Three accused of stealing safe from home in Muskego containing hundreds of thousands of dollars

MUSKEGO (WITI) -- Three people have been charged in connection with the theft of a safe containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a home in Muskego. Police say following the burglary, they purchased new cars, a home and jewelry.

Those charged include: 24-year-old Tiffany Kapitanski of West Allis, 29-year-old Dario Rizo of Milwaukee and 30-year-old Javier Rizo. They each face one count of burglary of a building or dwelling as party to a crime, and theft of movable property (greater than $10,000) as party to a crime.

On November 7th, 2014, police were dispatched to a home in Muskego for a reported burglary. There, they spoke with Jeffrey Gunderson, who told police he lives at the home with his mother, Antoinette. Gunderson told police he had returned to the home and observed the back door of the home to be open. Gunderson noticed $400,000 had been taken from his mother's safe that was stored in her bedroom closet.

Gunderson told police earlier that day, he had received a suspicious phone call from a woman who asked that he meet her to discuss a snow removal estimate. He told police he went to meet the woman, but wasn't able to locate her. Attempts to identify her phone number were unsuccessful.

Javier Rizo

Fast forward two months, to January 7th, 2015: Police received a tip from a person who wished to remain anonymous. That person identified the suspects as brothers Dario Rizo and Javier Rizo.

That confidential informant told police Gunderson's father died in some type of an accident, and Gunderson was handling the money. That informant said the Rizo brothers planned to use a garage door opener for the home -- given to them by Kapitanski (Javier Rizo's fiancee). They then planned on calling Gunderson away from the home -- knowing he operated some type of business, police learned.

After the burglary occurred, the Rizo brothers each purchased new vehicles at a car dealership in Milwaukee, the confidential informant told police.

Police spoke with a sales consultant at the car dealership on S. 27th Street in Milwaukee -- showing him a photo from Javier Rizo's Facebook page. The sales consultant immediately recognized Javier Rizo, police say -- and told police he sold three vehicles back in November -- one to Javier Rizo, one to Dario Rizo and one to Tiffany Kapitanski. The grand total for all three vehicles was over $84,000, and police say they paid in cash.

The sales consultant recalled the three showed up at closing time -- in a rundown Mazda. He told police he found it suspicious that they bought three vehicles with little-to-no negotiating -- paying with cash.

Tiffany Kapitanski

Through their investigation, police were able to determine that Jeffrey Gunderson had been giving money to his ex-girlfriend -- money that belonged to his mother, Antoinette. Gunderson admitted to giving his ex-girlfriend between $30,000 and $50,000, police say. Police learned that at the same time Gunderson's ex-girlfriend was supposedly dating him, she was also dating and had a child in common with Tiffany Kapitanski's brother. Additionally, Gunderson's ex-girlfriend and Tiffany Kapitanski are friends, police say.

With the help of an IRS special agent, police learned Dario Rizo had placed more than $50,000 into a Tri-City bank account in December 2014, and Javier Rizo had placed $69,000 into Tiffany Kapitanski's Guaranty Bank account.

Police obtained income information from the Department of Workforce Development, and learned that the income of the Rizo brothers and Tiffany Kapitanski wouldn't be consistent with purchasing three vehicles -- totaling more than $84,000, and making cash deposits at banks -- totaling nearly $120,000. Police say in total, the three made $19,908 in 2014.

During their investigation, police learned that Javier Rizo and Tiffany Kapitanski were in the process of purchasing a home in West Allis -- allegedly using burglary proceeds. Kapitanski's children were moved from a school in Wind Lake, to a school in West Allis, police discovered.

Police found the vehicles Javier Rizo and Tiffany Kapitanski had purchased at the car dealership on S. 27th Street outside a home on S. 94th Street in West Allis. Additionally, they found a posting on Javier Rizo's Facebook page that read, in part: "Can't wait for the house to be done. I'm ready to move in."

Dario Rizo

They also discovered Kapitanski had made an appointment for plastic surgery at Froedtert Hospital -- liposuction and abdominoplasty with a bill of more than $11,000. She paid in advance, police say -- and was set to undergo the surgery on January 21st, according to the complaint.

A search warrant was executed on the home in West Allis. Javier Rizo and Tiffany Kapitanski were arrested and taken to the police department to be interviewed.

Initially, Kapitanski and Javier Rizo denied any knowledge or involvement in the burglary, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Eventually though, Javier admitted that some of the money used to purchase vehicles in November came from the Gunderson residence -- telling police he received information about the Gunderson residence (including details on the safe) from Jeffrey Gunderson's ex-girlfriend. Javier told police Gunderson's ex-girlfriend told him she had been receiving and stealing money from the safe, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Javier Rizo eventually admitted to committing the burglary. He told police he went to the home in Muskego and waited for Jeffrey Gunderson to leave the home -- then entering the home and removing the safe. He told police he then drove to a hotel on 27th Street near Franklin -- opening the safe with a screwdriver. The safe and the garage door opener used to enter the home were disposed of by Javier Rizo on the north side of Milwaukee -- police say.

Javier Rizo told police he then purchased a vehicle for himself and Tiffany Kapitanski -- saying he purchased a vehicle for his brother, Dario because Dario had allowed him to drive his vehicle to commit the burglary, according to the complaint. Eventually, Javier told police his brother Dario was the lookout when the burglary was committed.

When Tiffany Kapitanski was informed that Javier Rizo had admitted to the burglary, she told police she was upset with her brother's girlfriend (Jeffrey Gunderson's ex-girlfriend) because "Jeff" was giving her money and she was "always flaunting new cars and clothes, as well as cash." When she expressed her frustration to Javier, he suggested burglarizing the Gunderson's home, police say.

Police say Kapitanski provided the Rizo brothers with the Gunderson's address, and then called Jeffrey Gunderson to get him out of the house. Kapitanski said after the burglary, they all met up at the hotel in 27th Street, according to police.

Kapitanski told police all of the furniture for the home she purchased with Javier Rizo in West Allis, plus new carpet, paint and plumbing were purchased with the stolen money -- along with a number of jewelry items she was wearing when she was arrested, according to the complaint.

Javier Rizo has a hearing scheduled for January 23rd in Waukesha County.

Tiffany Kapitanski is set to appear in court January 30th for her preliminary hearing.