8 charged in $150K theft from Hilfiger

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Eight employees have been charged with stealing $150,000 worth of merchandise from a township business, according to police.

A six-month investigation into reported thefts from the Tommy Hilfiger Corp. culminated Tuesday with the arrest of seven employees and charges being lodged against another.

South Brunswick Police Chief Michael D. Paquette announced the arrests in a press release Tuesday and praised the level of cooperation between the clothing manufacturer and the police department.

"This investigation is a credit to the level of cooperation the police department has with the business community," Paquette said.

Paquette also noted that Tommy Hilfiger went through extensive efforts to catch the suspects. He credited Detective James Stoddard with coordinating the investigation, according to the press release.

The investigation began when Tommy Hilfiger management and security personnel started to realize inventory levels were incorrect. Further investigation determined that several Tommy Hilfiger employees were stealing clothing from the warehouse on Thatcher Road in the Dayton section of South Brunswick, police said.

Police said the employees were selling the items. During the course of the investigation, several sales of stolen Tommy Hilfiger clothing were observed during the last months by undercover security officers in conjunction with Stoddard. The thefts date back to July 2002.

The following employees were arrested at the Tommy Hilfiger facility at 1:30 p.m., according to police Gladis Lopez, 44, Throop Avenue, New Brunswick; Mildred Rivera, 52, 13th Street, Union City; and Milquelina Vasquez, New Brunswick, were charged with theft, bail was set at $2,500 and all were lodged in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick.

Veronica Cruz, 19, Hall Street, New Brunswick; Arelis Pena, 22, Welton Street, New Brunswick; Elsa Pacheco, 42, Grandview Terrace, East Windsor; and Ramon Rodriguez, 44, Brookline Road in Somerset, were charged with theft. Bail was set at $1,000 and they were also lodged at the jail, according to police.

Ines Juarez, 22, Suydam Street, New Brunswick, was also charged but has not been arrested, according to police.

Police said they were able to seize one of the vehicles belonging to Rodriguez and discovered $3,000 worth of merchandise inside.