While New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was busy playing in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 5, suspects were busy burglarizing his home, which he shared with three other individuals. The suspects stole safes, guns and jewelry, as well as two proof Morgan dollars.
Police in Foxborough, Massachusetts, investigating the nighttime burglary had no definitive leads until March 2, when the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC) shared a tip obtained through its extensive network.
The NCIC received an email on Feb. 24 from Dave McConaghy, owner of New England Coin Exchange, who advised a high-profile client had been the recent victim of a burglary.
"Mr. McConaghy identified Mr. Gronkowski and other members of the household as victims and requested our assistance in possibly sending out an alert, since he was able to provide certification numbers on the two coins," said Doug Davis, NCIC Founder and President.
"Since news reports did not mention that coins were stolen from the Gronkowski residence, I felt that the two proof dollars may raise a red flag if an alert was sent to our network and other investigative resources, even though the offense was almost a month old," Davis said.
While attending the Professional Currency Dealers Association on March 2 in Chicago, NCIC issued an alert on the Gronkowski offense.
"Within 30 minutes of sending out the alert I received a call from PNG dealer Dave Pepe, owner of Pilgrim Coin & Currency of Weymouth, Massachusetts, who advised he had the coins and the identity of the person who sold them," Davis said.
After verifying the certification numbers, NCIC contacted detectives with the Foxborough Police Department and provided them with the lead and descriptions of the suspects.
For the next several days, NCIC remained in contact with Foxborough Police detectives who aggressively pursued the new lead. Based on the information provided by the NCIC, Foxborough Police Department issued a search warrant for the home of Anthony Almeida, of Randolph, Massachusetts.
The investigation resulted in Almeida’s arrest for breaking and entering, two counts of receiving stolen property and malicious destruction of property. Warrants also were issued for Shayne Denn, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and Eric Tyrell, of Foxboro, Massachusetts. Tyrell was identified as the individual who sold the two proof Morgan dollars.
"The successful resolution to this case would not have been possible without the cooperation and collaboration of McConaghy, Pepe, NCIC and the outstanding investigation by the Foxborough Police Department," Davis said.
The NCIC’s crime alert network and investigative resources are dedicated to making a difference in the fight against numismatic crimes. The center’s resources are available to dealers, collectors and law enforcement and offense reports may be reported 24 hours per day, seven days a week, through a special form on the center’s website.
The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and supported entirely by donations from the Numismatic Community. All donations are tax deductible. NCIC P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094-0181.
This is amazing! As a long-time Massachusetts resident, avid coin collector, and fervent Patriots and Gronk fan, I could not be more pleased than to hear that it was only through the admirable initiative and persistent efforts of our very own NCIC that the robbers of the Gronkowski household were in fact so quickly but rather surprisingly apprehended. To think of it; if those two stolen proof dollars had not been involved as part of the loot in this crime, the NCIC would not have had any cause or reason to go into action and this crucial lead for the… Read more »
What an awesome coin community. I am very glad that the thief’s were caught / not smart enough to take the coins out of the slabs / send them in to be graded / re-sell them on the open market, as I am sure they were big money coins.
Another plus for having coins slabbed.
Mouse
Old Collector & Mouse –
Well said gentlemen! & Amen for such great law enforcement cooperation with the numismatic community.
-NumisdudeTX
*I love nothing more than *Gronk* being on 100*yard turf knock down & dragging & a few dodges* here & there,of would be defenders,*smile! Plus the good*stuff he does of the turf! But a bit of a boob, & an accident waiting to happen if not careful* one these days off field, the company you keep, spreads to the company they keep! Come on wake up *man! more than likely a friend of a friend who knew that friend that’s friends with those friends, there all good friends tho! :hmm: 😈 👿 ❗ ,*hats off *NCIC*, my* *pd*, if not… Read more »
A bit of a boob?? how about Major “DOOFUS” lol from Amherst N Y. Not a lot upstairs, if you know what I mean! lol
so *i take it, you mean! People from *Amherst, New York, do not have a lot upstairs, just crawl space; i* was not aware! To me! Grongowski* hangs his ass out there way to much, it looks like its starting to get the better of him, he needs to eat some humble*pie soon!
O.k., I’ll grant you that he is a bit goofy at times, but he’s still the best tight end in the NFL and he just happens to save every cent he earns for the future. “Doofus”, I submit, might not really apply here.
With out a ?, he is! I* would not like to *sea the big boy leave! Just yesterday on *ESPN or one the *sport stations, not sure! The *Master*Mind of thee*team, was some what uneasy with Mr*Gronkowski, pretty much what *i mentioned the day before, to much show! That’s what *i made of it anyway, & he does know how to make capital on him self,smile*, just might be getting a little bit careless! I* really hope he can correct himself, the *master*mind knows more than we do, he don*t care how *good you are, if you rub the company… Read more »
Great to hear the coins were found. I just have a few coins. But I do have a couple of slabbed coins. Never thought to record the serial numbers on my inventory list that I keep in a separate place.
Great idea to do. I have all my slabbed coin serial numbers saved electronically as well as photographs of all slabbed and non slabbed coins for insurance purposes…and for the police as well if required. Having coins registered with a slabbing company is a good idea as to, if that is your thing.
Mouse