Thornhurst fugitive threatened to poison, kill suspected burglary ring co-conspirators who ratted to investigators, court and police records say

Jun. 18—As the hidden microphone recorded, Nicholas Dombek's thoughts turned to rats.

And extermination.

"So he then spoke about if somebody turned on him, and he was looking at 20 years in jail, they would be gone," state police Trooper Kyle Hnat testified about Dombek during a 2019 hearing in Lackawanna County Court. "He would sneak on their property, turn off the well cap and pour a gallon of some kind of substance down their well and would kill that person and their whole family."

Three years later, federal and state authorities seek Dombek, a fugitive, to face charges he seemed eager to avoid.

The 53-year-old Thornhurst Twp. resident is sought on federal counts of theft of major artwork, conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property.

He is one of nine Lackawanna County residents facing charges in a decadeslong crime spree that targeted millions of dollars in artwork, antique guns and coins, precious metals and gems, and sports memorabilia.

The group pilfered World Series rings, golf trophies, boxing belts, paintings, 18th century rifles, revolvers and pistols and other treasures from 18 museums, halls of fame, estates, galleries and jewelry stores in six states and the District of Columbia, according to a federal indictment. Much of it was melted down and sold for pennies on the dollar in New York City and elsewhere; other stolen goods were sold intact or hidden away and still missing.

Among the local thefts, investigators say they are responsible for: the 1999 Keystone College theft of Christy Mathewson artifacts; the 2005 heist of Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock artwork at the Everhart Museum; and the 2011 break-in at the Country Club of Scranton, where thieves targeted silver trophies won by golfer Art Wall Jr.

The charges announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania represented the climax of a years-long investigation.

Dombek is the only one of the nine at large. Though U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam declined to comment, other law enforcement officials said Dombek's criminal history certainly will be factored into how they approach his apprehension.

Attempts to reach Newfoundland attorney Tammy Lee Clause, who previously represented Dombek in court and is his sister, were unsuccessful Friday. Clause said Thursday her brother is wrongfully charged and will be vindicated. A phone message left at the Dombek residence was not returned Friday.

In 2022, Dombek pleaded no contest to a count of witness intimidation state police brought in 2019. No contest means that a defendant does not admit wrongdoing but will not fight the charges. The plea is recorded as a conviction.

At the time, Dombek had emerged as a suspect in a burglary ring. Dombek believed there was an police informant in the ring, public filings show, and threatened fellow conspirators to keep silent and alter their statements to the police.

State police did find cooperation.

In 2019, Thomas Trotta began granting state police and the FBI a series of interviews detailing the scope of his and the group's activities, police records show.

State police used newly acquired DNA evidence to begin linking Trotta, 48, of Moscow, to several burglaries.

In state court, authorities charged Trotta in five break-ins and one DUI spanning 2016 through 2019. He is also charged federally and is expected to enter a guilty plea July 5 to one count of theft of major artwork.

Dombek, Trotta told investigators, was his main accomplice.

They participated in numerous burglaries and plots, he said. Trotta claimed they stole collectable autographed baseball cards from a museum in Florida and duplicated them for resale, according to court paperwork.

The pair burglarized the Madison Twp. residence of Daniel Cusick, a longtime art critic and former Times-Tribune staff writer, on Feb. 26, 2019, state police said.

They stole antiques, paintings, a car and a .22-caliber rifle, according to state police. Most painfully for Cusick, who died in June 2022 at age 87, they took a portrait of his late wife — artist Ana Maria Carmona Cusick.

"I don't really want anything back," Cusick said in an interview at the time of the burglary. "Except the portrait of Carmona."

With Trotta cooperating, Cusick got his wish. Trotta returned Carmona to state police and Cusick was reunited with her likeness before he died, said Lackawanna County First Assistant District Attorney Judy Price.

State police Trooper Carl Ives outfitted Trotta with a recorder to intercept conversation with Dombek. Through May 2019, Trotta and Dombek met and discussed the burglaries they got away with.

Then discussions turned to potential informants.

Daryl Rinker — who agreed May 24 to plead guilty to federal counts of conspiracy to commit concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property — would be "weak" if questioned, Dombek mused, according a police affidavit filed in court.

And Kevin Gillette, a witness in the Cusick burglary, "needed to go," Dombek said. All Dombek needed was two grams of fentanyl and some cocaine, according to the police affidavit. Police would not bother looking into an overdose death, he said.

He pondered poisoning Gillette using the toxic plant, false hellebore, and discussed the idea of poisoning wells, according to court paperwork and testimony transcripts.

Then, by fall 2019, state police moved to arrest Dombek on charges he threatened people to stay silent.

Dombek appeared to have realized Trotta spoke with police. He knew Trotta had been "wired" each time they met and Dombek told Trotta's sister, Dawn, that her brother better shut his mouth or thing would get bad, state police said.

State police charged Dombek in 2020, for breaking into Cusick's home.

He pleaded no contest to a count of burglary as well as witness intimidation and was sentenced in August to 15 to 30 months in Lackawanna County Prison. He was awarded credit for the 1,069 days he spent behind bars and was released Aug. 15.

Ten months later, a federal grand jury found reason to indict and Dombek fled.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.