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January 9, 2008

Jewelry stolen from safe at Nortek CEO's home

PROVIDENCE -- Jewelry was reported stolen today from a safe at the East Side home of wealthy industrialist Richard L. Bready.

Bready is chairman and chief executive officer of Nortek, a manufacturing company that has its headquarters in Providence. Among its products are home security devices, including Keepsafer brand wireless security systems.

The police were called to Bready’s home at 280 Irving Ave. at about 3 a.m., where they were met by Cheryl A. Bready, his wife. Mrs. Bready told the officers that “a large amount of jewelry was missing” from a second-floor safe, according to a police report.

Maj. Stephen Campbell, commander of the police Investigative Division, declined to divulge an estimated value of the loss and said an inventory was still being done.

Mrs. Bready told the police that when she opened the safe to put away an article of jewelry, she discovered all of the jewelry trays in the safe were empty. But there was no sign of forced entry into the safe or into the house, the police said.

The last time she saw the jewelry in the safe was Christmas Day, when the trays were said to have been full. The Breadys went on vacation the next day, Dec. 26, and returned on Jan. 4, but Mrs. Bready said she did not have occasion to look inside the safe until shortly before 3 a.m. today.

While the couple was away, there were family members and other individuals in the house, so the burglar alarm was not activated, according to the police.

Asked how the investigation will proceed, under the circumstances, Campbell replied, “Detectives have been up there and we’re moving forward with the complainants.”

Because there is no indication of forced entry, the crime is being classified as a larceny rather than a break-in.

Mr. and Mrs. Bready are active in social and philanthropic circles; for example, they are leaders in Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education, an organization that offers private school scholarships and mentoring for children of a parent who is or has been incarcerated. And Mr. Bready is chairman of the Roger Williams University board of trustees.

The couple also invest in restaurants, one of which, 10 Prime Steak & Sushi, on Pine Street downtown, was robbed Sunday. Restaurant manager Kevin Kazarian reported that a ski-masked man wielding a knife stole about $8,000 and a bag of keys from the Ten Prime office safe, tied him up and escaped.

-- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 6:56 PM | Permalink

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