By Cindy Scharr, Special to The Mercury
PETER DESANTIS
MEDIA — Local authorities have busted a theft ring responsible for more than $250,000 in stolen motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles from across a four-county area.
Five men are under arrest, charged with multiple felonies, for allegedly stealing ATVs and race-style, or "Ninja," motorcycles from apartments and homes in Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Berks counties. Michael Tinsley, of Pompton Lakes, N.J., remains at large.
About 13 of the vehicles have been recovered and returned to their owners or to insurance companies, authorities said.
The vehicles were fenced through a man known as "Frank" in Port Chester, N.Y., or sold on the street after being altered, authorities said. New York and New Jersey authorities have been notified of the investigation, but "Frank" has not yet been charged.
This was "an extensive and complex auto theft case," said Michelle Staton, executive director of the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority at a press conference announcing the arrests Thursday.
Between June 2008 and June of this year, police departments across the area received numerous reports of thefts of ATVs and motorcycles. Most, if not all, of the thefts were from apartment complexes and committed between midnight and 5 a.m., authorities said.
"We became aware of a pattern of motorcycle and ATV thefts stolen mostly in Chester County and along the Route 3 corridor," said Westtown-East Goshen police Sgt. Bill Cahill.
Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said three of the defendants, Peter DeSantis, Michael Furfaro and Joseph Pizzuto, would obtain information about the locations of bikes and ATVs through several sources, including Mark Dyer, a former employee of Cross Road Power Sport in Upper Darby.
Dyer would allegedly provide the thieves with information about high-end bikes that were sold or serviced through his employer.
"Some of these bikes were identified through Craigslist or eBay," said Cahill, reminding people to be careful when they list things for sale on the Internet.
The alleged thieves even stole from friends, according to court documents.
In September 2008, DeSantis and Furfaro allegedly stole a 2006 Honda CBR1000 from the rear of a home on Easton Road in Upper Darby. What they didn't know at the time was that the bike belonged to a friend who goes by the name of "Cockroach." The bike was parked behind Cockroach's sister's house.
The two alleged thieves were unaware it was their friend's $10,000 bike when they stole it, court documents indicate.
In addition, three Delaware County men are charged with stealing more than $60,000 in commercial landscaping equipment, including a 1995 Ford F350 truck.
Charged in connection with the equipment thefts are David Murray, 28, of the 400 block of Burmont Road, Upper Darby; Stephen Dantonio, 37, of the unit block of East Township Line Road, Havertown; and Joseph Murray, 32, of the unit block of Brandywine Street, Chadds Ford.
"David and Joseph Murray would go out and physically steal the equipment, either on their own or at the direction of Stephen Dantonio," Green said. "Dantonio would then pay the Murrays for the equipment and sell the stolen merchandise at a profit."
Green added that Dantonio allegedly purchased three stolen ATVs from Pizzaro and admitted to knowing they had been stolen.
The defendants who have been apprehended are: DeSantis, 38, of the 300 block of Crum Creek Lane, Newtown Square; Furfaro, 23, of the 300 block of Creek Drive, Radnor; Pizzuto, 34, of the 100 block of St. Laurence Road, Upper Darby; Dyer, 23, of the 1000 block of Pine Street, Darby; and Anthony Gianossa, 41, of the 300 block of Creek Road, Radnor.
Tinsley, 22, of the unit block of Durham Street, Pompton Lakes, N.J., remains at large.
Anyone with information as to his whereabouts is urged to contact Newtown Police at 610-356-0602.
DeSantis, Furfaro, Joseph and David Murray are currently incarcerated at Delaware County prison. The remainder of those charged were released on bail.
Authorities noted that the investigation was a cooperative effort between a number of law enforcement agencies in the four-county area.
The probe was led by Cahill, Newtown Detective John Newell, Randolph Martin of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division's Auto Theft Unit, Detective Mike Ragni and Cpl. Dave Leahy from the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department and Cpl. Matthew Blauvelt of the Pennsylvania State Police.
"Because of their diligence and the cooperative efforts of detectives from multiple jurisdictions, this ring was taken down and police were able to recover 13 stolen bikes and ATVs, over $60,000 in commercial landscaping equipment, a construction trailer and a stolen firearm," said Green.
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