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The trio, who were arrested by a joint task force of local, county and federal agents, followed the same M.O as the old Bond gang, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said following the court appearances this afternoon.
That included cutting phone lines and alarm wires, keeping a lookout posted and busting into a house quickly, wearing dark clothes, ski masks and gloves, before ransacking master bedrooms and fleeing with cash, jewelry and safes.
The burglars then brought the bling to a fence in New York City – same as their notorious predecessors.
One of the three, 41-year-old Daniel “Tokyo” Gatson was part of the earlier crew from Teaneck and Englewood that committed hundreds of similar break-ins in North Jersey and in various other states along the East Coast.
Despite serving 10 years in connection with subsequent break-ins, only to be released last November, Gatson was back at it less than a month later, Molinelli said this afternoon.
- SPECIAL REPORT: David Kirkland was in his mid-20s when he hooked up with Teaneck High School buddy Terence Lawton, who owned a detailing shop in Englewood where he created a car responsible for what became their burglary crew’s nickname. READ MORE ….
Gatson, who’d been living in North Bergen, was arrested at 6 o’clock this morning, as were his co-defendants, Curtis Dent, 34, of Roselle, and 31-year-old Mark Gonzalez of East Orange, by a strike team comprised of local police, investigators from Molinelli’s office and FBI agents, the prosecutor said.
Detectives from Molinelli’s Special Investigation Squad last December began looking into more than forty residential burglaries New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Georgia, the prosecutor said.
After developing information on potential suspects, they teamed up with the feds and other agencies (see list, below) – the same as when the infamous Bond gang was taken down.
All three were charged federally with trafficking stolen goods across state lines and conspiring to traffic stolen goods across state lines.
Molinelli cited a host of agencies that he said participated in the investigation:
The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark;
Bergen County Sheriff’s Office;
Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office;
Paramus Police Department;
Fair Lawn Police Department;
River Edge Police Department;
Teaneck Police Department;
Englewood Police Department;
North Bergen Police Department;
Holmdel Police Department;
Colts Neck Police Department;
Marlboro Police Department;
Warren Township Police Department;
NYPD;
Harrison (NY) Police Department;
Nassau County/Suffolk County (Long Island, NY) Police Departments;
Hampden Township (PA) Police Department;
Fairfax County (VA) Police Department;
Alpharetta (GA) Police Department;
Pennsylvania State Police
A NEWSMAN WRITES: Despite what’s been published elsewhere, an associate of the notorious James Bond Gang who was arrested after a home burglary in Sparta the other night isn’t the current ringleader. In fact, if you want to know the truth: There isn’t even a ring. READ MORE….
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