Union County man pleads guilty in burglary ring that targeted Asian-Americans
NEWARK - A Union County man on Friday admitted his role in a conspiracy that targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners for more than 50 residential burglaries in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Randi Barr, 41, of Vauxhall, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin to one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.
Eight other people have been charged.
In all, they are charged with committing more than 50 burglaries between Dec. 2, 2016 and March 20, 2019, court papers say.
Five of those burglaries were in Central Jersey, four in Middlesex County including Edison, Spotswood, Sayreville and Old Bridge and one in Somerset County.
As part of the conspiracy, court papers say, the suspects would identify and conduct surveillance at the victims' businesses, typically Asian family-owned restaurants.
After learning the daily patterns of the victims, the suspects would burglarize their residences while the victims were likely not lo be home.
The houses would be ransacked and large amounts of American and foreign currency were stolen as well as jewelry and other valuables.
Court papers say the suspects communicated with each other by two-way radios and used to ladders to gain entry to the houses.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bernards Township, Bethlehem Township, Cherry Hill, Cinnaminson, Clark, Colonial Regional, Cranford, Delran, Edison, East Brunswick, East Hanover, Eatontown, Elizabeth, Evesham Township, Exeter Township, Fair Lawn, Forks Township, Fort Lee, Franklin Township, Glassboro, Gloucester Township, Hackensack, Haverstraw, Hazlet, Highland Park, Hillside, Hillsborough Township, Howell Township, Jackson, Kenilworth, Lawrence Township, Linden, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Marlboro Township, Maywood, Middletown, Montgomery County, Montville, Morris Township, Mount Laurel, Mountainside, New Castle County, New Providence, North Brunswick, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Paramus, Parsippany, Phillipsburg, Piscataway, Pocono Mountain Regional, Pocono Township, Raritan, Roselle Park, Sayreville, Somerville, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, South River, South Whitehall Township, Spotswood, Town of Tuxedo, Tinton Falls, Toms River, Township of Ocean, Union, Upper Macungie Township, Wall Township, Warren, Washington Township, Watchung, Westfield, Whitehall Township, and Woodbridge Township police departments.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Union County man pleads guilty in burglary ring that targeted Asian-Americans
