Two men are facing a variety of charges in connection with the theft of copper piping and wiring from the former location of Bennigan’s on Bethlehem Pike in Montgomery Township.
Chester Chatereski, 44, of Philadelphia, has been charged with felony counts of burglary, criminal trespassing, theft, receiving stolen property, theft of secondary metal, and criminal mischief. He’s currently being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100 cash bail, according to court records.
Michael Garrison, 44, of Croydon, is facing identical charges to Chatereski along with a pair of felony conspiracy charges. Police are actively seeking Garrison’s whereabouts as an arrest warrant was issued in May and he has not yet been taken into custody.
Investigators said the thefts were initially reported in March 2022 when the owner of the building — which had been vacant since the closure of Gimaro Seafood and Steaks in 2017 — noticed that someone had broken into the building and ransacked the interior, stealing copper piping and wiring from various interior locations as well as brass railings, medallions, and various other items. Police said headboards had been positioned in the front of the building to prevent anyone from seeing inside, and the back door had been tied closed with wiring to give the appearance that the door was locked.
According to the criminal complaint, police took DNA swabs from two beverages that were located inside of the building, and the results of the DNA tests later identified Garrison and Chatereski as matches. The ensuing investigation also uncovered that Garrison had been paid $8,072 for secondary metals between February 2022 and April 2022, and Chatereski had been paid $6,236 for secondary metals between March 2022 and April 2022, police said.
Police said the damage caused to the building as well as the cost to replace the piping and wiring far exceeds the money Garrison and Chatereski allegedly received.
Charges were initially filed against Chatereski in March, however he avoided being taken into custody until June 6, at which point he was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy and transported to county jail after failing to post bail. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on June 20 at 10:15 a.m. in front of Judge Duffy.
Court records show Garrison was charged on May 2. He’ll be arraigned on the charges once he’s taken into custody.
Garrison was previously arrested on federal charges in September 2022, following an investigation by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division into the theft of copper wire and other metals from decommissioned coal-fired power plants between 2018 and August 2021.
“Between January 2020 and August 2021, Garrison sold stolen scrap on approximately 175 separate occasions to a Philadelphia scrap yard, for which he was paid more than $117,000,” authorities said.
Federal prosecutors said damage from Garrison’s alleged crimes caused $1.5 million in damage. To read more on that investigation, check out coverage by Tom Sofield at Levittown Now.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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