SUMMIT TWP — A township man is accused of soliciting a Butler couple — both living on disability insurance — to break into a shed belonging to his niece and steal a safe containing tens of thousands of dollars.

The loot, pilfered in July, was used for gambling, and purchasing motorcycles and heroin, state police said.

When troopers Monday arrested Carl E. Collins, 52, and his wife, Kathy D. Collins, 42, they found him carrying about $7,000 and she had nearly $15,000 in her purse.

Husband and wife are in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail each. Their alleged accomplice, Charles E. Feitl, 52, is still being sought on an arrest warrant.

Police began investigating the case July 29, when Desiree Feitl reported a burglary at the home on Freeport Road in Summit Township.

She does not live there, investigators said, but she owns a plastic shed on the property, where Charles Feitl had been living with his mother.

It appeared a cutting instrument had been used to break into the rear of the shed, and a safe and a lock box were stolen. Police believe the safe contained about $30,000 as well as jewelry worth another $5,000.

A full story appears in Thursday's Butler Eagle.