http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/93337.html
Local businessman Daniel Kaufman thought his stock of cellular phones was as safe as possible in his Deerfield Beach warehouse.
He hired a 24-hour security firm, run by a former Broward sheriff, and installed digital surveillance cameras and a hyper-sensitive alarm system to protect his business, Reagan Wireless, in the 3300 block of Southwest 15th Street.
With all those precautions, Kaufman was stunned Monday to discover missing cellphones with a retail value of $1.5 million.
He said he found the Navarro Security guard on duty Monday morning sleeping in his car.
Kaufman estimates the robbers pilfered about 9,000 cellphones, using a forklift inside the warehouse and carrying the boxes out one by one through a thre-foot-by-three-foot hole they cut through a metal bay door at the rear of the building. The heist must have taken at least four hours, Kaufman said.
FIRST ALARM
After reviewing the collected video and audio, Kaufman said he noticed that a security guard left 45 minutes early around 5:15 p.m. He said the guard wasn't on the premises when the first alarm went off, but the guard reported to Navarro Security that everything was fine.
Kaufman said he fired Navarro Security, which he said he paid more than $100,000 a year, on Monday. The Fort Lauderdale-based firm is led by former Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro, who insists that his guards did their jobs.
''Nothing appeared to be out of the normal,'' Navarro said.
''There is no bathroom in the facility that the officers can go to,'' Navarro said. ``When the officer left, he went to go to the bathroom. He did not abandon his post.''
The next guard, whose shift began at 6 p.m., spent nearly 15 minutes washing his car while the warehouse was being robbed, Kaufman said. Navarro said the guard rinsed his car before his 6 p.m. shift began.
According to a Broward Sheriff's Office report, the alarm company reported the alarm went off three times in a 40-minute period. When the alarm company contacted Navarro Security, they were told everything was fine. BSO was not called.
BSO is investigating.
''Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing and they knew exactly what they wanted to take,'' said BSO spokesman Hugh Graf.
$50,000 REWARD
Navarro said his firm provided security for Kaufman's business for nearly six years. He said once BSO is finished with its investigation, he will conduct one of his own.
Kaufman is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the robbers. Anyone with information about the crime is encouraged to call Broward CrimeStoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Local businessman Daniel Kaufman thought his stock of cellular phones was as safe as possible in his Deerfield Beach warehouse.
He hired a 24-hour security firm, run by a former Broward sheriff, and installed digital surveillance cameras and a hyper-sensitive alarm system to protect his business, Reagan Wireless, in the 3300 block of Southwest 15th Street.
With all those precautions, Kaufman was stunned Monday to discover missing cellphones with a retail value of $1.5 million.
He said he found the Navarro Security guard on duty Monday morning sleeping in his car.
Kaufman estimates the robbers pilfered about 9,000 cellphones, using a forklift inside the warehouse and carrying the boxes out one by one through a thre-foot-by-three-foot hole they cut through a metal bay door at the rear of the building. The heist must have taken at least four hours, Kaufman said.
FIRST ALARM
After reviewing the collected video and audio, Kaufman said he noticed that a security guard left 45 minutes early around 5:15 p.m. He said the guard wasn't on the premises when the first alarm went off, but the guard reported to Navarro Security that everything was fine.
Kaufman said he fired Navarro Security, which he said he paid more than $100,000 a year, on Monday. The Fort Lauderdale-based firm is led by former Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro, who insists that his guards did their jobs.
''Nothing appeared to be out of the normal,'' Navarro said.
''There is no bathroom in the facility that the officers can go to,'' Navarro said. ``When the officer left, he went to go to the bathroom. He did not abandon his post.''
The next guard, whose shift began at 6 p.m., spent nearly 15 minutes washing his car while the warehouse was being robbed, Kaufman said. Navarro said the guard rinsed his car before his 6 p.m. shift began.
According to a Broward Sheriff's Office report, the alarm company reported the alarm went off three times in a 40-minute period. When the alarm company contacted Navarro Security, they were told everything was fine. BSO was not called.
BSO is investigating.
''Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing and they knew exactly what they wanted to take,'' said BSO spokesman Hugh Graf.
$50,000 REWARD
Navarro said his firm provided security for Kaufman's business for nearly six years. He said once BSO is finished with its investigation, he will conduct one of his own.
Kaufman is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the robbers. Anyone with information about the crime is encouraged to call Broward CrimeStoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
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