13 indicted in massive $2.2 million theft ring tied to CT stores
Authorities say the alleged thieves pre-planned how to execute the heist by checking in-store inventory online.
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Authorities have indicted thirteen people accused of stealing and trying to resell more than $2 million worth of stolen supplies from dozens of Home Depot stores across the northeast.
Surveillance video appears to show members of the Queens-based crew breaking into locked cages, throwing merchandise into garbage bins and wheeling stolen goods right out of a store.
Authorities say the alleged thieves decided what to steal by checking in-store inventory the night before online. When inside the store, authorities say members would purposely distract Home Depot employees so others could make off with the stolen goods.
"This crew was amazingly coordinated, disciplined, meticulous and dedicated," Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz says. "The crews stayed connected on active conference calls while they were in their heist so they could talk about it."
The crew hit more than 100 Home Depots across nine different states including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Authorities say $100,000 worth of merchandise was stolen from the Home Depot on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk.
"They went out almost every day with one goal in mind – to steal," Major James M. Browne of the New York State Police says. "They quickly delivered the stolen items to fencing locations for resale."
Authorities say members of the theft crew could face 25 years in prison, and members of the fencing crew, if convicted, could face 15 years behind bars.
"These guys did it for a long time and thought they were getting away with it," DA Katz says, "and they didn't."
