Greece, N.Y. — The co-owners of a pawn shop on Mount Read Boulevard face several charges after the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said they were selling stolen items and illegal prescription drugs valued at more than $100,000.
Juan Diaz, 42, and Tolga Turmen, 33, co-owners of Rochester Jewelry & Tek accepted “sealed, new-in-the-box items that were stolen from a variety of retailers,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Diaz and Turmen would pay a small portion of the full retail price for the stolen item, and then resell the stolen items online at a higher amount for profit.
Authorities executed a search warrant at the shop Nov. 5, seizing 1,869 stolen items — including power tools, hand tools, hardware items, kitchenware, small appliances, office equipment, generators and automotive accessories — along with prescription drugs that were packaged for resale, according to the sheriff’s office.
At the time the search warrant was served, investigators seized 1,869 stolen items with a retail value of $65,977.63, representing a portion of what Diaz and Turmen have resold. Investigators noted that inventory not confirmed as stolen remained at the store.
Diaz and Turmen were charged with criminal possession of stolen property, falsifying business records, conspiracy, money laundering, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia. Both were released without bail after arraignment.
“Retail theft is a chronic problem that plagues our community,” Sheriff Todd Baxter said in a statement. “Everyone in our community pays for this, from our business owners in lost sales, to our community, who now has to pay higher retail prices at the register to make up for it.”
The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are likely.
Greece police said the same pawn shop was burglarized the next day. They said officers responded to the shop Thursday for a report of a burglary, but the suspects had already fled with stolen property.
Police said they found the suspects at a home on Spencer Street in Rochester and took found the stolen property, along with a “small quantity” of crack cocaine during a subsequent search.
Charles Akers, 51, was charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Marion Bresko, 47, was charged with burglary and grand larceny. Bresko was held on a parole violation, according to Monroe County Jail records.