Nov 15, 2013 4 min read

The value of military property recovered from a string of burglaries at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina rose above $1.7 million after Washington County detectives stumbled on a mountain of the stolen property Wednesday in California Borough.

The $750,000 in items seized from California Army Navy Surplus Store was part of a cache of property stolen from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., and also found recently at a similar store in Shippensburg and a third location in Ridgefield, N.J., Washington County Court records indicate.

The cases involve the investigation of a “complex burglary ring” that pulled off at least five burglaries of a building on the base, one of which resulted in the arrests of two Marines and led to the recruitment of three confidential informants to assist in the investigation, the affidavit supporting the search warrant in the California case states.

The burglaries netted cold-weather sleeping tents, boots, flames-resistant blouses and trousers, expeditionary stoves, bed nets, plate carriers, beanie caps, gloves, fleece jackets and other goods. Agents also seized $500,000 in cash and unused personal checks, vehicles and real estate from the Shippensburg and New Jersey locations. The military property carries a national stock number on sealed, tagged packaging that isn’t available for public distribution.

In all, eight people were linked to the burglary ring that was broken up and the first two suspects arrested Oct. 18 when Naval Criminal Investigative Services agents conducted surveillance around the same building where $350,000 worth of USMC property had been stolen within the past month.

Bev Ashton, a detective working for Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone, was armed with the warrant to search the California store at 1148 Wood St. while conducting a corrupt organization, criminal attempt to receive stolen property, solicitation and conspiracy investigation, the record shows.

Vittone said charges are pending against store owners Michael Anthony Miske Jr. and his sister, Cecilia Miske, who live in the California area, as well as their uncle, Thomas Miske of Fayette County.

A confidential informant gave the agents the identities of three people who were receiving the stolen property, leading investigators to make two successful controlled deliveries to Jay Nusbacher in Ridgefield, N.J., and Denise and Gary Russell in Shippensburg, court records state.

Investigators allege that those suspects acknowledged over the telephone they were willing to purchase stolen military property.

Thomas Miske was identified as being part of an NCIS operation Wednesday in which he was supposed to accept the delivery of “purported stolen U.S. government property at his store,” the affidavit states.

The confidential informant told the NCIS agent that Thomas Miske and Denise Russell were known to buy and sell gear to each other. During the search of Denise Russell’s residence, several boxes of the stolen goods were recovered, and some of the boxes contained an address label for Thomas Miske’s business, investigators said. His business card also was located in some of her belongings, they said.

Agents said Thomas Miske purchased some items from the informant through eBay, and Miske arranged to buy other goods through email exchanges.

Agents said Thomas Miske was told over the telephone the property he was purchasing was stolen goods, and he replied “he was fine” with it and wanted to purchase more, the record shows.

State police said they called Thomas Miske on Tuesday and Wednesday to set up a controlled delivery, but he contacted the informant via text message Wednesday afternoon stating, “We have to cancel out everything, can’t get anything.”

The Miskes could not be reached Friday. No one answered the telephone at their business.