Two charged in theft, sale of perfume

East Windsor woman involved in theft of perfume

By: Joseph Harvie
   SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Police charged two management-level employees at Market Resource Packaging, including a woman from East Windsor, with theft, fencing and conspiracy for allegedly stealing about $161,000 in perfume and selling it on eBay and to northern New Jersey stores.
   Police said the suspects had been taking perfume from the warehouse for at least the past three months before their shifts, meeting to exchange the bottles and then selling the items.
   Both Claudia Riera, 36, of East Windsor and Virgil Melvin, 47, of Lawrenceville were charged Nov. 10. Riera was arrested at her home at 9:30 p.m. by South Brunswick police; Melvin was picked up by police near the company facility at 5:30 p.m.
   Police said perfume was found at Ms. Riera’s house during a search conducted by East Windsor and South Brunswick police. A search of Mr. Melvin’s car revealed that he was carrying bottles of perfume at the time of his arrest, police said.
   The charges were the result of a weeklong investigation between police and loss-prevention representatives of the company. Police said the company’s alarm system was disabled early in the morning at least two to three times a week for the past several months.
   At 4:50 a.m. Nov. 10, Mr. Melvin was seen entering the warehouse, where he is a production supervisor, and placing 14 cases of perfume into his own vehicle, according to police. He drove to East Windsor where he met Ms. Riera, a line supervisor at the company, and gave her the cases, police said.
   Police said Mr. Melvin is Ms. Riera’s supervisor.
   According to police, Ms. Riera was selling the perfume to stores in northern New Jersey, while Mr. Melvin had been using eBay to sell some.
   The investigation determined that the suspects stole over 5,300 bottles of Victoria’s Secret perfume during the past three months, police said. The total amount of merchandise missing will be determined after an annual inventory of the warehouse is completed in February.
   Mr. Melvin and Ms. Riera had been held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction center on $10,000 bail. Mr. Melvin was released Friday; Ms. Riera on Saturday.
   Market Resource Packaging is a packaging and shipping company that works with items ranging from toys to publishing materials.
   Police Chief Raymond Hayducka credited the cooperation between the company and police with solving the case.
   "These arrests are a direct result of the tremendous partnership between the private sector and the Police Department," he said.