VIDEO: Police searching for suspects in Marengo, Union burglaries targeting gambling machines

Clasen’s Tavern, one of three businesses hit, offering $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests

Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two people who are thought to have burglarized two businesses in Marengo and one in Union while targeting gambling machines Saturday morning.

Miss Kitty’s Saloon on East Grant Highway and La’s Cafe on Telegraph Street, both in Marengo, as well as Clasen’s Tavern on Depot Street in Union, were broken into Saturday and the crimes are thought to be related, Marengo police said in a news release.

“There was money taken from the machine, as well as the establishment,” said Lindsey Spatafora, one of the owners of Clasen’s. “It’s more than just the tangible things that were taken. It’s the sense of security they take from people and small businesses. Our partners, we own multiple locations across northern Illinois, and we’ve never dealt with anything like this. It is shocking it happens in the places that you least expect.”

Clasen’s Tavern on Facebook said it was offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads police to arresting the two individuals that hit the business.

The tavern said the burglary occurred about 5 a.m., and the Marengo Police Department said in the release it happened around the same time as the two Marengo burglaries.

Marengo police said on Facebook they think the two people involved are a man and a woman. Images of them caught by security cameras were shared by police.

Video from Clasen’s Tavern shows one suspect using tools to pry gambling machines open while another stands by with a bag.

Anyone with any information on these crimes is asked to contact the Marengo Police Department at 815-568-7231 or the McHenry County Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-762-STOP (7867).