Cops: Pair sold clothing stolen from donation bins

Two Lindenhurst men were arrested Monday and charged with stealing clothing from a charitable organization's donation bins and selling it at flea markets.

Suffolk Police said officers arrested Rafael-Luis Castillo and Andrez Solano at 12:26 p.m. after they were observed unloading stolen items into a self-storage container at Public Storage on Route 110 in East Farmingdale. Several bags of clothing were recovered from the storage container as well as a 2002 Ford van the suspects were operating.

Community Crusade for Children, a non-profit charitable organization with clothing bins in several states, reported thefts from locations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, police said.

First Squad detectives charged Castillo, 39, and Solano, 23, with third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. They are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.