DHS Says Romanian Couple Accused of 14 Jewelry Thefts From Elderly Victims Is in ICE Custody
Police say the pair used a request for directions to hug a 73-year-old woman and take her necklace, and DHS used the arrests to attack New York's sanctuary policies.
Homeland Security says a married couple it nicknamed "Bonnie and Clyde" robbed elderly people across four states by pretending to be friendly strangers.
Rudi Lacatusu, 28, and Mirabela Lacatusu, 26, are Romanian nationals now in ICE custody, DHS announced Tuesday, according to Fox News. DHS says they carried out at least 14 jewelry thefts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, citing local reporting. The stolen necklaces were valued at $2,000 to $3,000 each.
Nassau County police describe one case this way. On Oct. 5, a 73-year-old woman was outside her Valley Stream home when a gold Mitsubishi pulled up. The woman in the passenger seat asked for directions to BJ's Wholesale Club. After the woman helped, the passenger got out, asked for a hug and put two gold-colored necklaces around her neck. Soon after, the victim noticed her own gold necklace, worth about $2,000, was gone. Detectives tied the pair to similar thefts in Franklin Square and East Meadow. Each is charged with three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny.
DHS says Nassau authorities turned the couple over to ICE and that both entered the country illegally at an unknown time and place. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said they "will be removed from our country." He also said that "if it were up to sanctuary politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul, these criminals would be back on the streets to rob more Americans." DHS called New York a "hotbed of illegal alien crime."
Two details are worth keeping in view. Fox reports that police first gave the suspects appearance tickets to appear in court in Hempstead on Oct. 20, and DHS did not say when ICE took custody. And Mullin's claim about Hochul is a political argument from DHS, not a finding from the police.
DHS tied the case to Operation Rotten Apple, a July 27 to Aug. 29 ICE crackdown in which it says officers arrested 2,197 people in New York, including people it described as murderers, rapists and child predators.
Police are warning residents about distraction scams, where strangers offer jewelry or gifts, ask to pray together, request change or ask for help with a flat tire. Stay alert in parking lots and outside grocery stores and call 911 about suspicious activity. Tips can go to Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.