Man Arrested in Connection With Theft from Boys and Girls Club

By Bay City News Service

A man who allegedly stole a safe from the Boys and Girls Club of El Sobrante has been arrested.

The safe containing an undisclosed amount of valuables was stolen from the club's office at 4674 Appian Way on Nov. 10, just hours after the organization's annual "We Are the Children of the World" fundraiser, according to the club's president, Billy Zeier.

The club was able to recoup some of the losses since many of the donated funds for the event were made via credit card, and the receipts were not kept in the safe, Zeier said.

In a statement after the burglary, he said, "It is unbelievable that people would steal from this non-profit organization (that) has dedicated over 60 years of service to our youth."

The club offered a $1,000 reward to anyone with information about the suspect or the safe's whereabouts.

Through interviews, Contra Costa County sheriff's detectives were able identify 47-year-old Dino Patereau of El Sobrante as a suspect, sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.

On Thursday, deputies served a search warrant at Patereau's home on Appian Way and arrested him on suspicion of possession of stolen property, Lee said.

He was taken to county jail in Martinez but was later released after posting $20,000 bail.

On his Facebook page, he is listed as being "in a relationship" with a woman who is employed at Boys and Girls Club of America. Club officials were not immediately available for comment on the arrest.

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