The Lingering Fate of the Master Jewel Thieves

In movies and television shows, cops and detectives are often shown ruminating on a particularly momentous case during their storied careers. Whether it was their claim to fame or the one they never solved, dramatizations of such investigations are always in demand but rarely ever happen in reality. For Mike Crowley, a retired detective and Vietnam veteran, the 2018 case of the United States of America v. Michael Clarence Ornelas & Matthew Petrucelli (Conspiracy to Commit Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property) would fit the bill.

Sparing some of the details for the sake of brevity, these men are jewel thieves. They are not ordinary smash-and-grab burglars either. If they had been, they might have been able to break into a storefront or two before being tracked down. In Florida alone, they are suspected in the theft of roughly $16 million in merchandise from 23 stores. They were methodical, calculated, and extremely knowledgeable in their trade. As Crowley put it, these men are “the greatest jewel thieves in the history of not just Florida, but the United States.”

There was a third member of the “Drill Team,” as Crowley called them, and he was the key piece of this puzzle. When William Anthony “Tony” Granims walked into the office of the Palm Beach County Resident Agency of the FBI on January 10, 2018, he proceeded to divulge the entirety of the squad’s operations. Their modus operandi, their methods, and – most importantly – the locations they have burglarized over the years.

Not only had Granims and Ornelas pilfered establishments and served foreshortened sentences for them decades ago, but they also both have intimate knowledge in certain fields that made them the perfect perpetrators of these crystal capers. Granims, an expert in technologies including alarms, and Ornelas, a professional locksmith, joined forces with Petrucelli by early 2013 and began enacting their laser-focused crimes.

Among other intricacies, the team would use encrypted communication software to coordinate their actions, perform reconnaissance on a location, and break in through the wall of an adjoining business with considerably less security. Once inside, Ornelas would get to work on the safe with precision drilling. These sorts of details surrounding their multi-year operation were what helped Crowley identify the pattern in their work.

That is where Hernando County comes in. It turns out that their cross-country escapades saw them zero in on ten local stores, including the Kay Jewelers in Brooksville and Dan Lo Jewelers.

The federal government was unable to become involved for years as their operations never saw them leave the state of Florida. It was not until they carried out one such gig in Chicago that the wheels of justice were able to slowly begin to move on the national level.

The grizzled detective provided Hernando Sun with packets of information including the case report and an in-depth piece by Geoff Manaugh of “The Atlantic.” Crowley, who started police work in 1973, and has experience investigating jewel thieves since 1975, wanted to make sure we were properly informed on the specifics of this investigation.

Why was this admittedly high-profile case surrounding stolen jewelry so important now? As the detective put it, he feels this case has “lingered” for far too long in the state attorney’s office. Four and a half years have passed with little to no development, and it took him five years to help get the men arrested in the first place. Pre-trial conferences for Ornelas and Petrucelli will continue in October of this year.

Yet, Crowley notes they will only be prosecuted for four of the burglaries, as it would “really take years and years” to do so for every potential theft. Though he retired from the criminal justice system in Miami in 2005, Crowley wants to see this through. He sympathizes with the jewelry store owners who have had their businesses and lives upended, as he added that he “kind of work[s] for the jewelers” in this instance, especially because of his background.

These convicted felons are all currently out on bond. They have all obtained private attorneys. Granims withdrew his guilty plea on May 30, 2024 and pled not guilty, but then settled on Nolo Contendere (no contest) on June 21. Granims has a sentencing hearing set for Oct. 10.

With the October hearings fast approaching, the Sun will continue to monitor this case and keep our readers updated as details emerge.