Mahwah Police Bust Bergen County Vehicle Burglary Ring

Editor’s note: One person’s name was removed from this report because his or her record was expunged.

MAHWAH, NJ — Six people, including one from Mahwah, were arrested in connection with a vehicle burglary ring that operated in Bergen County for the last several months, Police Chief James Batelli announced Friday.

Authorities were investigating several car burglaries for the last several months throughout Bergen County, including Mahwah, Batelli said.

The suspects took purses, wallets, cell phones, cash, credit cards and other valuables; some of the vehicle's windows were broken, Batelli said.

Detective Lt. Guido Bussinelli directed marked and unmarked police vehicles to investigate and patrol the areas. Police thought that the people responsible were driven to the area, dropped off late at night and then were picked up at a predetermined location, the chief said.

In one instance, a resident reported hearing a noise and saw someone outside his house; he chased after the person, but lost him and reported the incident to police.

The man described the man and the police K-9 Remco and Officer Robert Rapp saturated the area and tracked and arrested Stefan Apostolos, 27, of Mahwah, Batelli said. Apostolos was charged with several counts of burglary, theft and criminal mischief.

More leads and investigative work lead to the arrest of the following people:

• Rick Javier, 19, of Hackensack
• Welling Antun, 20, of Teaneck
• Nicholas Kurpick, 19, of Montebello, New York
• [Name Removed], 18, of Suffern, New York
• Paul Hoyt, 40, of North Tonwanda, New York.

Batelli said one suspect is still at large.

The chief said authorities believe those arrested are from three different groups responsible for car burglaries.

As a result of the investigation, 75 criminal complaints were signed and more than 16 car burglary cases were closed, Batelli said. Information gathered from the investigation led to the identification of someone who committed a residential burglary in Rockland County, New York, he said.

Batelli commended the Detective Bureau and all of the officers involved with the investigation.

"At the outset, very little information was available on who may be responsible, but through investigative leads, surveillances and interviews, those responsible were identified and arrested," Batelli said.

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Photo, top row: [Name Removed], 18; Nicholas Kurpick, 19 and Stefan Apostolos, 27. Bottom row, from left: Paul Hoyt, 40; Paul Hoyt, 40 and Rick Javier, 19/Background image via Shutterstock