By:Robert Remler
With 35 homes burglarized in northwestern Valley Stream in the last three months, a pattern of the burglar's routine has developed, according to the Valley Stream Civilian Patrol, now helping the police put an end to the crime spree.
The burglar stakes out the neighborhood looking for signs of houses that are easy marks, said Jim Albert, a nine-year member of the patrol. "He's looking for things like garbage pails left at the curb, lack of cars around the house, mail boxes not emptied and circulars left on the lawn," he said. "He loves drawn blinds and dark, quiet homes."
Albert, a former telephone company employee and father of a retired New York City police inspector, created a trend chart to track the burglar's or burglars' actions.
The burglaries that started in December have hit a ten-block area. The majority of burglaries have occurred on Fridays, with equal numbers on Wednesdays and Saturdays. No burglaries have occurred on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays. Except on Saturdays, many of the crimes take place during daytime hours when residents are either at work or children attend school.
Albert correctly predicted that there would be few if any burglaries last week because school was closed and more people would be home. The only burglary when the schools were closed was between 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23. A rear door was used to gain entry into a house on Nottingham Street. Police said that the loss included a computer and an assortment of jewelry.
Jewelry and cash have been taken from most of the homes. "He probably has a need for the money," Albert said. A few of the homeowners have said they've also been robbed of televisions, computers, stereos and DVD players. The jewelry is probably "fenced" in stores close to the city, according to Albert.
Most homes have been entered through rear windows or backdoors. Double hung windows are the easiest to pry open, the Patrolman said.
"He fits into the community, which is why he works here."
Albert fears that the spree will likely continue until someone gets hurt. "Someone will come home unexpectedly during the day," he said.
The burglar parks his car away from the area where he plans to work, Albert said. "He walks to where he wants to and operates alone," he said. Police Officer Stan Slevinski, crime analyst at the Fifth Precinct, agreed that the burglar doesn't park his car on the same street where homes are burglarized, but isn't sure that the burglar drives a car into the neighborhood at all.
Slevinski commended Albert's effort in trying to solve the crime spree. "He's taken an active interest in what most residents should actually do. Get involved in your Civilian Patrol and maybe by being the eyes and ears of the police department you will come up with something that will aide us in the apprehension of this burglar."
"It's unfortunate what is happening," said Mayor Edward Cahill. "But, I want to make everybody aware that the Fifth Precinct is on top of it," said mayor, himself a retired New York City policeman. He said he is in touch with the Fifth Precinct, and that he's alerted village code enforcement patrol, the auxiliary police and civilian patrol. The mayor encouraged citizens in the area to call 911 if they see anything suspicious. "Sometimes the slightest observation will lead to an arrest."
One resident in the area said that even though he was unaware of the crime spree, he has observed an increase of patrols in the neighborhood.
"Yes, I have noticed, recently, that the Civilian Patrol is vigilant in the area. Even the police auxiliary, which we support, and has up until the past couple of weeks been non-existent in our neighborhood, has started to appear," said a man who did not wish to give his name.
Lou Giaccone, an alarm technician for World Wide Security, a South Shore alarm company, was on a break near Jasper Street, following a call to a house on that block in the northwest section of the village. He said that the house was burglarized last week when someone "tripped the alarm after busting down the front door."
Giaccone said he has installed alarms in almost 150 Valley Stream homes in the past 13 years. "Things really haven't slowed down. Most people call us after the fact, unfortunately."
Joe Locoteta, president of the Civilian Patrol, has not slowed down his group's effort to catch the burglar either. He said that between two and five marked cars are patrolling the area each day for a total of about six hours. His 78-member volunteer task force also patrols school areas.
