25-year sentence for $3.5 million home burglary ring
A 44-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in federal prison for his role in a burglary ring that targeted affluent neighborhoods in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and four others states, prosecutors said.
A 44-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in federal prison for his role in a burglary ring that targeted affluent neighborhoods in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and four others states, prosecutors said.
Daniel "Tokyo" Gatson, of North Bergen, was convicted after a three-week trial in federal court in Newark. He and several co-conspirators took part in at least 27 burglaries and attempted burglaries, netting more than $3.5 million in loot.
The burglars would conduct surveillance on a house, and when the residents were gone, they would cut all the wires for phone, cable, and alarm connections. They would haul away the stolen goods in a rented minivan.
Gatson was arrested in 2013 while attempting to flush stolen jewelry down a hotel toilet.
Four co-defendants have previously pleaded guilty in the case and testified against Gatson.
- Robert Moran