SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE
Subject: Arrest of Serial Retail Store Diversion Theft Suspect
Springfield Police Department detectives finally identified and arrested
a female who had committed dozens of diversion thefts in retail stores
where she would steal wallets and subsequently use stolen credit cards
to make multiple fraudulent purchases in several northeastern States.
Tabatha Garofalo age 31 of Ansonia, Connecticut was arrested by
Springfield Police Department detectives on 04/04/2014.
The crime spree began on 12/28/2013 when Millburn Police reported
the thefts of 3 wallets from 3 employees of separate stores at the
Mall at Short Hills. One of the stolen credit cards was used to purchase
gift cards at the Springfield 7-Eleven store on Morris Avenue and photos
from the store led to identifying the same suspect being at the 3 stores
at the mall. The female, in the company of a second female and 2 young
children began appearing on statewide alerts issued for similar thefts and
the subsequent use of stolen credit cards in other towns such as Raritan,
Watchung, Flemington as well as in Whitehall PA and Bethlehem PA.
On 02/03/2014, the suspects entered a nail salon in the Echo Plaza shopping
center on Route 22 West in Springfield where the suspect was able to steal
money from behind the cash register counter and an employees wallet while
employees were busy working on the childrens' nails. After leaving the salon
the suspect, Garolfalo, used a stolen credit card at the Staples in Springfield
to purchase in excess of $2,000 in merchandise and made further fraudulent
purchases at stores in Union along the Route 22 highway.
Additional crimes by the same suspect were now linked by detectives sharing
information and surveillance photos with new crimes being committed in Warren,
Greenbrook, Readington and Union.
With each crime police were able to get better surveillance photos of the female
and the vehicle she was operating however license plate could not be made out
but the plate colors had it appear to be a plate from the State of Connecticut.
Springfield Police Detective Anthony Voorhees and Detective James Mirabile
tried a hunch that the suspect may actually be a resident of Connecticut and
they began with online searches of newspaper articles of similar thefts done
by a female or females with children in that State. This led to the detectives
sending copies of the surveillance photos to the Connecticut State Bureau of
Parole where parole officers recognized the female as Tabatha Garofalo.
On 04/04/2014, detectives were able to convince Garofalo to come to the
Springfield Police headquarters to surrender on what she believed was for
a single theft incident that took place in Springfield..
The charges by Springfield PD are 2 counts of Theft over $500 (3rd degree),
and 1 count each of Theft By Deception, Credit Card Theft and Credit Card
Fraud (all 3rd degree crimes). She was further arrested for arrest warrants
that had been issued by Raritan PD, Readington PD, Millburn PD and Westfield
PD. Detectives have since received calls from other police agencies in both
New York State and Connecticut requesting information.
Garofalo was remanded to the Union County Jail in Elizabeth NJ in lieu of
$35,000 bail with additional detainers from Millburn, Raritan, Readington
and Westfield Police Departments. Her initial court appearance date has
been set for 04/14/2014 in the Union County Superior Court.