Nassau County police arrested Larry Ellis, formerly of Chicago, Illinois, earlier this month in Hempstead after he unsuccessfully tried to use gift certificates he allegedly stole from a church in Connecticut. After a subsequent investigation, Ellis was charged with stealing from three Long Island churches, including St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Garden City, and was implicated in 25 others in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

According to police reports, Ellis broke into St. Joseph's in October through a basement window. He then broke the door of the principal's office in St. Joseph's School with a chair, ransacked the room and forced open a safe, causing $1,500 worth of damage. Ellis also allegedly stole stamps, $100 in petty cash and a Compaq laptop computer.

Additionally reports say Ellis also allegedly stole $500 in cash and jewelry from the rectory of Saint Bonifice in Sea Cliff and broke into the Parish School of St. Barnabus in Bellmore through an unlocked window, stealing camera equipment worth approximately $1,200.