How did they track those guys down?

SALE'S A 'STEAL'!
2 arrested in 'fencing' operation

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

GPS systems, satellite radios, MP3 players, videos, and all manner of bling.

It was all for sale at On the Ave clothing stores on Broadway in Bayonne and Summit Avenue in Union City.

And it was all stolen, according to police.

On Friday, police arrested Raul Ruiz Jr., 29, of Central Avenue in Jersey City, and Shawn Tamayo, 20, of Rutherford, on charges of fencing and receiving stolen property, Jersey City Police Special Investigations Unit Sgt. Wally Wolfe said.

Ruiz was picked up at his On the Ave store in Bayonne, while Tamayo was arrested the same day on the same charges at Ruiz's second store in Union City, Wolfe said.

The investigation began in mid-January when police got a tip the pair were buying stolen property, particularly GPS navigation units lifted from cars, Wolfe said.

The investigation was conducted using undercover officers and with the help of the Bayonne and Union City police departments. It led to search warrants being executed at both stores Friday.

Under the counter of the Union City store police found plastic bags containing numerous GPS units that were still on their mounts and still had the power wires used to plug into a vehicle's cigarette lighter, Wolfe said.

"When we turned them on they revealed the home addresses of the owners, so we are already coming up with potential victims from Lodi, Maplewood, Hasbrouck Heights and Jersey City," Wolfe said.

In the Bayonne store police found a huge cache of electronic items, including iPods, MP3 players, DVD players, satellite radio systems, camcorders, digital cameras, two-way radios and media players, Wolfe said.

The merchandise seized is valued at more than $10,000 police said.

Both clothing stores were open for business yesterday. When the man behind the counter of the Bayonne store was asked to comment on the arrests, he said he was just an employee and had no comment.

Persons who believe they are victims of this alleged fencing operation are asked to call the Jersey City Police Department tip line at (201) 547-JAIL.