Police interrupt LaGuardia burglary

CHESTER and Blooming Grove — A Blooming Grove police officer interrupted a burglary in progress at the former Camp LaGuardia property.

At 1:18 p.m. on Sept. 6, while on a routine patrol, Officer R. Moraski of the Blooming Grove Police Department saw an SUV and U Haul box truck backed up to the loading dock of the former warehouse. He found four people loading the rented truck with large industrial shelving units that had been dismantled.

All four were charged with burglary in the third degree, a Class D felony; and petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor.

The defendants were arraigned before the Hon. Judge Beesecker of the Town of Cornwall Justice Court. All were remanded to the Orange County Jail.

The defendants are:
Richard Jake Decker, 23, of Chester — remanded on $750 cash, $2,000 secured bail bond

Michael P. Curtis, 23, of Chester — remanded on $750 cash, $2,000 secured bail bond

John P. Supenski, 22, of Chester — remanded on $1,500 cash, $3,000 secured bail bond

An 18-year-old male from Chester — remanded on $750 cash, $2,000 secured bail bond.

A chronic problem
The former Camp LaGuardia campus, now owned by Orange County, has been burglarized several times in the past, said Detective Brett Weeden of the Blooming Grove Police. Moraski arrested six other persons involved in burglaries in progress at Camp LagGuardia since 2012, he said.

The unsecured and deteriorating 258-acre property — formerly a New York City homeless shelter unoccupied since its sale to Orange County in 2007 — has been causing problems in recent years. In January, a suspicious fire broke out on the campus, completely destroying one of the outbuildings.

Daniel Doellinger, the Town of Chester Police chief and 2nd lieutenant of Trout Brook Engine & Hose, said thieves stole valuable copper piping from the campus, among other damage done to the property.

The gate has been left open since early August, when producer John Lu and his company, Best of USA Marketing & Productions, used the property as the set for a violent video game. Chester officials and county legislators apparently did not know the production was coming. It is unclear how the video project obtained permission to use the site.