LEOMINSTER — The owner of a Leominster video store was arrested after police said he hired “known drug addicts and prolific shoplifters” to steal items for him from various stores, which he then allegedly sold online for profits exceeding $1 million.
The arrest of 66-year-old John Duplease — owner of Adopt A Video — follows a yearlong investigation led by the Leominster Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau, which broke up the Lancaster resident’s criminal enterprise, according to a press release issued by the Lancaster Police Department on Thursday.
The release states search warrants were recently executed at Adopt A Video and Duplease’s Lancaster home at 30 Spec Pond Ave. Police said they found 1,695 stolen items at the video store and another 4,609 stolen items at his residence. According to police, the merchandise recovered has a value of approximately $500,000.
An abundance of cash and other evidence was located at both locations as well, police said in the release.
Police allege Duplease used 26 drug addicts and shoplifters, which they identified as “boosters,” to support the criminal enterprise. The boosters regularly shoplifted at numerous locations, including Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Walmart, CVS, Stop and Shop, and Hannaford. The alleged theft caused “millions of dollars in lost revenue and millions of dollars in lost tax revenue to the State of Massachusetts,” police said.
The stolen items were then posted for sale on Duplease’s private Amazon and eBay accounts, where he profited more than a million dollars in sales, according to police.
Duplease is charged with aggravated organized retail crime over $10,000, leader of an organized retail crime and receiving stolen property over $1,200.
“The success of this investigation is a direct result of good old-fashioned police work, combined with technology and civilian resources from our partners in the loss prevention industry,” the Lancaster Police Department posted on its Facebook page. “We are thankful to all those who assisted in this investigation.”
Aside from the Leominster Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau, the investigation was helped along by the Lancaster Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center, the Massachusetts State Police Community Action Team, the Massachusetts State Police Cyber Crimes Unit, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services unit, the New England State Police Information Network, and civilian representatives from Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Walmart, CVS, Stop and Shop and Hannaford.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis
