Burglary suspect may have hidden stars' goods

[March 23, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Police suspect the alleged mastermind behind a rash of celebrity burglaries may have hidden a large amount of the stolen property with her father's help, court records show.

A search warrant affidavit filed earlier this year in Los Angeles seeks phone and Internet records that police said might help recover items stolen from numerous celebrities.

An affidavit filed in support of the warrant states that police believe Rachel J. Lee, who has been charged with some of the break-ins, and her father, David Lee, hid the items before their Las Vegas home was searched last year.

Authorities have identified Rachel Lee as the suspected mastermind of a string of burglaries at the homes of several stars, including Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Megan Fox.

Los Angeles Police Officer Brett Goodkin said Monday that there is a substantial amount of property stolen from the stars' homes that hasn't yet been recovered. He said the value could be up to $2 million.

Goodkin declined to elaborate on the details included in the search warrant or leads he may have received but said police are presenting evidence to prosecutors as needed.

Neither Rachel Lee or her father have been charged with hiding stolen property, court records in Los Angeles and Las Vegas show. Her attorney, Peter J. Korn, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

Attempts to find a phone listing for David Lee were unsuccessful.

Rachel Lee, 19, is one of six young adults accused of stealing millions in jewelry and luxury goods from the homes of stars such as Bloom, Lohan and Hilton, as well as others like Rachel Bilson and Ashley Tisdale. She has pleaded not guilty to three charges of felony burglary and two counts of receiving stolen property.

Goodkin said an investigation into the burglaries continues.

Officers searched the Lees' home in Las Vegas last year and turned up a fur coat and some photos belonging to Hilton. A neighbor told detectives that she saw David Lee and another man removing boxes from the house before police searched it, the warrant affidavit states.

Two of Rachel Lee's alleged accomplices, Nicholas Prugo and Alexis Neiers, told police that Rachel Lee and her father were to "get rid," of the stars' stolen property, the affidavit states.

The warrant was sought in January but was filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this month. Police recently searched Prugo's home in Calabasas, Calif., but records show no stolen property was recovered.

Prugo, who faces seven counts of felony burglary, told police that Rachel Lee was the mastermind of the burglaries. He told investigators that she would identify targets and that they would then research them on the Internet, according to search warrant filings in Las Vegas.

Neiers is scheduled to go on trial in April. Her arrest has been featured on an E! Entertainment Television reality show.

The rest of the defendants, including Rachel Lee, are due back in court in late April.

[Associated Press; By ANTHONY McCARTNEY]

Associated Press writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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