Aug. 5--A group of thieves thought it had the perfect plan: steal DVDs from stores in Central Florida and resell them on eBay.

But agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested three people yesterday as part of a long-term investigation into the theft ring.

The group is thought to have stolen more than $1 million in Blu-ray DVDs. Agents from the FDLE Orlando Regional Operations Center's Economic Crime Squad think the ring had been stealing DVDs since 2005.

Gregory Marinitz, 41, was charged with dealing in stolen property, organized scheme to defraud and dealing in stolen property by use of the Internet. He grossed about $300,000 in 2008 from eBay sales of the stolen DVDs. The investigation began in April 2008 when FDLE assisted with the recovery of $150,000 in DVDs from Marinitz's home after a request from the loss-prevention department of Borders Group, which operates book stores, according to Kristen Perezluha, an FDLE spokeswoman.

Marinitz was taken to the Orange County Jail on Tuesday on $10,000 bond.

Two other suspects, James Davidson, 37, and Tina Pallay, 35, were charged with organized scheme to defraud. Davidson had been jailed on unrelated charged in the Osceola County Jail, and Pallay was taken to the Orange County Jail.

The crew used shopping bags lined with a material that would trick anti-theft sensors in retail stores to steal the DVDs, according to FDLE.

The investigation is ongoing.

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