Rutgers: on my short list for expulsion

[hoosier]

11/04/2004
Rutgers fraternity found with missing Halloween decorations.
___South Brunswick police recovered $5,000 in Halloween decorations Friday that were stolen from a New Road lawn last week.
___The decorations stolen from Tom and Carolyn Dardani on Oct. 23 and Oct. 29 were found at the Rutgers University Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House at 15 Union St. in New Brunswick. The Dardanis set up their display annually and use the lighted, mechanical decorations for the Haunted Trail and Hayride at Woodlot Park, which are charitable fund-raisers.
___Police said they believe TKE fraternity pledges were responsible for the thefts; no arrests had been made as of Tuesday.
___No charges have been filed and the investigation is still in the preliminary stages, Detective James Stoddard of the South Brunswick Police Department said Wednesday.
___The thieves stole a life size mannequin that stood in front of a guillotine, a dummy that stood on a large pirate ship and several other items. Police said that between Oct. 28 and early Oct. 29, more items were stolen from the Dardanis' display.
___Ms. Dardani, who along with her husband began their display and the Haunted Trail at Woodlot Park about 10 years ago, said the thieves took off with a laboratory display and had even tried to take a casket, but left it near the edge of their property Oct. 28.
___"Depending on where they parked, they must have realized it was really heavy and then dumped it near the road," Ms. Dardani said.
___Police said the estimated cost of the items stolen on both nights was about $5,000.
___Police said large blow-up displays also were stolen Friday from Fama Landscaping on Route 27 in Somerset and said the owner, John Penney, went for a drive to New Brunswick to see if he could locate the missing displays.
___Detective James Stoddard of the South Brunswick Police Department said items taken from Amato's Nursery on Route 130 also were found at the TKE house. Police also found two ghouls and a gravestone taken from the front lawn of an Elmer Road residence in the Timber Ponds development.
___Mr. Penney said he found the blow-up displays on the front of the TKE house with the Fama tags still on them. Police said when they went to the house with Mr. Penny and saw the displays that were taken from the Dardanis' house.
___Detective Stoddard said the people at Fama reached an agreement with the fraternity and charged them for the stolen property instead of pressing charges against them.
___Ms. Dardani said she called the police after she realized the display was robbed again Oct. 29 and they came and dusted the coffin for fingerprints.
___Ms. Dardani said she also called the New Brunswick and Rutgers University police departments after the incident and asked them to look around the college to see if anything turned up.
___"Within 10 minutes they both called me back and said they found it and it was all at the frat on campus," Ms. Dardani said. "Forty minutes later we got a call from our police and they said it was our stuff and it was at the same frat."
___Ms. Dardani said she got back about 99 percent of the display but they are still missing one a large sickle and a ghost that was made by her daughter.
___Ms. Dardani said she was mad that her display was targeted twice in one week, but was relieved that she had no personal ties to the culprits.
___"I was relieved it was frat people and that it was kids. I was relieved in that way. They took the tombstone that said 'Tom Dardani' on it and they didn't even know us," Ms. Dardani said. "I was happy I got the stuff back, but I was still mad. You don't steal from people. You just don't steal."
___Police said no charges have been filed yet and the investigation is still ongoing.
___Pat Orel, a spokesperson for Rutgers University, would not comment on the incident because the investigation was pending and calls were not answered at the TKE house.