A man previously accused of stealing thousands of dollars in gold from a Rockville coin shop is now wanted in Maine after allegedly using a cash-switching ruse to steal an $8000 piece of gold artwork.
According to the Wiscasset Police Department, Mircea Lucaci, 35, of Woodside, New York, and Maria Rostas, 49, of Flushing, New York, came into Ingram Fine Arts in Wiscasset on August 9 and inquired about gold pieces. The pair chose an $8,000 piece of gold artwork and negotiated a lower purchasing price.
Police stated the suspects counted out $100 bills, but when the store owner’s attention was diverted, they allegedly replaced the money with a stack mostly made up of $1 bills buried beneath a $100 bill.
Investigators gathered surveillance footage and shared images of the suspects with law enforcement agencies around the country. Lucaci and Rostas were identified by authorities with assistance from agencies in Maine, Virginia, and Florida. Both apparently have outstanding arrest warrants in numerous states for similar theft-related acts, and officials believe they are linked to a Romanian gold theft ring.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Lucaci and Rostas for stealing by fraud.
Lucaci had already faced identical charges in Montgomery County. According to a 2023 NBC Washington report, Lucaci was arrested in Texas and brought to Rockville after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars during a transaction at Congressional Jewelry and Coin on Rockville Pike.
According to court documents published by NBC Washington, a man identified as “Lopez” dropped $8,400 on an employee’s desk in order to purchase 4.5 ounces of gold coins. While the employee went to fetch the gold, a surveillance camera allegedly captured the man taking $5,000 of the cash and placing it in his pocket before exiting the store.
According to NBC Washington, Lucaci also used the nicknames Lopez and Rostas, and investigators at the time classified him as a Romanian native implicated in a number of gold coin robberies around the world. According to the article, Lucaci was arrested in Lubbock, Texas, and extradited to Rockville, where he was released hours later on a percentage bond after posting $350 cash.
The Wiscasset Police Department stated that additional charges in the current investigation are possible. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 207-882-8202.
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