Detectives are investigating three robberies at Westbury schools that resulted in the loss of 87 brand new MacBook Pros, valued at approximately $120,000. 
The break-ins occurred at Westbury Middle School, Powells Lane and Westbury High School. According to the district’s Chief Information Officer and Technology Director Jay Marcucci, at all three schools, 13” MacBrook Pros that were purchased in November were stolen after the building was closed and locked. With the exception of the high school, the laptops were all kept in COWs (computers on wheels)—steel cabinets with locks.
The first robbery occurred at the middle school over the weekend of April 25-27. Thirty laptops were stolen. The second happened overnight June 5 at Powells Lane. The group broke into the library through an outside window, broke apart the COW and stole 25 computers.
The high school was hit June 23 at 1 a.m. According to Old Westbury police, robbers smashed two windows, climbed into the building and stole 32 computers. The computers were on tables being imaged and configured over the weekend, and were in a locked room with an alarm and motion sensor which went off. Old Westbury police responded to the scene approximately a minute after the burglars left.
The break-ins were caught on tape and the video has been turned into the police. The Nassau County Police Department is coordinating with the Old Westbury Police Department to find more leads. Between four to six minors were arrested in connection to the middle school robbery, but have been released. 2 computers have been recovered.
Detective Mike Lynch from the Old Westbury Police Department says that the investigation is still pending and that they are not sure yet how many people broke into the high school. Marcucci says he is unsure if the same people who broke into the middle school broke into the other schools, noting that it wouldn’t have been easy to steal the laptops in the first place.
“At Powells Lane they came prepared with a crow bar, at the high school they wore gloves. The middle school break in was definitely kids,” said Marcucci. “The laptops were in a locked cabinet but the perpetrators pried the doors off the cabinet and left the lock in place.”
“Those laptops were secured. The buildings were alarmed. There was no lax in security effort,” added Marcucci.
The break-ins have prompted the district to reevaluate their security measures.
“We’re looking at our systems and looking out a plan of action to strengthen our security to make sure everything is in place,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Lagnado. “We’re going to develop a corrective plan of action with proper surveillance devices to secure the school property.”
Marcucci says that because the robberies happened at the end of the school year, students were not affected. And they’re expecting to have the laptops replaced through insurance.
“Insurance covers just about the whole thing. We’ve already gotten the settlement check on the first robbery, and we’re waiting on the other two,” said Marcucci.
