Four charged for 2013 Bank Towers safe heist

Four men have been charged with stealing a former district attorneys safe from his law office at the Bank Towers building, clearing a case that went cold for nearly a year, Scranton police said Thursday.

Justin Tyme Andrews, 33; Joseph R. Reed, 33; Aaron Robert Kern, 20; and Jaime Walton, 39, were all charged with burglary and theft-related counts on allegations they stole a safe containing $5,000 and important documents from attorney Paul Mazzoni in December 2013.

Francis Caputo, the maintenance director of the office building in the 300 block of Spruce Street, noticed several damaged second-floor doors on Dec. 2, 2013. Mr. Mazzonis law office had been entered and a large safe taken, detectives said.

Detectives found surveillance footage that showed people loading a safe onto a silver Dodge pickup at the buildings Oakford Court exit. Detectives tried to identify the suspects, but the case went cold on March 18, 2014.

Then, on Feb. 13, Officer Steve Derenick of the Taylor Police Department called with a tip. Officer Derenick had investigated a burglary at a construction company in the borough and had a suspect, Mr. Reed, who knew that a safe had been stolen in the Bank Towers heist something that only the thief would have known, detectives said.

Mr. Reed also said Mr. Andrews, who was listed as homeless, and Mr. Kern, of 228 Oak St., Old Forge, were the ringleaders. The two managed to get a key to the building from Mr. Walton, who worked for the buildings cleaning service, Mr. Reed told detectives.

They had the safe on my tailgate and had trouble pushing it on, so I got out and helped them push the safe on, and that was it, Mr. Reed, 705 W. Taylor St., Taylor, said to detectives..

Mr. Reed told detectives he drove the other three to Mr. Waltons house at 19 Rockledge Terrace in Taylor, where they opened the safe.

(Mr. Walton) opened the safe by knocking four pins out of the bottom of it, and it just opened right up, Mr. Reed said, according to detectives.

They took the money and hid certain documents under Mr. Waltons trailer, detectives said.

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Four charged for 2013 Bank Towers safe heist