East Lyme man accused of stealing more than $40,000 from his neighbors
An East Lyme man is accused of stealing more than $40,000 in cash, jewelry and other household items from his neighbors while they were in Florida for the winter.
Michael Gregory Berger, 27, of 32 West Pattagansett Road was charged Tuesday with first-degree larceny. He appeared Tuesday in Superior Court in New London. His next court date is scheduled for June 23.
A warrant prepared by East Lyme Detective Donald W. Marr said police received a complaint on April 10 from Irene Makiaris and her husband, Emanuel, residents of 36 West Pattagansett Road.
Irene Makiaris said that she and her husband were away in Florida from Jan. 30 until April 9. She told police that she noticed that numerous pieces of jewelry and sterling silver flatware were missing from her home. She said it appeared that someone took only the expensive pieces of jewelry and flatware and had put the containers back in their original place to make it look like nothing had been touched or moved, the warrant said.
Makiaris also told police that on Feb. 11 she received a phone call from her son, who informed her that a water jug filled with money was missing from her bedroom closet. He also told her that he found the closet door open when it previously had been closed.
Makiaris told police that she had contracted her neighbor, Berger, to remove snow from their driveway and sidewalks during the winter. She also said Berger agreed to paint several rooms in the house. She had given him the code to the garage door so he could do the work.
Makiaris told police that Berger did a little prepping but never painted the rooms.
Police ran Berger's name through the New England State Police Informational Network (RISS) — Regional Information Sharing Systems Property and Recovery Tracking system — to check for pawn shop transactions. The check showed that Berger had five recent transactions at regional pawn shops — three at Gold Star Pawn Shop in Groton and two at Good Ole Tom's in Hamden.
Berger pawned women's jewelry at both pawn shops for cash. Through photos taken of the items, Makiaris was able to identify the jewelry as hers.
Makiaris and her husband met with police on April 15. She told them she had been contacted by Berger's father, Marc, who asked her to drop the charges against his son. Marc Berger said that his son went to a pawn shop in Salem to recover some of the stolen jewelry and that he wanted to return it to her, the warrant said.
But Makiaris said she told Marc Berger that his son should turn over any stolen items to police. At Statewide Pawn in Salem, police found that Berger had pawned jewelry and silverware that belonged to Makiaris.
"Michael Berger told him (the pawn broker) when he came in with the jewelry that he was selling it for his mother, who had fallen onto bad times and needed money," the warrant said.
Police said the value of the stolen items was listed at $43,230.
i.larraneta@theday.com
Twitter: @larraneta
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