolver criminal possession of six hollow-nose .357 Magnum bullets, criminal possession of a switchblade knife, and possession of a weapon after being convicted of a crime in the state of New Jersey.
Hicks was charged with receiving a stolen leather jacket valued at $900 and criminal possession of .380-caliber automatic pistol, which was loaded with five rounds. Charges against Beckford include possession of a switchblade knife, hollow-nose bullets, marijuana, and items used to smoke marijuana.

Keywords: BERGENFIELD; THEFT; ROBBERY

Notes: Bergen page

TEANECK HIT BY FOUR BURGLARIES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, January 11, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Burglars broke into four township homes this week, making off with cash, jewelry, and cameras.
Police say they don’t know whether any of the incidents, which occurred between dusk on Monday and dawn on Wednesday, are related.
Early Tuesday evening, a 33-year-old deaf woman reported that she was at her West Englewood Avenue home when a man wearing a ski mask broke in and stole a jewelry box containing more than $1,000 worth of jewelry, police said. The burglar left quickly, leading police to believe he either saw the woman or heard a burglar alarm activated in the home. The woman ran to a neighbor’s house to summon police.
Late Tuesday, an Elmer Place resident told police he came home to find someone had kicked in his rear door, rifled through drawers in his bedroom, and stole about $200, small pieces of jewelry, and other items.
A Fairview Avenue home was burglarized late Monday or early Tuesday, police said. The owner came home from work about 2 a.m. Tuesday to find a desk ransacked and numerous items stolen, including $500, jewelry, a camera, a television, and a video camera.
In the fourth incident, early Wednesday, burglars failed to make off with any belongings. A Glenwood Avenue homeowner told police that two men kicked in her door and searched dressers and closets while she hid. The two burglars ran out when they heard noise, she told police.
Sgt. Robert Adomilli said anyone with information about any of the crimes should call the Teaneck Police Detective Bureau at 837-2565 or Crimestoppers at 833-4222.

Keywords: TEANECK; THEFT

POLICE SEEKING MORE SUSPECTS IN RASH OF BURGLARIES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, January 10, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Police in Bergen and Passaic counties continue to investigate links between a string of burglaries in the two counties and a 20-year-old man in custody on charges of burglarizing his parents house in Oradell and intending to kill them and his brother if they were home.
Allen M. Essner was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday on $60,000 bail. He was being held on several charges, including attempted murder, burglary, and unlawful possession of a loaded weapon.
Oradell Detective Scott Bonsper said police believe Essner was working with other people, including 20-year-old Dennis Pereira, who was arrested with him on Dec. 26, in a series of burglaries in the area.
“We are dealing with quite a few people here,” Bonsper said. “That is what makes it so difficult. . . . We know of at least two weapons that we have not been able to recover or account for. There is a strong possibility that arrest warrants will be issued for other suspects. “
When Essner burglarized his parents home on Dec. 17, he went with a loaded gun and murderous intent, Bonsper said.
“Fortunately enough, the parents were not around, and his brother, although he was off work that day, was somewhere else,” he said.
Bonsper said police found out about the alleged plan to murder the family members from talking to people some of whom are being investigated for their link to the burglaries with whom Essner had conversations.
Working with North Haledon Police Detective Alan Swartz, Bonsper said, he and other Oradell police officers went to residences in Lodi, East Rutherford, and other communities before arresting Essner in Wallington on Dec. 26. They recovered a gun and also arrested Pereira a short time later, he said.

Keywords: PC; BC; HOUSING; THEFT; PROBE