Suffolk County has settled with six business owners who sued the police department for seizing gold and silver items from their stores without warrants and in most cases, not returning them.
The settlement amounts to $700,000 and also requires the Suffolk Police to use a new system to track articles taken for investigative purposes.
"Detectives were able to go and seize whatever they wanted whenever they wanted," said attorney Andrew Campanelli who represents the plaintiffs. "There was no limit on what they could seize."
Campanelli filed the federal suit in 2019, but the Merrick based attorney says it took three orders from a federal judge to force the county to turn over their records.
“What we learned was in most cases there were no pending criminal cases and they were never established as being stolen property,” explained Campanelli. “And at the end of the day the Suffolk County police took the property and either sold it at public auction and kept the money or sent it to the incinerator.”
Catharine Schultz owned a cash for gold business that had three locations on Long Island. She says over a period of 10 years, detectives seized more than $180,000 of goods with no warrant and no explanation as to what happened to the items.
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“It was like the wild Wild West,” Schultz said. “They were doing what they wanted to do and they weren’t accountable to anyone.”
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Suffolk County spokesperson Nicole Russo told NBC New York in a statement that all department members have been given enhanced training. The department also has changed policies regarding property that comes into their possession.
"When ownership of property that was recovered from a second-hand dealer is contested, a hearing is held to determine ownership, to ensure both parties’ rights are preserved," Russo said.
"I just feel a sense of relief finally that it’s over after many, many years and to finally know the Suffolk County Police department was held accountable," said Schultz.
Tired of fighting, Schultz closed her shops in 2018. This settlement she hopes, will prevent other businesses from being taken advantage of. Her attorney believes there are many more victims.
"This appears to be the tip of the iceberg there’s no question this happened to other business owners in Suffolk County," Schultz said, adding "I hope other second hand dealers that are still operating are not afraid to come forward and be afraid of retaliation."
