Effects of Lakewood Ranch jewelry store robbery linger

Long removed from the Nov. 15, 2016 burglary that basically ruined their Lakewood Ranch business lives, Murray Margolis and his wife, Ardene Chodosh, still carry an anger that never figures to end.

It was on that day The Family Jeweler at 8342 Market Street in Lakewood Ranch was cleaned out by a three-man team of sophisticated burglars who have achieved legendary status in Florida among law enforcement officials.

The suspected thieves, William Anthony Granims, Michael Ornelas and Matthew Petruccelli, finally were arrested May 19, 2018 for a burglary in progress in Chicago, and were later tied to as many of 23 Florida burglaries. They were eventually delivered to Hernando County, where they are suspected of committing 10 jewelry store burglaries. Hernando County called a press conference Dec. 12, 2019 to announce they were charging the men with multiple counts of burglary, although a trial date has yet to be set although county officials say they expect a trial in January.

Margolis, who has lived in Sarasota since 1991, said he will be at the courthouse when the men go on trial. However, he said no one has asked him to testify.

"I don't expect these guys to get a heavy sentence," he said.

Granims, 58, and Ornelas, 57, previously had been arrested in 1999 for a string of robberies all over the Southeastern U.S. After their release from federal prison in 2011, law enforcement officials believe they began robbing jewelry stores again in 2011 because their methods were one of a kind.

"What really upsets me is the lack of communication between law enforcement agencies," Margolis said. "Did anyone think of warning anyone? Did anyone send out notice to the jewelers and say, "Be aware of this.' And these guys got popped in the 1990s, only their sentences were a joke. Crime pays better than working. I guess I should feel honored to have been knocked over by the best."

Margolis did applaud the investigative work turned in by retired Miami-Dade Detective Mike Crowley. Crowley spent countless hours talking to jewelry store owners such as Margolis, keeping them informed and helping other law enforcement agencies to tie the puzzle together. He knew that their mode of operation was the same in their burglaries so he knew it was a matter of time before they could be tied to the crimes.

"Their targets always shared a wall with a business that had no real reason to install an alarm of its own," Crowley said, noting that The Family Jeweler was bordered by a travel agency. "They would cut entirely new doors through the walls. They would turn the air conditioning down low in the stores they robbed so they wouldn't sweat, in case detectives collected DNA samples. They would drill one hole into the safes and disable them from inside."

According to law enforcement reports, Granims was the alarm specialist while Ornelas was a locksmith who cracked the safes by drilling a hole into them and then disabling them from the inside. Petruccelli, 68, was a thrift store owner who could move stolen goods and he also acted as a lookout.

The trio is suspected of 23 jewelry store robberies in Florida with more than $16 million in loot.

Left in their wake were the jewelry store owners, who in most cases suffered huge losses because they were underinsured.

The monetary effect was only part of the damage.

"After the burglary, I had trouble sleeping all the time," Chodosh said. "I can't speak for Murray because he isn't as candid as I am. I don't mind sharing, though, how I felt after all the years — the money, the customers, the income, the savings, were all gone in one night."

After they were robbed, Margolis and Chodosh had to face their customers, many who had jewelry at the store for repair.

"I would become teary eyed when I told them their jewelry was gone," Chodosh said. "They had lost emotional pieces they were giving to their grandchildren or someone who was getting married, or for a special anniversary. I held their hands and hugged them.

"And yes, a handful were foul and unkind. They cursed at me."

Margolis and Chodosh decided to replace every one of their customers' items that had been left for repair. It created financial hardship for the couple because all the stolen items on display had been accounted for, but the items left for repair had value that couldn't be accurately estimated. Margolis paid out more the $125,000 to those who had left items at the store, and that ate most of the money he received from the insurance settlement. He admitted he was underinsured.

"We just felt it was the right thing to do," Chodosh said. "We're both old school."

Margolis added, "It was like someone came and stole their kid. You can't just go out and get another one."

Since the theft was right before Christmas and they had no inventory, the couple lost their most important sales time of the year. The store never recovered, eventually closing at the location a little more than a year later. They moved to a shop on Lake Osprey Drive in Lakewood Ranch, but then COVID-19 hit and delivered another crushing blow. They closed that store in October and now Margolis said his lifetime of work is in a 10-foot by 10-foot storage locker.

Although he is 75 now, Margolis wants to open another store in Lakewood Ranch, but this time instead of selling jewelry, he only wants to repair it. They have loyal customers from more than 20 years in business to make it all work and he said he is searching for a 500- to 600-square-foot space.

He hopes he can get his new space open soon, but he knows he will carry with him the thought the thieves will serve short sentences and then get out to live off the money they stole. He said it is ridiculous that law enforcement agencies can't find some of the millions of dollars of loot the men stole.

"It's a little hard to digest unless you are stupid," he said.