By Brian Zanzonico and Mike Schnitzel
Jason Roske, 25, of 114 Woodlawn Ave., allegedly led three accomplices to the Sears at the Sunrise Mall on Nov. 25 in the hope of breaking into the cash room safe to steal the receipts from the busiest shopping day of the year. Roske had been employed as a security officer at the store last winter, so he had knowledge of the store's security system, according to police.
Roske was able to bypass the security system and gain entry into the store through an employees' entrance, according to officer Jean DeLuca of the Nassau County Police Department's Public Information Office. The burglary team was equipped with a police scanner and walkie-talkies, DeLuca said. But before Roske reached the cash room, he and his crew were met by 25 detectives from several Nassau County police squads that were planted both inside and outside the store. According to DeLuca, police had received a tip from store security that it appeared that a heist was being planned. Police would not say how the store's security personnel became aware of the plot. NCPD's Crimes Against Property Squad, Electronics Squad, Asset Forfeiture Bureau and Bureau of Special Operations converged to make the arrest.
Roske, Douglas Hansen, 26, of 1540 Madison St. in Elmont, William S. O'Leary, 23, also of Madison Street, and Russell S. Costanzo, 34, of 443 Dunster Drive in West Hempstead, were arrested at the scene. Each was charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree conspiracy, possession of burglars' tools and unlawful possession of a radio device. Following the suspects' arrests, police searched their homes, DeLuca said, but she did not indicate what, if anything, was found.
The men were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Nov. 26 by Judge Adam O'Leary. An investigation by the Nassau Crimes Against Property Squad is ongoing, DeLuca said.
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