HARRISBURG, Pa. — A father and son from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have been arrested and charged in a series of “distraction-style” burglaries that targeted elderly Pennsylvanians.
Steve Nichols, 53, and his son, 34-year-old Archie Marino, are accused of committing at least seven burglaries throughout Pennsylvania -- including in the southwestern counties of Butler, Westmoreland and Indiana. Burglaries also happened in Lackawanna and Lebanon counties.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the arrests Friday, saying: “These defendants are charged with conduct that includes seeking out seniors, distracting them, invading their home, and in some cases stealing thousands of dollars of cash and personal belongings.”
Investigators said one of the men would talk to elderly homeowners, often claiming to be from a utility company, while the other went into their homes and stole from them.
The burglaries happened between Aug. 27, 2018, and Nov. 9, 2018.
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In Prospect, Butler County, an 86-year-old woman discovered that about $1,600 worth of jewelry was stolen.
People in the area of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, were also targeted. An 82-year-old man found that a safe had been pried open and between $1,500 and $1,700 were missing. In another case, the men are accused of going into an elderly couple’s home, but the couple refused to open a safe and nothing was taken.
One of the men was seen in a Mount Pleasant resident’s video doorbell footage, which police shared with Channel 11 News. Investigators said that after a WPXI newscast, police were contacted by people who identified the man as Marino.
An elderly couple in Latrobe, Westmoreland County, had nearly $5,000 in cash and jewelry stolen from them, police said.
About $1,600 in jewelry was taken from an 85-year-old Blairsville, Indiana County, woman’s home.
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