Note In A Wallet Leads To Arrest Of Two Marlboro Burglary Suspects

MARLBORO, NJ — A thoughtful member of the public looked deep into a lost wallet to find the clue that brought it back to its rightful owner - and resulted in the arrest of two area men for burglary and theft.

In July of 2022, a Marlboro home was burglarized of $60,000 to $80,000 worth of cash and jewelry, and other items, the homeowner said. Marlboro police confirmed the burglary in a report.

But most hurtful of all, the break-in included the theft of a red Louis Vuitton wallet that belonged to homeowner Zena Schwegler's late husband, Michael.

The incident was investigated by the Marlboro Township Police Department operations and investigations bureaus. All information and leads were followed up, but no suspects could be identified, police said in a report released by Capt. Bryan O'Hare this week.

According to Schwegler, it was also determined at the time of the theft that police did not have probable cause to use audio recordings of the burglary captured on a security camera in the home.

But on March 13, eight months after the incident, new information was received that led to the arrests of two young men for burglary and theft, police said.

That information was hidden in the wallet.

Earlier this month, a person spotted a red wallet lost on the street in Freehold. It had identification in it, but when the helpful member of the public tried to return it to the address, no one answered the door. But the ID indicated the person at that address was the owner.

Meanwhile, the person dug deeper in the wallet, and found a note with Schwegler's name and her telephone number.

When Schwegler got the call from the person, she was stunned, she said.

"My husband wrote that note 18 years ago. We were on vacation, skiing in Switzerland. He wrote down my name and number as an emergency contact, I suppose, if he got injured," she said.

"He kept that note in there for 18 years," she said of her late husband.

The coincidental discovery of the red wallet was like "it came from my husband in heaven," Schwegler said. And she said she contacted Patch because she wanted the public to know the story of this case and how it was resolved.

On Thursday, March 16, two suspects were taken into custody and, according to the police report, they "confessed to committing the burglary in question along with various other crimes." Nothing else was specified in the report.

The young men arrested and charged were Jacob Summers of Freehold Township and Christian Monteforte of Colts Neck.

The Marlboro Township Police Department report said it "credits the public with providing the information needed to successfully identify the two perpetrators."

The investigation is ongoing, police said. Any additional information can be given to Det. Anthony Peterpaul at 732- 536-0100, ext 1100 or apeterpaul@marlboropd.org.