East Meadow man repeatedly stole lottery tickets, police say
Scott W. Cisler, 49 of East Meadow, was arrested March 21, 2016, in connection with repeated thefts of lottery scratch-off tickets from Meadow Dairy in East Meadow, Nassau County police said. Cisler faces eight counts of third-degree burglary, police said. Credit: NCPD
An East Meadow man who had been stealing scratch-off lottery tickets from a store down the block from his house was arrested Monday morning when the owner found him on the property and closed a gate — locking him in, police said.
Nassau County police said Scott W. Cisler, 49, of Byrd Drive, was arrested at the Meadow Dairy on East Meadow Avenue after being locked inside the property at 5:30 a.m.
He was charged with eight counts of third-degree burglary and faces arraignment Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead.
Police said they believe the prior thefts occurred during the past week or so and that video surveillance was being reviewed to see if there were additional burglaries.
According to police, Cisler would wait for the owner to open the store, then would enter through an unlocked side door while the owner was opening a gate around the property — fleeing with the scratch-off tickets before the owner realized the thefts had taken place.
On Monday, however, the owner spotted Cisler and managed to lock him inside.
The value of the stolen scratch-off tickets was not immediately clear.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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