Newburgh man with seven prior felony convictions busted on rash of break-ins

NEWBURGH – A Newburgh man, who has been arrested 10 times and has seven prior felony convictions, many for burglary, was arrested late Saturday afternoon and charged in connection with committing for burglaries in the city over the course of the last week.

City Police charged Joseph Francis Gaffney, III, 39, of 9 Johnston Street with three counts of burglary in the third degree, attempted burglary in the third degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and petit larceny.

Gaffney was linked to break-ins at Auto Credit of Newburgh at 600 Broadway on March 16, at Glass America at 574 Broadway on March 18, Culligan Water at 131 Little Britain Road for a report larcenies from a number of fleet vehicles on March 21, and at Normann Brothers at 1 Corwin Court on March 22. It turns out the Newburgh Firefighters Union, also in that building was also burglarized.

Gaffney had been picked up shortly after midnight on Saturday. He had with him a bag with a five-disc CD player and several computer speakers. Police let him go because they had no reports of those items being stolen.

Later they received a call of the Normann Brothers break-in, during which a CD player and computer speakers were stolen.

At 4:20 p.m., officers spotted Gaffney in the area of 420 Broadway and picked him up. He was brought to police headquarters where he admitted to the burglaries.