Monroeville police were searching for suspects in a break-in at the district office of Democratic state Rep. Joseph Markosek.
Mr. Markosek said that overnight Tuesday, someone unhooked and moved three desktop computers at his office at the Commerce Building in the 4200 block of Northern Pike. Police dusted the office for fingerprints and searched for other evidence Wednesday morning.
“I was shocked, obviously,” Mr. Markosek said in a telephone interview from Harrisburg. “I’ve been in that building since 1987, and it’s been great. It’s a wonderful place to work.”
The building is three stories tall, and Mr. Markosek’s suite is on the top floor.
He said the break-in apparently occurred after someone put a picnic table on end behind the building and climbed in through a window. Because the ground slopes, the rear window is only two stories high.
Police were trying to determine when the break-in occurred. The office typically closes about 4:30 p.m. Mr. Markosek said there is a cleaning service that enters the office at night.
Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole said the break-in appeared to be no more than “a typical business burglary. Some things were moved around, but we don’t know yet whether anything is missing.”
“There was some disarray in the office,” Mr. Markosek said. “Apparently they broke into a couple of locked drawers that I have, although at this point in time I do not know what, if anything, was actually removed from those drawers.”
IT staffers from the House Democratic caucus who hooked the computers back up and analyzed them for data breaches found no signs of tampering.
“We have no indication that any information on the computers had been compromised,” Stephanie Weyant, Rep. Markosek’s spokeswoman, said Wednesday evening. “We were very concerned.”
The legislator is due in the district today to determine whether anything was stolen, though Ms. Weyant said nothing appears to be missing.
He said he did not know why his office was targeted.
“I have no idea. I’d hate to presume even why. I guess we can all make presumptions about merchandise to steal and resell,” he said. “The stuff in my drawers and my computer would be pretty boring.”
Jonathan D. Silver: jsilver@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 13, 2015, 1:05 p.m.
Updated: May 14, 2015, 3:17 a.m.
