FBI: Super ring heist, Ohio burglary similar

LYNN – The Boston office of the FBI, bolstered by a $50,000 reward being offered by Brinks, Inc., is seeking the public’s assistance in the identification and arrest of individuals responsible for a January burglary in Columbus, Ohio that has remarkable similarities to one at a Attleboro jewelry maker last June allegedly masterminded by a Lynn man well-known to local authorities.The FBI released a statement Wednesday that said in both robberies, the thieves broke in by cutting a hole in the roof. The Ohio robbery was committed just days before the arrests of four suspects with North Shore ties for the Attleboro robbery.The thieves who broke into E.A. Dion Inc. in Attleboro removed a safe containing $2.5 million in precious metals, gems and New York Giants 2008 Super Bowl rings.On Friday, Jan. 23, the alleged mastermind of the heist, Sean D. Murphy, 44, of 407 Walnut St., Lynn, was arrested after federal, state and local law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant on his premises and recovered jewelry connected to the case.Kristen A. Sullivan of 55 Cleveland Ave., Saugus was also arrested after authorities searched a safe deposit box at the Eastern Bank in Cliftondale Square in Saugus and discovered 27 Super Bowl rings worth $170,000. The box had been rented by Sullivan.A search of a safe deposit box in Murphy’s name at Eastern Bank on Market Street in Lynn uncovered $10,000 worth of rare coins that had been stolen in the Attleboro heist. Additional evidence was seized from vehicles Murphy owned and used in his business, North Shore Movers, located at 72R Summer St., Lynn.Rikkile Brown, 21, of 1 Silver Leaf Way #127, Peabody, was arrested shortly afterward and charged with receiving stolen property.David Nassor, 40, of Petersham, Mass. but originally a Lynner, was arrested in mid-March and charged with receiving stolen property over $250. A police search of Nassor’s Petersham home revealed an additional Super Bowl ring, gold ingots and other property stolen in the Attleboro robbery. Nassor is being held in $500,000 bail.Court papers from Murphy’s arraignments indicate police were able to track him down, in part, to sales receipts after he allegedly sold some of the stolen items to a Pennsylvania dealer for $50,000.Murphy is currently being held on $250,000 bail after his right to bail was revoked because Murphy allegedly violated the terms of probation from a domestic assault and marijuana possession case.Attleboro police said in early April that they recovered a 1,500-pound safe stolen in that robbery cut into eight pieces and buried beneath eight feet of soil in the back yard of a Hubbardston home.Just prior to Murphy’s and Sullivan’s arrests, between January 17 and 18, 2009, a team of thieves broke into the Brinks, Inc., armored car facility located in Columbus, Ohio. Using methods similar to the Attleboro heist, access was gained through a hole cut into the roof.The Columbus Police Department and the Cincinnati FBI investigated the burglary and found that once inside the facility, the thieves used a cutting torch to partially gain access to the cash vault. The use of the torch resulted in a fire that apparently hampered their efforts, although some cash was removed.The thieves were then able to enter a coin room where they removed a significant amount of Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, and Presidential one-dollar coins, both gold and silver-colored, along with 50-cent pieces. The cash and approximately 8,000 pounds of coin were then loaded onto a vehicle and driven away.The methods used to carry out both burglaries was remarkably similar and based upon information developed by investigators during the course of the E.A. Dion investigation, the FBI now believes that these two incidents may be related.Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (617) 742-5533.Murphy, connected to a long list of thefts, robberies and scams allegedly committed over the past 30 years, had fraudulently claimed in 2000 that he was mole