Pricey Appliances Targeted

By Fairfield County Thieves

STAMFORD (AP) — Light-fingered and apparently muscular thieves have been stealing big and pricey appliances from empty homes in Fairfield County.

Thieves are breaking into expensive but unoccupied homes and ripping out top-of-the line refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, and even cappuccino makers.

“Over the last year, it has become the crime de jour,” Stamford police Sgt Peter diSpagna, head of the department’s property crimes unit, said Tuesday.

Other officers said the appliances are transported by vans and sold at discount rates on the black market, Sgt diSpagna said.

Most of the appliances are stainless steel refrigerators and stoves manufactured by elite companies such as Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Viking, police said.

New Canaan police said that a contractor reported last month that more than $30,000 worth of appliances, including two refrigerators, are missing from a home completed four months ago.

Police said the burglars target houses in wealthy neighborhoods because the appliances are more expensive and the houses tend to have spacious yards with trees and bushes that make it difficult for neighbors or passersby to spot thieves.

Extra caution can help prevent the burglaries, but Sgt diSpagna said they would continue as long as thieves can find willing buyers.

“If someone can find a market for something, they will steal it,” Sgt diSpagna said.