Credit-card Thieves Target New Jersey Club Locker Rooms

Golfers throughout New Jersey and surrounding states are urged to protect their valuables due to an ongoing string of credit-card thefts in local golf-club locker rooms.

New Jersey golf locker rooms are being targeted by a group of sophisticated credit-card thieves who are believed to have already stolen items from the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, the Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, the Plainfield Country Club in Edison and the Battleground Country Club in Manalapan.

The Springfield, N.J., police department is investigating the theft of credit cards at Baltusrol. The stolen cards were used for the purchase of gift cards at a local Target store and the gift cards were then cashed at a second nearby Target store to purchase Apple iPads.

Springfield police distributed photos of the suspects to places the suspects were likely to hit. On Saturday, July 20, a suspect was arrested at Canoe Brook C.C. and taken into custody. He is being held on $200,000 bail. Officers have also identified a second suspect who is being sought.

On Friday, August 2, Springfield, N.J. police sergeant Joseph Cieri reported:

"I'm happy to report that suspect #2 has been arrested by the NYPD Fugitive Unit at a hotel in Queens, NY. But with that said, we recevied a report that a golf club in Danbury, CT was hit yesterday. This is turning out to be a retail theft crew that is hitting the northeast. I will keep you updated on any new information as we get it in."

Besides New Jersey courses that have been affected, other clubs reporting similar thefts are Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Conn., Oakley Country Club in Watertown, Mass., and old Florida Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

For additional information, contact Springfield detective James Mirabile at 973-912-2242. His email is james.mirabile@springfield-nj.us