Alleged Burglar Linked to Burglaries in Eleven Towns

The man charged by Aberdeen Township Police for the burglaries of is alleged to have committed about forty burglaries in eleven jurisdictions.

A cooperative investigation conducted by the Aberdeen, Matawan, Old Bridge and Woodbridge Police Departments alleges that William H. Rusch, 41, of Staten Island, NY also committed burglaries in Matawan, Old Bridge, Woodbridge, Marlboro, Sayreville, Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Toms River, Parsippany and Edgewater.

Rusch at about 11 p.m. on Thursday, July 21 on Route 34 by officers from the Matawan, Old Bridge and Woodbridge Police Departments on charges of burglary, theft, criminal mischief and receiving stolen property.

According to police, Rusch was found to be in possession of a cash register drawer after a burglary of the Mosaic Day Spa located in Marlboro Township that occurred earlier that night.

Rusch was charged by Matawan detectives Joseph Lovallo and Steven Sakowski with the burglary, theft and criminal mischief of West Lake Chinese Restaurant, Amravathi Indian Restaurant, Bella Serra Restaurant and Papa John’s Pizza and the attempted burglary/criminal mischief of Bagelicious Deli. These crimes were committed on various dates from May 18 through July 21 along the Route 34 corridor in Matawan Borough.

Rusch was charged by Aberdeen Detective Henry Chevalier with three counts of burglary, four counts of criminal mischief, two counts of theft and one count of receiving stolen property related to the July 11 break-ins at Lombardi's Italian Kitchen, Mahzu Japanese Restaurant, Hop Shing Oriental Grocery and Eli's Hot Bagels. All of the businesses are located on the Route 34 corridor in Aberdeen Township. 

According to Aberdeen Chief of Police John Powers, at about 10:52 p.m. on July 10, officers responded to a burglary at Lombardi's Italian Kitchen and saw that the back door had been "smashed in" and the computers were damaged, but no money was taken. While working on the report, officers noticed that the back door to Hop Shing Oriental Grocery, located in the same shopping center as Lombardi's, was also damaged. An investigation revealed that $60 was taken. At about 11:28 p.m. on the same night, officers responded to a break-in at Eli's Hot Bagels, where the back door was also broken open. $1,500 was taken. Police then went to check on the other businesses in the area, and saw that the side glass door of Mahzu Japanese Restaurant had been broken, but no access was gained to the restaurant.

The suspect's car was captured on surveillance video, which helped detectives link Rusch to the burglaries, police said.

Rusch is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in default of bail. Charges are pending from multiple other jurisdictions.