Pennsylvania state police have broken up a theft ring that fenced merchandise purchased with credit cards stolen from country-club parking lots across the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. According to an article in the Delaware County Daily Times, criminal charges have been filed against five individuals that were said to be responsible for purchasing and selling more than $100,000 worth of stolen merchandise and attempting to make more than $25,000 in credit-card purchases.
Among the 34 country clubs targeted by the thieves were Aronimink Golf Club, Concord Country Club, Edgmont Country Club, Glen Hardie Country Club, Indian Valley Country Club, North Hills County Club, Paxon Hollow Country Club, Philmont Country Club, and the Philadelphia Cricket Club in three different Southeastern Pennsylvania counties; the Wilmington Country Club in Delaware, and the Buena Vista, Ramblewood and Medford Lakes country clubs in New Jersey.
The investigation, which began last year, focused on alleged ringleader Michael Pacitti of Philadelphia, who along with his associates would allegedly cruise the targeted clubs’ parking lots in a Cadillac Escalade or a Mercedes SUV to select parked vehicles as break-in targets. The thieves preferred unlocked vehicles, but would also use master keys to gain entry or even smash car windows with golf balls, authorities said, to make it appear that the vehicle had been struck by an out-of-bounds shot—a tactic that led investigators to dub their pursuit of the criminals as “Operation Bad Drive.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.