HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A Hollywood woman told detectives a trio “complained about financial issues” and were receiving government benefits during the four years she let them stay with her, while, unbeknownst to her, they had stolen six figures worth of her gold and silver coins and sold at least some of them, according to police.
According to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Monday, two of them are now in custody: Joseph Marsicek, 55, and girlfriend Lisa Bulinski, 53, both of Zephyrhills, are each facing felony charges.
Investigators said they, along with Marsicek‘s mother, Mary Ann MacPherson, moved out of the home and to Pasco County on Feb. 15. Three days later, investigators said the victim was trying to show her friend her collection when she realized the coins had vanished, leading her to call the Hollywood Police Department.
According to investigators, the victim and MacPherson had known each other since the 1980s, when they both worked part time at a jewelry store. Police said about four years ago, MacPherson “called complaining her living situation” in Zephyrhills and said she wanted to come back to South Florida, so the victim allowed MacPherson to stay with her under the condition that she pay rent and get a job.
But police said MacPherson also arrived with Marsicek, making the victim “uncomfortable.” Nevertheless, police said the victim let MacPherson stay in a room and Marsicek sleep in his car, and later a tent, outside. Authorities said he then began dating Bulinski.
All three are accused of stealing the valuable coins and taking them to a gold and jewelry buyer.
They made about $72,000 from selling the coins as they complained about money and lived on the dole, police said, but detectives suspect that represents a fraction of what they stole.
“I believe the suspects are still in possession of a large quantity of the victim’s property,” HPD Officer Mark Robbins wrote in a report.
The victim, police said, believes the trio took about $400,000 worth of coins.
Records show that Hollywood police arrested Marsicek and Bulinski on Thursday in the 5900 block of Taft Street. It wasn’t immediately clear how they were located.
MacPherson, who records show is also slated to face charges in the case, did not appear in Broward or Pasco jail records as of Monday afternoon.
As of Monday, Marsicek and Bulinski remained jailed in Broward on charges of first-degree grand theft, pawning items with false information and dealing in stolen property.
Their bonds were set at $125,000. But they’ll have to prove any funds they may post come from a legitimate source before being released.
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