Cops: Man Stole $75K Diamond From Bushkill Twp. Home

By Jack Tobias

A home healthcare worker is accused of stealing a 4-carat diamond ring valued at $75,000 from a Bushkill Township home last month, then pawning it for an unknown amount of money at a Wind Gap shop, court records say.

It appears that David Laurence Halperin, 28, of Allentown allegedly stole the ring Dec. 11, when he was scheduled to work at a home on the 900 block of State Park Road, the records say.

Halperin was working for a Salisbury Township home health agency at the time, the records say. He and two others were providing care for a man at the Bushkill house. The ring belonged to the man's wife.

A criminal complaint says Halperin allegedly pawned the ring at the Gold Silver Trading Post, 102 S. Broadway in the Slate Belt borough. The shop owners could not provide police with information on how much they gave Halperin for the ring.

The complaint, filed by township Det. Randy R. Knauss, also says:

The ring's owner told police she first noticed it had been stolen Dec. 11, a Wednesday. She had last worn it the previous Saturday, Dec. 7.

She said it was valued at $68,000. But an insurance company said its replacement value was $75,000. The woman said she did not want to assume any of the home care workers was responsible, so she waited two more days before calling police.

The 14-karat-gold ring has an emerald-cut center diamond of 4.02 carats, with other diamonds surrounding it.

Knauss left a cell phone message with Halperin on Jan. 6 but did not get a prompt call-back. Halperin eventually called back, saying he at first "forgot" to make the return call. The two arranged to meet at Bushkill police headquarters on Jan. 8, but Halperin never showed up.

On Jan. 17, Knauss went to Halperin's employer -- Revolutionary Home Health, 1251 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Suite 201 A, in Salisbury Township, near Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. Using work schedules, he was able to narrow down when the three workers -- Halperin and two women -- would have been at the Bushkill house. He found that Halperin was scheduled to work there Dec. 11.

Knauss went to the Wind Gap shop on Jan. 21. He later showed the Bushkill woman a pix of the ring taken at the shop. She confirmed it was her missing ring.

An arrest warrant for Halperin was approved two days later. Halperin was taken into custody Sunday, Jan. 26, and arraigned that day before on-duty District Judge Diane Marakovits of Northampton.

Halperin, of 23 N. 20th St., Apt. D, in Allentown, was charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition and receiving stolen property -- both level-three felonies. He was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $7,500 bail.