Many Faces of Couple Wanted by FBI for Jewelry Thefts
December 29, 24
(IDEX Online) - The FBI is appealing for information on a married couple suspected of a string of sleight-of-hand distraction thefts at US jewelry stores.
Vasile Sava, 53, and his wife Onita Rostas, 54, are alleged to be part of a Romanian gang that have targeted a number of jewelry businesses.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the couple, who are charged with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.
Investigators believe they may be using a variety of aliases and may be operating or living in California, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia.
The FBI has issued wanted posters for both Sava and Rostas, each shown wearing four distinctly different disguises.
The posters allege that they entered jewelry store in groups of two or more, distracted and/or separated the assisting employee or employees, while one or more of the other individuals would remove, conceal, and ultimately exit the business with items of jewelry that were displayed for purchase.The practice is known as a sleight-of-hand distract theft.
Federal arrest warrants have been issued for them and five other suspects by the U.S. District Court in Topeka, in Kansas. Some have since been arrested.
Prosecutors allege that "the defendants are members of, or associated with, an organized crime network made up of allied Roma clans that originate in central Romania.
"While in the United States, members of the clans work together and engage in various criminal activities, to include distraction-based theft targeting jewelry stores."
Pics courtesy FBI show Sava (top row) and Rostas.