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Hundreds Of Laptops Stolen In Pompano Warehouse Break In

POMPANO BEACH(CBS4) - The owner of a Pompano Beach business that exports laptop computers to more than 200 countries is offering a $10,000 reward after some burglars smashed holes in his company and stole more than 500 laptops.

"They're killing me," said Julius Kluger, the owner of USA Notebook. "I was going to retire next year. Now I don't know how I am going to operate without these laptops."

Kluger told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that he believes at least three burglars first broke in through the back door of an adjoining warehouse and then drove a truck inside and smashed three holes in his warehouse walls and took the laptops.

Showing D'Oench the holes in the walls, he said, "They came in here and left tire tracks and spent a few hours inside sometime after I left work at 6:30 Monday night. When I came in at 7 in the morning, the laptops were gone."

"They put up a ladder and went upstairs where I have 1200 laptops," he said. "The loss is more than $100,000, at least."

"We have 16 surveillance cameras but unfortunately they were deactivated because of work that was being done," Kluger said. "We've not been able find any surveillance tape yet in the area that is useful. I looked at one tape from another business but it didn't show anything."

"I have no hope that I will be able to recover the laptops and this is particularly hard because we have no insurance. We were not able to get insurance," he said.

"That's why I am offering a reward because money makes people talk," he said. "I am offering a $10,000 reward leading to arrests in this case."

Eva Kluger, who also is an owner of USA Notebook, said, "How dare they come in here and violate our business like this and do something like that."

With tears streaming down her face, she said, "It's just devastating. They nearly wiped us out. We came here to this location four years ago. We have been here 21 years. We are just trying to survive."

"I would just love it if someone would come forward," she said. "We are not a huge business. We are a family company. We are trying to make it with the economy the way it is."

The Klugers company is located at 1408 Southwest 13th Court in a small warehouse district.

If you can help the Broward Sheriff's Office with this case, call Broward Crimestoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477).

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