Scranton officers assisted New Jersey police in the arrests of 13 men involved in a sophisticated multistate auto theft ring, officials said Thursday.
During 2023 and 2024, multiple “higher end” luxury cars were stolen from Scranton and transported to New Jersey, city police said.
Scranton Police Auto Theft Task Force investigators were able to help in identifying the suspects. Those arrests ultimately helped police in the arrest of a suspect in the killing of Philadelphia police officer Richard Mendez in 2023.
Scranton Police Chief Thomas Carroll said the arrests were a reflection of the effectiveness of communication and technology between departments across the state and across the country. Scranton Police Department has especially robust communication with the New York Police Department, he said.
Carroll had no further comment on the arrests because they are still under investigation in another jurisdiction.
But he pointed to a recent city ordinance that requires businesses such as pawn shops to upload information about customers into a database.
During a discussion about the ordinance prior to its passage, Scranton City Council President Gerald Smurl said Carroll promised his officers would go out to the businesses and teach owners how to properly upload the information onto the site.
In part, this safeguard was put in place because sometimes people attempt to come into Scranton to sell stolen goods from outside the area.
But if transients believe they are going to get away with crime in Scranton, they’re wrong, Carroll said.
His officers, he said, are well equipped both professionally and technologically to identify those people and to respond should they commit a crime.
“The tech doesn’t work without the people,” he said.