Pennsylvania Brothers Arrested in Connection with Paramus Burglaries, Transporting $300K in Stolen Cash

Two Pennsylvania brothers were arrested by special FBI agents Friday morning in connection with a string of commercial burglaries in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Eliezer Medina, 36, has been charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy and three counts of knowingly transporting stolen goods in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney General Paul Fishman said in a news release. Jose Medina, 38, has been charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy and one count of knowingly transporting stolen goods in interstate commerce.

The Medinas, of Lancaster County, are accused of burglarizing three stores and making off with about $300,000 between Nov. 3, 2013 and Aug. 25, 2014, and then transporting that stolen cash across state lines.

Two burglaries occurred in Paramus on Nov. 3 and Nov. 24, 2013, and the third was in Pennsauken on Aug. 24, 2014.

Fishman said that investigators determined the burglaries followed the same pattern: advanced surveillance of the store, disabling the store’s alarm system, drilling a small hole in the emergency exit door to gain access to the store and using pry-bars and vertical cuts to access the stores’ safes.

The counts of conspiracy to transport stolen goods each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and the counts of transportation of stolen goods each carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. All the counts are also punishable by a $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary to the defendant or loss to the victim, according to the release.