Three Suffolk County men have been arrested in connection with a North Valley Stream burglary in which nearly $1 million in cash and jewelry was stolen from a home while the owner was away on vacation, Nassau County police said.
According to the Nassau County Police Department’s Major Case Squad, the burglary happened at a residence on Wyngate Drive East sometime between April 10 and April 12.
Police said a 42-year-old homeowner left for a family vacation on April 10. Two days later, the victim noticed remotely that his home surveillance cameras were not functioning properly and asked a family member to check the residence.
When the family member arrived, they found the side entrance door damaged, with the door frame ripped apart, police said.
Investigators said the home’s surveillance cameras had been repositioned and their lenses covered with tape. Officers also discovered the internet wiring to the house had been cut and located a signal jammer inside the residence.
Police said the interior of the home had been searched and a bedroom closet was ransacked. Detectives found damage to the flooring where a safe had been bolted down.
According to investigators, the missing safe contained approximately $460,000 in cash and about $500,000 worth of jewelry.
Following what police described as a thorough investigation involving the Major Case Squad and multiple Nassau County Police Department units, three men were arrested at homes in Suffolk County.
The defendants were identified as Vincent Repka, 58, of Port Jefferson; Nikitas Margiellos, 53, of West Babylon; and Leonard Repka, 63, of Port Jefferson.
All three are charged with second-degree burglary.
Police said the men were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, May 13, at First District Court in Hempstead.
