Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to ICE
Nassau County police say the pair used a hug to steal gold necklaces from seniors in four states and were handed to immigration officials.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to ICE
Photograph: VINnews (embedded from source)
What this story says
- A Romanian couple was arrested in early October and handed to ICE after a necklace theft spree in four states.
- Both were charged with three counts of fourth‑degree grand larceny.
- Police say the pair asked for directions, hugged the victim and removed the necklace.
- The Department of Homeland Security labelled the pair "Bonnie and Clyde" and said they will be removed.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
52/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Nassau County police arrested Mirabela Lacatusu, 26, and Rudi Lacatusu, 28, in early October and transferred them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Each is charged with three counts of fourth‑degree grand larceny. Investigators linked the pair to at least 14 incidents in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, targeting mainly senior citizens.
According to police statements, the couple would pull over, ask a passerby for directions, and then Mirabela would exit the vehicle to thank the person with a hug. While the victim was embraced, she allegedly unclasped the necklace and the pair drove away. The stolen items were gold necklaces valued between $2,000 and $3,000 each.
““Thanks to local partners in New York, these illegal aliens are in ICE custody and will be removed from our country… If it were up to sanctuary politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul, these criminals would be back on the streets to rob more Americans.””
$2,000–$3,000
Estimated value per stolen necklace
Police said most necklaces were gold and fell in this price range.
Omissions
No left‑ or centre‑rated outlets ran this story, so none reported the arrests or the alleged theft method.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 14 Oct 2026, 00:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to ICE
The Gateway Pundit — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
6 rated outlets
- All six right‑rated outlets reported the arrests, the multi‑state scope, and the hug‑and‑snatch method. The digests from wfmd.com, khbrknews, nytimespost.com and Fox News each led on the Department of Homeland Security’s nickname "Bonnie and Clyde" and noted the couple’s illegal‑immigrant status and ICE custody. VINnews, in its full report, detailed the victims, the $2,000 gold chain loss and quoted Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder warning residents not to accept hugs from strangers. The Gateway Pundit, also a full report, quoted DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticizing sanctuary politicians and emphasized the removal intent.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 100% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to… biased?
- Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to ICE is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Romanian couple arrested for multi‑state necklace thefts turned over to…?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When were the Romanian couple arrested?
- Police say the couple was arrested in early October, with one report giving the specific date of October 5th. After the arrest they were transferred to ICE for immigration proceedings.
- How many theft incidents are they linked to?
- Both full reports and the digests state that investigators linked the pair to at least 14 incidents across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland.
- What charges do they face?
- Each individual is charged with three counts of fourth‑degree grand larceny, reflecting the alleged theft of gold necklaces from senior victims.
- What did the Department of Homeland Security call the couple?
- DHS officials referred to the pair as "Bonnie and Clyde" in statements that appeared in the full reports and were echoed by the right‑leaning outlets.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
6- ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
- ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states (opens khbrknews in a new tab)
- ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- Romanian Couple Accused Of Multi-State Necklace Theft Spree Arrested And Turned Over To ICE (opens VINnews in a new tab)
- ICE Arrests Romanian ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Illegal Alien Couple After Hug-and-Snatch Necklace Spree Across Four States * The Gateway Pundit * by Cassandra MacDonald (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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