Alleged Locker Room Thief Nabbed With High School Football Equipment. Again.

When Holmdel Police were told Wednesday that football equipment had disappeared from St. John Vianney High School boy's locker room around 8:35 pm on Oct. 7, it sounded all too familiar.

The next day, police visited Robert S. Suliga at his workplace in Piscataway, and arrested the 49-year old senior analyst, charging him with burglary and theft of athletic equipment.

"He didn't deny anything. He was remorseful," said Holmdel Detective Edward Martinez, who was accompanied by Patrolman Andrew Kret.

Just as in the very similar case involving Suliga in November 2010, the missing helmet and two jerseys would be recovered from Suliga's townhouse at 9 Wycombe Place in the Franklin Township section of Somerset, NJ. But that was not all they found. Hidden in closets, in bags and behind the TV set in the living room was thousands of dollars worth of more high school football equpment. "The majority of the things we recovered was pants. He definitely had a large amount of pants and cleats," said Martinez.

The equipment was traced to Holmdel High School, Saint John Vianney, Middletown North and Raritan High School in Hazlet, said Martinez, adding it appeared to all be equipment from last season. None of it, save for the SJV gear, had been reported stolen, and it is all being stored at the Holmdel Police station to be returned to its rightful owners, he said.

Suliga posted bail on Thursday evening and was released. But on Friday, Suliga returned to Monmouth County Superior Court to face sentencing for the 2010 case. on 9 counts including burglary, attempted burglary and theft of football equipment from boys locker rooms at Holmdel High School, St. John Vianney High School and Middletown North High School. (Read how Holmdel Police cracked the case in the Dec. 22, 2010 story on Holmdel Patch.)

According to Martinez, the judge postponed sentencing, revoked Suliga's bail and imposed a new bail of $50,000, with no 10% option. Suliga was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail, Martinez said.