Nassau police: Multiple people arrested in connection to South American crime ring

Nassau police arrested eight men, believed to be part of an organized theft group from South America, for a rash of burglaries and larcenies.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s office and police say four men were arrested for burglarizing seven homes in the last two months in Herricks, Jericho, Plainview, Mineola, Manhasset and Lake Success.
Another set of four men from Venezuela were also arrested. On Jan. 9, officials say they made off with more than $12,000 worth of merchandise from Macy's at Roosevelt Field.
“Burglaries are a quality of life crime that my office will not stand for,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “We will prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent we can and hold the people accountable.”
Nassau police say 90% of the burglaries that are happening right now are coming from the South American theft group – from either Chile, Venezuela or Colombia.
“These are ongoing organized theft groups that are being sent up here for the purpose to commit crimes here,” said Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
He says it’s part of a cycle – a theft crew might get caught and flee back to South America while a new crew is sent to the states.
Nassau police say the men from this group are crossing the Mexican border and are being bussed to New York City. They expect that more arrests are coming soon.
Four of the men were arraigned on Jan. 19 and are being held on $400,000 bond. The other four were arraigned on Jan. 10 and were released with no bail.