Missing bronze doors turn up at salvage yard; woman charged

By William T. Clew
The Catholic Free Press

    HOPEDALE - Four of six bronze and glass doors stolen from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church have been recovered and a Milford woman charged in the theft has pleaded not guilty in Milford District Court, according to a statement of facts filed by police.
    Christina Trifiro, 39, of Iadarola Ave., Milford, was arrested last week. She was charged with one count of larceny of more than $250 and two counts of of receiving stolen property. She was released on $500 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 3.
    The doors, valued at about $3,000 each, had been replaced during renovations at the church last July and placed behind a garage on church property, according to the statement. Church staff discovered that they were missing and Father William C. Konicki, pastor, notified police of the theft on Sept. 19.
    The statement of facts show that Detective Robert Doyon, investigating officer, made calls beginning Sept. 20 to scrap and salvage companies in the area. An employee at Sims Metal Management, Worcester, returned his call and said a woman had sold the doors, one at a time, from Aug 22 to Sept. 8, and received payments ranging from $222.40 to $584. 80 per door.
    According to the statement, receipts provided to police by Sims Metal Management show that the woman was paid $222.40 on Aug. 22; $280.56 on Aug. 30; $578 on Sept. 7 and $584.80 on Sept. 8. The salvage company employee also provided police with the registration number of the vehicle that was used to drop off the doors.
    The four doors will be returned to the church. The other two doors have not yet been found.
    Father Konicki said that the doors were stored between a fence and the garage. He said they were hard to see there and it would take four people to lift one door.
    “You would have to know they were there,” he said. People walk through the property with their dogs, he said, “but they are all our neighbors.”
    He said the doors were installed in 1965. The parish was having some trouble with the doors and they could not be repaired. He said the architect and contractor who were doing renovations at the church estimated that the doors were valued at $3,000 each as recycled material. He said they advised that the parish hang on to the doors while they looked for someone interested in refurbishing the doors. Then they could be sold at a higher price.
    “So we waited,” Father Konicki said. “When I noticed they were gone, I emailed them both and asked, ‘Where are the doors?’”
    He then reported the theft to the Hopedale police who, he said, “did a great job” finding them.
    The bronze and glass doors were replaced during the renovation with mahogany doors. The parish also renovated the sanctuary making it handicapped-accessible, put in two handicapped-accessible bathrooms, created a music area and installed audio-visual screens in the church for the projection of the day’s readings and music for Mass.