FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — The self-described “master thief” and New England Patriots fan convicted of stealing New York Giants Super Bowl rings in 2008 is back behind bars after a judge determined he had violated the terms of his probation, prosecutors said.
Sean Murphy, 58, was sentenced last week in Fall River Superior Court to 18 months in state prison for, among other things, allegedly posing as a homeless veteran and soliciting donations outside a supermarket for a fake veterans’ charity, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.
The judge also determined he had lied to his probation officer on multiple occasions about his whereabouts and place of residence, the DA’s office said.
According to media reports, Murphy was charged in Essex County with violating the state’s stolen valor law by dressing in camouflage shorts and Marine Corps T-shirt and collecting donations outside a Whole Foods in Swampscott in September 2021.
A clerk magistrate in Lynn District Court issued a criminal complaint Tuesday.
A message was left Wednesday with Murphy’s attorney, Frank Sanchez.
Murphy, described by authorities as a career criminal, was the leader of a group that disabled the alarm and cut a hole in the roof of the E.A. Dion Inc. jewelry company in Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 2008 and stole $2 million worth of gems, precious metals and Super Bowl Rings for the Giants, who had beaten the Patriots 17-14 in February 2008 to spoil the Patriots effort for an undefeated season. The rings were later recovered.
After years of delays, Murphy was convicted of the theft in December 2019 and sentenced to two years in prison and five years of probation, prosecutors said.
Murphy was also convicted of breaking into a Brink’s warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, in January 2009 and in 2012 received a 20-year sentence in that case, which was reduced on appeal.