The defendants were charged as a result of “Operation Pandora,” an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice that began in May 2014, after the ring allegedly stole $219,000 in silver beads by breaking into a vehicle at the Clara Barton service area on the New Jersey Turnpike in Salem County. Several of the defendants allegedly had followed the two victims, who stopped at the service area after a jewelry trade show in Mt. Laurel, N.J. The indictment charges the four men and three women with eight thefts in New Jersey, including two additional thefts of jewelry with a total value of more than $150,000, as well as retail thefts of cameras and a $5,700 bicycle. The defendants were linked to more than a dozen other thefts in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia and Rhode Island, including jewelry thefts in all of those states involving more than $430,000 in jewelry. The New Jersey State Police received extensive assistance from the New York City Police Department and other members of a multi-agency task force that investigates retail theft organizations.

The indictment was returned on Monday, July 27, but was sealed by the court until Wednesday. The following seven defendants were indicted on second-degree charges of racketeering and conspiracy:

All of the defendants except Angie Rodriguez also are charged with second-degree shoplifting and one or more counts of third-degree theft. Shoplifting is graded as a second-degree crime under New Jersey law when it involves thefts totaling more than $1,000 in merchandise committed as part of an organized retail theft enterprise. In addition, Avila-Martinez, Kevin Rodriguez, Angie Rodriguez and Gisele are charged with second-degree theft and third-degree burglary in relation to the Turnpike theft.

“We allege these thieves used a variety of techniques to steal from retailers, including distraction of store clerks by theft crews, breaking into jewelry cases, and shoplifting merchandise in bags lined with lead or aluminum duct tape to escape electronic detection,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “We chronicled their methods in the course of investigating over 20 thefts allegedly committed by this ring.”

“Organized retail theft is a huge problem that costs retailers across the U.S. billions of dollars each year,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “These theft rings do not confine their crimes within the borders of one state, and we collaborated with a multi-jurisdictional task force that helped us to track these thieves wherever they struck and ultimately charge them with racketeering.”

"Organized criminals using distraction techniques is not out of the ordinary, but a theft ring responsible for stealing over $800,000 in jewelry is," said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. "This multi-jurisdictional investigation started here in New Jersey, and was led by some of the best and brightest State Police detectives." 

The alleged thefts committed by the ring in New Jersey included thefts that occurred at two jewelry stores in Robbinsville in Mercer County. On Oct. 30, 2013, ring members including Osorio allegedly stole approximately $100,000 in loose diamonds from Tindall Diamonds in Robbinsville by distracting a clerk and reaching over a display counter to grab the diamonds. On Sept. 6, 2014, more than $50,000 worth of Pandora trademark jewelry was stolen by crew members from a case at Gifted Jewelry in Robbinsville. The crew members who committed that theft allegedly included Avila-Martinez, Kevin Rodriguez and Reina-Martinez.

Avila-Martinez, Kevin Rodriguez, Osorio and Reina-Martinez currently are in custody. The other identified defendants are being sought on arrest warrants as fugitives.

The investigation was presented to the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney General Brian Carney of the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Andrew Johns, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Deputy Attorney General Jill Mayer, Bureau Chief. The lead investigators for the New Jersey State Police are Detective Tim Long, Detective Sgt. Kenneth Hoppe and Trooper Joshua Smith. They received valuable assistance from Sgt. Bill Swanhart of the Robbinsville Police Department, Detective Steve Donovan of the Colonie (N.Y.) Police Department, and Detective Mike Lemanowicz of the Lyndhurst Police Department. In addition, Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the New York City Police Department for its extensive assistance, particularly the following officers: Sgt. Joseph Tariso, Detective Rigel Zeledon, Detective Bret Huzar, Detective Michael McFadden and Detective Wendy Santiago.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Mercer County, where the defendants will be ordered to appear in court for arraignment at a later date.

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