Four arrested for stealing nearly $40k worth of appliances from Polk County construction sites: Deputies

POLK COUNTY ,Fla. - Four men have been arrested after stealing nearly $40,000 worth of appliances and building materials from construction sites in Polk County, according to authorities.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said detectives’ investigation began when they responded to a burglary at a house under construction in Auburndale. A witness said they saw two suspects putting items into a U-Haul before driving away.

Detectives then linked numerous thefts at construction sites across Polk County and identified four suspects. 

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Haines City police officers arrested two of the suspects, Jeromy Albertson and Randale Anderson, during a traffic stop. Deputies said they found stainless steel appliances in the U-Haul van that Albertson was driving. 

Albertson told officers that he and Anderson stole the appliances from a house under construction in Poinciana. He said he was told by his uncle, Alberto Petrecca, to steal the appliances at the request of a buyer, according to authorities. 

Later that day, PCSO detectives executed two search warrants, one at Petrecca's house in Dundee and another at his storage unit in Haines City. Detectives say they recovered appliances, air handlers, ducting, plywood and lumber stolen from various Polk County construction sites. 

They also seized 89.48 grams of cocaine, 227.92 grams of marijuana, 18 hydrocodone pills, 53 ecstasy pills, 10 handguns and a rifle from Petrecca's house.

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Booking photos for the four men arrested. Courtesy: The Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Petrecca admitted to selling drugs from his house for the last three years, according to detectives. 

When questioned about the stolen appliances, Petrecca told detectives he "didn't ask or care" how they were acquired and suspected they might have been stolen. 

Detectives said Petrecca led them to his buyer, Benjamin Adams, who owns BA Investment Team, LLC and BA Property Team. Adams told police he bought the new appliances from Petrecca at "scratch and dent" prices. 

He believed Petrecca might have been using a stolen credit card or fraud to obtain the appliances, according to detectives.

All four men are now charged with racketeering, among other charges.

"They had an organized system going," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "That's why we were able to charge them with racketeering, but we're going to look for others to charge them with racketeering as well, because you're not going to steal from these builders. When you do that, the builder has to pass it along to the new homeowner, and that's just not right," Judd said.

Judd said it’s rare to file racketeering on property crimes.

"We lock up a lot of people who violate the theft laws, but if we find that you're organized, the new way we're fighting this is to charge you with the first-degree RICO. That'll get you 30 years in prison. We're going to do our best to send all these folks to prison. So, just go ahead and get ready. Decide what color clothes you want to wear in the book in and we'll change you out for some orange clothes because you're a thief," Judd said.

Adams bonded out of jail and the others remain behind bars. Judd said they work closely with builders to secure property at construction sites, and they urge builders to put up surveillance cameras on work sites.