Chief: Police Followed Westchester Burglars For Weeks

Harrison Police spent weeks tracking and monitoring the three suspected burglars arrested last week, following the men to attempted burglaries across state lines and even getting close enough to the suspects during one attempted burglary to hear a conversation, Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said Tuesday.

The exhaustive investigation included the use of GPS tracking devices and a sound bug that allowed police to listen in as Carmine Stanzione (a.k.a. Paul Dibiase), 57, Daniel Dibiase, 55, and Jason Foskey, 34, drove a Chevrolet Blazer into Harrison the night of their arrest, Marraccini said.

Police had placed the devices in the vehicle the previous Friday, and had about an hour to prepare as the suspects drove from Dutchess County to Harrison Wednesday night, Marraccini said. Police stopped the men near Interstate 287 Exit 10 at about 6:40 p.m.

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During the arrest, a Harrison police officer shot Daniel Dibiase. He is recovering at Westchester Medical Center suffering a non life-threatening injury, Marraccini said. He remains under police guard. Stanzione and Foskey were held at police headquarters overnight and remanded during an arraignment Thursday in Harrison.

Weeks before making the arrest, police began building a case against the three men who at the time were suspects in a burglary and attempted burglary in Harrison. Marraccini said police followed the men to seven different homes during the last two weeks. At the height of the investigation, Marraccini said as many as 16 surveillance cars were following the three suspects.

"We followed them from Poughquag to Harrison to Far Hills, New Jersey," he said.

Marraccini said police had reason to believe the men were armed when the suspects were arrested last week. Police later found a loaded handgun hidden in the vehicle inside a bag containing gloves, ski masks and other burglar's tools, Marraccini said. The loaded weapon was reported stolen in Dutchess County, near the suspects' homes. Marraccini said the gun was stolen from a member of the Putnam County Sheriff's department.

Police later found another loaded .40 caliber handgun and $55,000 cash in Foskey's home, according to a statement from police.

On Thursday morning police announced an officer had fired two shots at Dibiase the night of the arrests, hitting him once. Marraccini declined to provide any details as to why a weapon was fired, saying he is waiting for county police to complete their investigation.

"The integrity of the entire investigation is of the utmost importance to us, and that's why I have refrained from commenting," he said.

Marraccini said he is confident the three men had plans to burglarize a home in Harrison or Rye Wednesday night. After weeks of following the suspects, the decision was made last Wednesday night to make an arrest.

"We were gathering evidence, we were confident in what they were doing and where they were going," Marraccini said. "At that time, because of the listening device, we were able to gather enough information and intelligence to substantiate a charge."

During the investigation Harrison Police devoted an entire room to the case. Surveillance photos, maps and descriptions of the suspects cover the room's walls. Several photos were taken outside the suspect's homes, as they appear to be entering the Chevrolet together in the dark.

Dibiase, Stanzione and Foskey are accused of stealing more than $500,000 from a home at 7 Brook View Lane during a Sept. 3 burglary. When the suspects returned to Harrison on Oct. 11, Marraccini said police were prepared and hidden in the area.

"We were close enough that we were able to hear what they were saying," Marraccini said.

Officers also followed the three men to other homes across the region, Marraccini said, adding that the three were very selective about what they were doing and often backed out if something didn't feel right.

During the burglary attempts, Marraccini said Dibiase served as the driver while Stanzione was the "brains behind the operation" and entered the homes.

Police believe Dibiase, Stanzione and Foskey had been working together for more than a year and are suspects in burglaries across the Tri-State area. Dibiase and Stanzione are brothers through adoption and both have extensive criminal records, Marraccini said. The two lived together in Poughquag, NY.

Foskey is engaged to Dibiase's sister and lived with her in Stormville, NY.

All three men were initially charged with second-degree burglary and second-degree attempted burglary, felonies. Additional charges are likely. 

Marraccini said the U.S. District Attorney's Office has filed a federal indictment in the case and that Foskey and Stanzione are expected to stand before a federal judge Tuesday.