NEWPORT BEACH : Jewel-Theft Suspects Face List of Charges

When Michael Rabb and Walter Frank Zischke stopped outside Barr Jewelers last week to glance at the sparkling display of gems, little did they know that an army of detectives was jotting down their every move.

Four days later, police allege, two men went into Wyndham Leigh Diamonds Inc. and browsed through the display cases, pointing out the most expensive items to the sales clerk.

And so it went until Wednesday, when Newport Beach detectives arrested Rabb and Zischke as they prepared to fly out of John Wayne Airport, Orange County prosecutors said.

The arrests culminated a surveillance effort that included 50 investigators from the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa police departments and the FBI.

Prosecutors on Friday filed a lengthy complaint against the two men and their associate, John R. Evans, claiming that the three--allegedly part of a jewelry-theft ring--staged two Fashion Island jewelry store robberies and escaped with more than $9 million in gems and precious metals.

The complaint also alleges that the three men had conspired to rob a jewelry store sometime this week.

In preparation for that robbery, which never occurred, police allege that the three men spent the better part of last week at several hardware stores, purchasing a sledgehammer, pry bar and other tools.

“For almost a week, they were casing jewelry stores and acquiring items that can be used in a robbery,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. James J. Mulgrew, who is prosecuting the case.

Rabb, 47, of Lake Worth, Fla., and Zischke, 46, of Cicero, Ill., both convicted felons, each face seven counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, auto theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm, Mulgrew said.

Evans, also a convicted felon, faces one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, auto theft and possessing a firearm.

FBI and police officials described the three as “extremely vicious” men who allegedly operated as a military team in daring robberies of jewelry stores throughout the country, an operation that investigators said netted them a total of $15 million.

Prosecutors charge that the men were responsible for a $6-million jewelry heist at the Carol Klein Fine Jewelry store last October and a $3-million robbery at Moboco Fine Jewelry & Gems. Both robberies at the Fashion Island stores took less than two minutes each, police said.

The men were each being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $10-million bail, despite a request by their attorneys Friday to have bail lowered to $100,000.

Municipal Court Judge Susanne S. Shaw, who approved warrants Wednesday to search suitcases belonging to Zischke and Rabb, said she set the high bail because she feared the men would flee the state or use money that might have come from selling stolen jewelry.

After the arrests of Zischke and Rabb, who were cellmates at Joliet State Prison in Illinois, police arrested Evans as he was driving out of the state in a black 1989 Cadillac.

An assortment of automatic weapons, bulletproof vests, police scanners, pry tools and Halloween masks were found in the trunk of the car, which was stopped on Interstate 40 near Needles, police said, adding that other items to be used as evidence were found in the suitcases.

“None of them was here (in California) to visit Disneyland,” Shaw told defense attorneys during Friday’s bail hearing.

“I know it (bail) is high . . . but it’s very, very serious,” he added.

The three are scheduled to return to Harbor Municipal Court on Sept. 14 to enter pleas.

Meanwhile, detectives continued to investigate the past activities of the three men, and did not rule out the possibility of additional arrests.

“I understand that they all have connections in the Chicago area,” Mulgrew said.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis declined to say in what other states the men are suspected of robbing jewelry stores or how long the trio had operated as a team.