Westchester County Joint Committee Meeting on Retail Crime – July 8, 2026

On Wednesday, July 8, 2026, from 1:11 to 1:55 p.m., the Westchester County Board of Legislators' Small Business Committee met jointly with the Public Safety & Veterans Committee in Committee Room 800 of the Michaelian Office Building (148 Martine Avenue, White Plains, NY) and over WebEx. Chair James Nolan (Small Business) called the meeting to order at 1:11 p.m. (the agenda had listed a 1:00 p.m. start); the agenda contained one item, a discussion on retail crime, with invited guests Douglas Horsting of Metrorca and Mike Burke of CVS. A third participant, named Peter Stanga in the transcript, spoke from the perspective of Ulta Beauty's stores in Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Dobbs Ferry. Minutes list Legislators Tubiolo, Cunzio (remote), Williams (remote), and Holstein (remote) as participating, with Nambiar, Smith, and Woodson-Samuels absent; the transcript also captures questions from a remote legislator whose name is garbled as 'Woodsida Gundeal' (a possible match for Woodson-Samuels). The meeting was discussion-only, with no formal votes.

Discussion on Retail Crime: Scale, Methods, and Impact

• Horsting described shoplifting today as organized retail crime, a multi-billion-dollar industry that is closing stores; he cited Rite Aid, his former employer, which has gone bankrupt, and noted that one person in the resale business had made enough money to buy a helicopter. Burke recalled that Rite Aid recently drew roughly $25 million from reserves to cover its loss projections.
• Burke said large percentages of stolen merchandise are sold on Amazon, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace, often passing as legitimate. The supply chain is tiered: people with addictions or unstable housing get 'shopping lists,' steal items, and sell to a middleman; goods are then cleaned (store labels removed) in warehouses before being resold online, to local bodegas, or even back to chain retailers.
• On consumer safety, the chair recalled problems with stolen baby formula resold on secondary markets after being kept in car trunks or on a person, making it unsanitary and unsafe; guests agreed.
• Burke described traveling 'crews' that hit multiple stores in one trip, such as a crew that hit seven CVS stores in the region, and a South American crew arrested in Connecticut right after Christmas that had been hitting Long Island, Westchester, and Connecticut.
• Case examples: a U-Haul truck followed from Orlando, Florida, to Queens, NY, was impounded with $150,000 of stolen merchandise from a seven-day trip; and a Manhattan 'fence' shut down during the past year yielded $3 million in recovered goods, with high turnover suggesting it held only about a month of inventory.
• Burke said offenders are in and out of stores in one to three minutes, while a 911 call takes about a minute plus response time, so police often arrive after suspects are gone. He described employees being threatened ('I'll be back'), and crews using blowtorches to open locked cases while customers, including children, are in the store.

Coordination Gaps and Proposed Solutions

• Horsting recommended that Westchester County create a retail-theft task force modeled on New York City's, bringing major retailers, the District Attorney's office, county police, and elected officials to the same table; he noted Metrorca (and a group he called 'Metro Bridge the Gap') serves as a liaison among retailers, district attorneys, and elected officials in the city.
• Burke advocated for a centralized retail liaison in the District Attorney's office, as in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and for regular communication – such as quarterly meetings or calls like the ones retailers hold twice a week with the Manhattan DA's office – so jurisdictions no longer work in isolation (he cited an offender arrested first in Hastings and later in Dobbs Ferry without cross-communication). A centralized contact would let a detective quickly ask multiple retailers, 'Do you have anything on this guy?'
• The Ulta Beauty representative expressed full support for trespass notices and prosecution of repeat offenders, saying recidivism drops once offenders know they risk a felony burglary charge. He said offenders typically hit all three Ulta stores in Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Dobbs Ferry when they target one, and that his team works with Dobbs Ferry and Greenburgh police, sharing intel and hotlisting plates. He called current investigations 'siloed' and advocated more globalized prosecution; he cited a New Jersey case where a person who caused his company over $100,000 in losses received no jail time after a drug-court disposition.
• On bail reform, Burke said the state has modified the law three times but he has not seen effective change; judges still exercise discretion, as when a suspect stole only $50.
• Burke cited success with license-plate-reader (LPR) alerts through the county's real-time crime center, including a crew first flagged in New Rochelle and later arrested in Connecticut after hitting Long Island, Westchester, and Connecticut.
• Chair Nolan noted the retailers have been advocating at the state level, including a meeting with State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins where a Macy's representative showed video of retail theft; Horsting added that state police are working on a retail initiative in Queens started by Governor Hochul.

Legislator Q&A and Committee Deliberation

• Legislator Williams, who noted he represents the Getty Square area of Yonkers, asked whether thieves are stealing from Westchester-based businesses and selling elsewhere, or bringing stolen goods into Westchester. Burke replied that Westchester stores are hit and goods are often transported to larger fences in Queens and Long Island, while some stolen product is resold locally, including at bodegas; he described a Yonkers operation in which individuals were followed from a Walgreens to four locations, including a store on Palisade Avenue that purchased stolen goods.
• A remote legislator (transcribed as 'Woodsida Gundeal') asked whether the retailers work with the district attorney's General Investigations (GI) unit and how municipalities connect with it, and asked about the status of bond-funded technology systems for sharing arrest and public-safety information among municipalities and county police. Horsting said the retailers were not aware of the GI unit, though he has attended coordination meetings at the police academy; the legislator noted that Chief Luciano has connected with the GI unit and suggested reaching out to him for a connection.
• The Public Safety & Veterans chair said investigations, DA charging decisions, and court outcomes form a 'triangular' system, and that all parties need to be on the same page; he said the committees would benefit from bringing everyone to the table.

Key Outcomes

• No motions, votes, or resolutions were taken; the meeting was informational.
• Chair Nolan said the committees will follow up with the Department of Public Safety, including the General Investigations division mentioned by a legislator, and will explore creating a Westchester County retail-theft task force and other options raised by the guests.
• Future meetings are anticipated, including a session with county police participating.