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Meshach, 24, and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Carmen Fucci, were wanted in connection with the Nov. 3 theft of 7½-week-old English bulldog, Blackie, from the Elmwood Park pet shop.
Blackie (The Aquarium at Route 4)
Meshack was charged with theft and Fucci with conspiracy by Elmwood Park police after police in Phillipsburg, where the couple lives, arrested them around 8 this morning.
Both were being held overnight on $5,000 bail each in the Bergen County Jail.
Only 6½ pounds to begin with, the malnourished Blackie lost a pound and a half in less than four days, pet shop owner Joseph Aversa said (SEE: Blackie’s back after theft from Elmwood Park pet shop).
Meshach ducked authorities for a couple months last year after failing to appear in court in Hunterdon County in connection with the theft of stainless steel tubing that authorities said he and an accomplice sold.
Finding him wasn’t as difficult this time, thanks to his girlfriend’s connections in Garfield, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has learned.
Thomas Meshach, Carmen Fucci
Meshach also is easy to spot — at 6-foot-2-inches tall, 280 pounds and sporting a huge tattoo of the map of New Jersey on his neck.
Fucci, meanwhile, is 5-foot-8 and 245 pounds, records show.
Both were graduated from Phillipsburg High School — he in 2007 and she two years later.
Fucci is seven months pregnant, authorities said.
CLIFFVIEW PILOT broke the news locally earlier today: Stolen pet shop puppy found
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