Headlines

82-Year-Old Stole $400,000 in Jewelry on Holiday Breaks, Police Say

He apparently used his advanced age and non-threatening demeanor to his advantage.

Published

5 years ago

September 5, 2019

INSTORE Staff

An 82-year-old Florida resident spent his summer holidays traveling to Manhattan’s Upper East Side and possibly other locations to steal jewelry and watches, police say.

Samuel Sabatino is believed to have made off with $400,000 worth of other people’s valuables, The New York Times reports.

He allegedly targeted high-end residential buildings, slipping past doormen to enter the homes of people who were themselves on vacation. Sabatino was arrested at such a building on Saturday, having apparently driven from Florida for a Labor Day weekend heist, according to the newspaper.

Sabatino had been on the run for a decade. His burglaries have netted about $400,000 worth of jewelry and watches over the past few years, police say.

He’s been charged with 11 counts of burglary following an extensive investigation that authorities said covered multiple states.

He apparently used his advanced age and non-threatening demeanor to his advantage. Any time a doorman or resident became suspicious, he would act confused, police say.

“I’m relieved because this was becoming a yearly occurrence, because we could expect to get hit, on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend every summer,” said Lt. Kevin Blake, who oversaw the investigation.

Sabatino was “not your typical ski mask-type guy,” Blake told the Times.

Police believe Sabatino may have been involved in burglaries in Arizona, California and Pennsylvania in addition to New York. He could face up to 15 years in prison.

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After almost 60 years in business, Breakiron Jewelers in Erie, Pennsylvania, was closing its doors. And the store’s owner, Linda Breakiron, was ready for it. She had run the store as its sole owner since the beginning of the millennium and was looking forward to a change. Of course, she called Wilkerson. Breakiron talked to other jewelers who had used Wilkerson and was satisfied with their response. “They always had positive feedback,” she recalls. With the sales, marketing and even additional inventory that Wilkerson provided, Breakiron insists she could never have accomplished her going-out-of-business sale without Wilkerson’s help. She’s now ready for the journey ahead, but looking back, she’d be sure to recommend Wilkerson. “They just made the whole process very seamless.”