Cops: Following The Trail Of Missing Diamonds

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According to authorities, this is the most recent photo of Dinatale.

Necklaces, bracelets, pendants or rings--cops say nothing with a diamond is safe around Carl Dinatale. This jewel thief, whose rap sheet reads pages long, is out on the loose again, and cops say he's hitting up stores on the East Coast. With so many heists across a large span of land, cops say it took one of their own to link them together. 

On Dec. 1, 2005, a sales clerk at a  Boston jewelry store started to show two men some merchandise on display. Cops say those men were Carl Dinatale and his unknown associate. According to authorities, Dinatale's partner asked to see a piece from the display case. When the clerk was distracted with the request, cops say Dinatale swiped a $17,000 necklace. The men exited the store, leaving the clerk to piece it all together moments later. 

Police in Guilderland, NY., think Dinatale and another man were also responsible for a heist four days later, at a jewelry store in their town. Guilderland is about 175 miles from the first store, less than a day's drive. 

This time cops say only one man, Dinatale, walked into the store and asked to see two diamond rings. Once the clerk had handed them over, Dinatale allegedly ran out the store with the jewelry. The sales clerk chased after him, but Dinatale left in a getaway car that another man was driving.

Linking The Chain Of Heists Together

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This is a shot of Dinatale reaching in and snatching some jewlery while his friend plays decoy, cops say.

In spring 2006, a retired law enforcement officer living in North Carolina went back to visit his family in upstate New York and brought back his hometown paper. An article in the Altamont Enterprise described  Dinatale's alleged heist in Guilderland and the "snatch and run" style stuck in the retired cop's mind even once had had returned home to Raleigh.

A few days later, he was watching the news in North Carolina and a similar story came up: a man walked out of a jewelry store with diamond jewelry and out into the parking lot, where a stolen getaway car was waiting. 

The former officer saw the sketch of the suspected thief's face and immediately called cops-- it was the same man from Guilderland, Carl Dinatale, cops say.

By this time, police in Boston had Dinatale pegged as their suspect, making him wanted for three larcenies and a person of interest in many others across the East Coast.

The same two tactics, using a getaway driver with a stolen car and the "snatch and run," are used in a number of Dinatale's heists, cops say.  In addition to Boston, Raleigh and Guilderland, similar thefts have been committed in Richmond, Va., and  King of Prussia, Pa.

Police are not certain if the same getaway driver has been involved or if there are multiple drivers. But they do believe Dinatale and his cohorts are responsible for more hits that haven't been linked together yet. 

A Rap Sheet Miles Long

Dinatale has been on police radar for a long time, including drug arrests and larcenies.

In 1995, he was arrested for larceny in Providence, R.I., that left law enforcement in a foul predicament.

As police were chasing him, they say Dinatale swallowed the diamond ring he had just stolen. Dinatale denied that he did it, but cops took an x-ray of his abdomen.

Clear as day, the diamond ring was in his stomach. But this left police with a dilemma--they had to wait for nature to take it's course to retrieve the ring. Dinatale was isolated in the hospital with an officer standing by. Within a day or so, Dinatale passed the diamond and was arrested on the spot.

AMW Capture #943

Crooked Crook Captured, Thanks To AMW

A crooked crook wanted up and down the East Coast for allegedly making off with thousands during jewelry store heists is behind bars. AMW aired Dinatale's story in September 2006 and tips came pouring in. But, it wasn't until eight months later that police got the tip they'd needed. An AMW tipster called police and told them Dinatale might be hiding out in the Boston area. He was picked up in Barnstable, MA on May 30, 2007 and is now behind bars facing numerous charges.