Loyal Enterprise reader helps nab jewel robber



GUILDERLAND — A faithful Altamont Enterprise reader in North Carolina helped Raleigh police identify a serial jewelry thief.

Ells Probst, who retired from the New York State Bureau of Criminal Investigation and used to live in Altamont, read a Dec. 8 article in The Enterprise about a jewelry theft.

The article, written by reporter Nicole Fay Barr, described a larceny of two diamond rings, worth $45,000, at the Northeastern Fine Jewelry store on Western Avenue. Fay Barr took a photograph of surveillance camera footage, which showed a suspect asking for directions at a local gas station, to run with her story.

From that photo, Probst made the connection between the Guilderland larcenies and the man Raleigh police were looking for, who committed very similar thefts.
"All I did was call the police"Boy, it’s making some big waves right now," Probst told The Enterprise this week.

Probst said he called the police in Raleigh and told them about the jewelry thefts in Guilderland and said they might be looking for the same person. Raleigh detectives then called police in New York and Boston, discovering they were all looking for the same man: 51-year-old Carl J. DiNatale.
"They only had a composite (of DiNatale). I called them up and told them the Guilderland police have a photograph," Probst said. "Of course, the Guilderland police always do a good job."

Public information officer, Jim Sughrue, of the Raleigh Police Department, contacted The Enterprise last week, saying that Probst and Fay Barr’s article played a key role in identifying DiNatale, who is still at large.
"He’s not a young guy anymore, it’s going to be harder and harder for him to outrun people," Probst said about DiNatale.

Probst, who was modest about his role in the case, said that he has garnered quite a bit of media attention after an article about his discovery ran in The News & Observer in his new hometown of Wilmington, N.C.
"One radio station designated me as an official police expert"I really fail to see what everyone’s so excited about," Probst said. "I’ll make an anonymous phone call next time!"

No stranger to the Capital District, Probst retired from the state BCI in 1982 and then opened a private investigators firm in Voorheesville. His wife, Edie, is also a former town clerk for New Scotland. The couple moved to Wilmington in 1998 and enjoy their new home.
"I go fishing every day and golf every day. I don’t know why I didn’t retire years ago," said Probst. "Next week, the Spanish mackerel will be coming in, and life is worth living again."
When asked why he continues to subscribe to a New York newspaper, Probst said "I still do some deer hunting up there; it’s nice to keep up with the local news."

He added that he also reads The Enterprise to keep up with wedding announcements and obituaries. "It’s embarrassing if someone passes away and I ask a family member how they’re doing," said Probst.