Salem Observer : theft

Three arrested in street sign spree

Salem Editor — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:43:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Three local teenagers are facing multiple charges stemming from what authorities are describing as a month-and-a-half-long crime spree that caused roughly $5,000 in damages.

According to police, the trio – a 16-year-old from Windham and two 15-year-olds from Salem – was responsible for damaging several lawns as well as the thefts of about 30 street signs and the destruction of more than 30 mailboxes in town between May and June. Officers took the three youths into custody on June 27 after a resident on Flintlock Road reported a group of “kids” acting suspiciously and going from home to home ringing doorbells at about 2 a.m., police said.

Capt. Shawn Patten said officers arriving on the scene investigated and were able to determine that the group of teenagers was behind the string of crimes. He described it as a great piece of police work on the part of the officers.

“(The teenagers) were just out at 1 or 2 a.m. and they were doing things they shouldn’t be doing. We found them and located their vehicle and the officers did a phenomenal job with nothing. Just knowing we had a crime wave going on the officers pushed them to uncover the fact that they were responsible,” he said. “Through the investigation and those guys being out and the other information that we’d received, we were able to piece it together and determine that they were behind it all.”

According to Patten, the department was able to recover four of the stolen street signs from one of the teens, but have been unable to locate the rest. He said the teenagers had allegedly ditched the bulk of the signs in a location only they knew about, but authorities were working with them to recover the remaining street markers.

Department of Public Works Director Rick Russell said he was ecstatic upon learning the three alleged thieves had been caught. Manufacturing almost 30 replacement street signs had cost his department more than $4,000 in the cost of materials and labor.

“I don’t have the people to make signs all day and that’s what it took,” Russell said. “It takes time to make the signs up. We’re down three positions and I literally don’t have the people to devote just making signs for a two-week period.”

Though a few signs go missing from year to year – some, like Easy Street, are more popular than others – Russell said he knew something was different was going on when five street signs disappeared in a single night in mid-June.

More than anything else, Russell said he was concerned that public safety could have been affected by the missing signs.

“I’ve been in town for 30- plus years, and I can’t remember all the streets off the top of my head. When seconds count it’s a big thing. I hate to see it happen to the kids, but hopefully they learn the lesson and other people learn the lesson. It’s expensive and dangerous to steal street signs,” Russell said. “The kids think it’s a prank and I feel bad for the kids if they’ve ended up with a criminal record for something as stupid as that. If they ever really stopped to think about it, ‘What if it was a friend or a relative with a heart attack and the fire department couldn’t get there,’ they wouldn’t do it.”

Police have charged the 16- year-old with being an accomplice to theft, an accomplice to criminal mischief and criminal mischief. The two 15-yearolds have been charged with theft and criminal mischief.

All three will be appearing in juvenile court within the next several weeks, according to officials.

Salem police seek diamond ring thief

Salem Editor — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:12:00 GMT

Police are on the lookout for a man described as being of medium height, medium build and dark-skinned after he allegedly ran off from a jewelry store with a $13,000 diamond ring around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22.

According to authorities, the suspect had visited JB Robinson Jewelers inside the Mall at Rockingham Park and spoken to employees once before without incident. He returned, asked to see the piece of jewelry – a princess-cut 1.5-carat white gold ring – and fled as soon as an employee handed him the valuable, police said.

According to police, the suspect jumped into a white four-door sedan believed to be an older model Toyota Camry missing the hubcap from the front passenger-side tire. He is described as wearing blue jeans, a tan sweater and a tan knit cap.

Authorities do not have good surveillance video of the suspect and are asking anyone with information about the theft to contact the Salem Police Department at 893-1911 or the Southern New Hampshire Crimeline at 893-6600.

Increase in stolen road signs decreases safety, costs town money

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:38:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Rick Russell is not just looking for a sign, he’s looking for 31 of them.

That’s how many street signs have disappeared around town since June 15, and Russell, director of the Salem Department of Public Works, figures the number is a low estimate, as more signs are reported missing or stolen each day.

Though a few street signs go missing from year to year, Russell has never seen anything like this and believes it may be the actions of an individual or the same group of culprits.

“It happens during the course of the year, where we’re missing a few, but this is more than prank,” he said. “It’s not just vandalism, but I imagine (it is also) destruction to town property.”

According to Russell, the department first noticed the uptick in thefts about a week ago when five signs disappeared in a single night across town. Since then, the problem has escalated, creating a headache for department employees and a potential public safety concern for town officials.

“Our police and fire departments depend on street signs. Not everybody knows every single street off the top of their head, especially if the Fire Department is responding to somebody having a heart attack. They have got radio communication, but when seconds count it helps,” Russell said. “You might have the police chasing somebody and they’re trying to give a location and they end up going by a street and there’s no signs.”

Capt. Shawn Patten of the Salem Police Department echoed Russell’s assessment and said that if caught, the perpetrators would be charged with theft.

“What needs to get out there is that this is a real public safety issue. There are so many streets and roads in town that (the thefts) can have an impact. If they’re trying to reach a side street during an emergency, it can have an impact,” he said.

According to Patten, officers on patrol have been notified about the rash of thefts and are on the look out for the perpetrators. Word has also been spread to the public to report any suspicious activity, Patten said. Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding the stolen street signs to contact the police department at 893-1911.

In the past, the signs most likely stolen were from those streets that bore the name of an individual or had a funny connotation, according to Russell. Some, like the sign for Easy Street, are taken all the time, he said.

Even before the latest rash of incidents, the popularity of some streets for thieves led the DPW employees to take extra precautions.

“We had one (street) that (the thieves) took 14 signs in one year. We did everything we could do,” he said. “We had the pole cemented into a half a yard of concrete, we greased the pole with axle grease, we welded the sign to the pole, and they got it. Everything we did and they ended up taking it.”

The thefts do not come without a price, according to Russell. Each sign costs the town about $100 to make, not counting the man hours put into the operation. Russell estimates that the number of signs stolen in the past month will cost the town more than $1,000.

“Twenty-seven doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s the signs that we know about. There could be more out there missing,” he said.

Salem store owner seeks return of stolen pet

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:57:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Employees at the Sea World Pet Center are asking for the safe return of Charlie, a pet lovebird, after the bird was stolen from the store during the evening hours of May 7.

Joanne Leone, manager of the bird section, said the lovebird was the pet of the store manager and routinely spent the day entertaining customers inside the South Broadway shop over the past four years. She described Charlie as the store’s ambassador.

“He was just an unbelievably outgoing bird,” she said. “We just want him returned.”

Leone had been watching a pair of individuals hold the bird when she turned her attention to another customer. In that time, the two individuals slipped out of the store with the pet lovebird, she said.

“I had been watching them. I’ve been retail so long you get a feel for who is up to something, but somebody came in needing help with a sick bird and I went of to show them what medicines to get and when I got back, Charlie was gone and so were the people,” she said.

According to Leone, the store’s security cameras caught on tape one of the individuals leaving the shop with the pet bird.

Valued at about $170, Charlie is described as bright yellow in color with orange cheek patches. Police are investigating the theft, but the store is not planning to press any charges if he is returned, Leone said. Charlie’s owner, who declined to comment, is also offering a $300 reward.

According to Leone, the store’s employees are also planning to set up a Web site to spread the word about his disappearance.

“If you’re a pet owner, they become your lives. Certainly having something ripped away from you and not knowing where he is, if he’s being properly fed and all of those things are in your mind,” Leone said. “It’s one thing to go in and steal a leash and a pair of shoes, but when you’re stealing a live animal, that goes beyond the bounds.”

If anyone has information about the bird, Leone said they can call 898-1441 or 490-4294.

Salem ‘Smash and grab’ thieves sought

Salem Editor — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:57:00 GMT

Although police say there has been a lull in the reported “smash and grab” thefts at the local fitness centers, including the Salem Athletic Club and Planet Fitness as reported on Tuesday, March 31, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen again.

Petty thieves do have to fence or sell the stolen goods, and they may brag about their ill-gotten gains, so for those who keep their eyes and ears open, there might be an opportunity for you to gain information about these thieves that you could pass on to the Crimeline of Southern New Hampshire at 893-6600 or (800) 498-4040 or online at www. crimelinesnh.com.

Your anonymity will be protected whether you use the phone or the Internet. There is a form on the Web page that will protect your anonymity. Callers will be given a secret Crimeline number, known only to the caller and Crimeline. If the information provided leads to an arrest, Crimeline will pay up to a $1,000 cash reward.

– Submitted by Ron Penczak
Crimeline of Southern
New Hampshire

Ex-Graystone Farm employees allegedly took furniture from the assisted-living facility

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:09:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Two former employees of Greystone Farm at Salem are accused of stealing bedroom furniture while working at the assisted living community last summer.

Michelle Longo, 45, of 11North St., Erving, Mass., formerly of Derry, and Therese Maylone, 33, of 246 Massabesic St., Manchester, were each indicted on a charge of theft by unauthorized taking by a Rockingham County grand jury.

The furniture was reported stolen from a stairwell at the bottom floor of the facility.

According to an arrest affidavit written by Det. Michael Kelly, the facility’s senior executive director, Christen Bergeron, and assistant executive director, Carol Salvatore, told him that Maylone and Longo were seen standing in the vicinity of the stairwell when alarms were activated by a door leading to the facility’s rear parking lot being opened around 9:30p.m. on July 13.

When Kelly interviewed Maylone, she admitted that she, Longo, and Longo’s boyfriend loaded the furniture in his van mand put a lounge chair in Maylone’s car between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. on July 13, according to the affidavit.

Maylone told Kelly the women had been told that the furniture was going to be thrown away. In a separate interview, Longo also admitted that she and Maylone took the furniture but claimed another employee told them it was going to be discarded and that they could take it, according to Kelly’s affidavit. But that employee denied to police she told the women they could take the furniture.

After receiving consent to search the women’s homes, Kelly and another officer seized a mattress, box spring, bed frame, head board, dresser, dresser mirror, lamp and pillow, valued at $4,200, from Longo’s Derry home and the lounge chair, valued at $1,500, from Maylone’s home.

The women will be arraigned next month. Each charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $4,000 fine.

Woman arrested in MADD canister theft

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:28:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

A woman who allegedly stole two Mothers Against Drunk Driving donation canisters with the help of a young boy at a liquor store has been arrested.

Van Ngoc Do, 39, of 25 Hale Spring Road, Plaistow, faces two charges of theft by unauthorized taking.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, she allegedly swiped the canisters at the New Hampshire State Liquor Store on Route 28 in Salem.

Police said the woman quickly put one of the canisters into her large pocketbook at a cash register counter while the boy acted as a lookout.

After walking to another register counter, the boy moved the canister near the counter’s edge and the woman placed it in her pocketbook, according to police.

After Salem Police Sgt. Steve Malisos reviewed a video surveillance tape from the store, he entered a physical description of the woman into the Police Department’s digital imaging system.

Of 12,000 booking photos searched, the system came up with 18 matching photos. Of the 18 photos, one photo – that of Do, who had previously been arrested for shoplifting – matched the woman Malisos saw on the video, according to an affidavit.

Malisos reviewed a police report of that shoplifting case from June 2004, which stated that an Asian woman and a young boy committed several thefts at the Target department store in Salem.

A clerk at the liquor store, Nancy Emery-Debaulgh, picked Do from photos of eight Asian women with similar physical characteristics that were shown to her by Malisos, according to his affidavit.

A day earlier, when interviewed by Malisos, Emery-Debaulgh had told him that she had observed an Asian boy and woman at a cash register counter and was told by a cashier only a couple of minutes after the pair left that a canister was missing from the counter.

Deputy Chief Bill Ganley said police have not yet identified the boy, who is believed to be 7 to 10 years old. Do could face additional charges for using him in the theft, he said.

Do, who was freed on $1,000 cash bail following her arrest, will be arraigned in Salem District Court on Nov. 19.

She was convicted of shoplifting in Salem District Court in June 2004, and in Rockingham County Superior Court in March 2006, according to court records.

MADD money stolen – Woman and boy suspected of taking canisters

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:49:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Salem police said a young boy helped a woman steal two donation canisters at a local liquor store that benefit the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization.

Police said the woman quickly put one of the canisters into her large pocketbook at a cash register counter while the boy acted as a lookout.

After walking to another register, the boy moved the canister there near the edge of the counter and the woman grabbed it and put in her pocketbook, police said.

The thefts occurred at the New Hampshire State Liquor Store at 417 S. Broadway in Salem around 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 29.

The woman is described as Asian, 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 in height, and between 35 and 45 years old. She has black hair and was wearing a light blue long sleeve shirt or pullover with blue jeans.

The boy is described as Asian and 7 to 10 years old, wearing an orange T-shirt and blue jeans.

Police observed a surveillance video after responding to the store about an hour after the thefts occurred.

MADD is a nonprofit nationwide organization that works to stop drunk driving, support its victims and prevent underage drinking.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call the Salem Police Department at 893-1911 or the Southern New Hampshire Crimeline at 893-6600.

Tragic connection – Men involved in fatal crash may be alleged bird thieves

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:39:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

An exotic baby bird stolen from a Salem pet store has been found, and one of two men accused of stealing it – a driver involved in a fatal crash the same day – has been arrested.

Joseph Connolly, 34, of Andover, Mass., was arraigned on Tuesday, Sept. 25, in Derry District Court, where bail was set at $5,000. He is charged with being an accomplice to shoplifting.

Salem Deputy Police Chief Bill Ganley said Connolly drove away after his passenger, Joseph Murabito, 35, of Lawrence, Mass., allegedly stole the bird from the Seaworld Pet Center in Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 18. An arrest warrant has been issued for Murabito for felony shoplifting.

A few days before Connolly’s arrest, police said they were investigating whether the theft of the 7-week-old baby macaw, valued at $1,900, is connected to the fatal crash.

Police said Connolly was traveling south on Route 38 when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane, colliding with John Sweren, 54, the motorcyclist.

The motorcycle then collided with a vehicle being driven by Taryn Riley, 47, of Lowell, Mass., who was waiting to pull out of a car dealership parking lot.

Sweren was suffering from serious injuries when rescue workers reached him. He was transported to Lowell General Hospital and then airlifted to Boston Medical Center, where he died.

Connolly was treated at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua and released. Riley was not injured.

Pelham Police Lt. Gary Fisher said Joseph Murabito fled from Connolly’s car, ran into the woods and was caught. He was treated for minor injuries.

Ganley said several factors led investigators to suspect there is a connection between the fatal crash and the bird theft.
The incidents happened about a half hour apart and the color and make of Connolly’s car – a silver Ford Taurus – is the same as the vehicle the bird thieves used when they fled from the pet store.

Ganley said police received a tip that Connolly offered to sell a bird prior to the accident, and that an individual witnessed someone fleeing from a car after the crash.

Joanne Leone, the store’s manager, along with other employees and her dogs, found the bird in the woods off Route 38 on Friday, Sept. 21, three days after it was stolen.

The bird was in a tree and a soiled cardboard box that it was kept in was about 2 feet away.

Leone and others had previously made about five unsuccessful searches. After the bird was found, Leone came out of the woods sobbing.

A Pelham police officer, Lt. Brian McCarthy, escorted her and the bird to the pet store.

The bird was dehydrated and had a sore wing probably due to being stuffed in a box, Leone said.

“He’s going to make it,” she said the day after it was found. “I think that’s the thing everyone wanted to know – will this bird survive.”

She looked at the bird while it stood in a shopping carriage, and a Salem customer, Mike Mulloy, hugged Leone, offering his congratulations.

“I’m so happy,” she told him. “I’m telling you, it was truly, truly a miracle.”

A woman who wants to remain anonymous and whom Leone described as a devoted bird owner recently purchased the bird.
“She thought this baby should be coddled for the rest of its life after everything it went through,” Leone said. “We wanted the best for this bird.”

Leone said veterinarians have called the store, telling her that it’s amazing the bird survived.

Since its return to the store, people have brought in cupcakes and pizza. The bird is drawing the attention of customers who have followed its ordeal on the news.

“This was a story everyone was following,” Leone said. “It makes you have a little faith in human beings again. Last Tuesday, it was gone.”

Connelly was arrested on the accomplice to shoplifting charge when he was discovered trying to sell power tools in a store parking lot in Salem on Monday, Sept. 24. An arrest warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Connolly has not been charged in connection with the fatal crash. Fisher said he wants to obtain a warrant to have a vehicular autopsy done on his car.

Mail theft – Mailman charged with stealing money from cards

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:11:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Moyer was doing more than delivering mail in Salem on his postal route. He was allegedly swiping money from greeting cards.

Moyer, of 35 Appleton Lane, Hampstead, faces theft charges in U.S. District Court in Concord.

Sean Conway, postmaster of the Salem Post Office at 51 South Broadway, told postal service investigators around May 1 that he had received complaints from customers and letter carriers that Moyer filled in for on routes.

They complained of money missing from greeting cards and the back of cards being taped due to being tampered and opened.

From Aug. 3 to 4, Special Agent Suzanne Leone of the U.S. Postal Services’ Office of Inspector General observed Moyer opening seven greeting cards and examining their contents, according to an affidavit she wrote.

Leone observed Moyer taking money out of one card, sealing the envelope with tape and putting the money in his wallet.

On Sept. 10, Leone arranged to send two test pieces of mail to addresses on Moyer’s route. She put a $10 bill in one of the cards and recorded the serial number.

Later in the day, agents working with Leone observed Moyer, while on his route, pull into a parking lot and park by a dumpster in a secluded area for about 10 minutes, according to her affidavit.

After leaving, Moyer was arrested. An agent found the $10 bill in one of Moyer’s pockets and other agents discovered seven pieces of mail, collected by Moyer on his route, that had been opened and taped shut, according to Leone’s affidavit.

Moyer has been a full-time mailman in Salem since November 1995.

He is currently on unpaid leave, pending the outcome of a postal service investigation, according to spokesman Agapi Doulaveris of the Inspector General’s office.

If convicted, Moyer faces fines and up to five years in prison.

“Right now, we’re in the process of totaling up what he could have stolen,” she said.

Moyer is being represented by Bjorn R. Lange, a public defender. Lange declined to comment because he has not sought permission from his client to speak for him and he has not seen all the evidence that prosecutors have.

The case is being prosecuted by Mark S. Zuckerman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Concord.