3 arrested after stolen GPS devices trace them

updated 1:34 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2007

LINDENHURST, N.Y. - Three thieves who allegedly stole 14 global positioning system devices did not get away with their crime for long. The devices led police right to their home.

Town officials said the thieves did not even know what they had: they thought the GPS devices were cell phones, which they planned to sell.

According to Suffolk County police, the GPS devices were stolen Monday night from the Town of Babylon Public Works garage in Lindenhurst. The town immediately tapped its GPS system, and it showed that one of the devices was inside a house. Police said that when they arrived there, Kurt Husfeldt, 46, had the device in his hands.

Husfeldt was charged with criminal possession of stolen property. His 13-year-old son also was arrested on grand larceny charges.

Town officials said the boy committed the burglary with Steven Mangiapanella, 20, also of Lindenhurst. He was charged with grand larceny.

Babylon installed 300 GPS devices in snow plows, dump trucks, street sweepers and other vehicles last January.

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