AUBURN - A Groton woman could receive up to six months in jail after she pleaded guilty to acting as a lookout for a tri-county burglary ring that targeted several local businesses last summer.

Juliana Salerno, 30, of 306 Elm St, admitted that she stayed in the car in order to warn her co-defendant, Daniel P. Samson, 24, of 123 Church St., Groton, if anyone showed up while he broke into a gate house at Long Point State Park on June 22.

Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said the pair have also been connected to burglaries at the Triangle Restaurant and Salmon Creek Sportsman Club, both in Cayuga County, in addition to several other thefts in Tompkins and Cortland counties.

The duo was caught by a special task force as they were attempting to burglarize a Buttermilk Falls State Park ticket booth in Ithaca on July 24.

The task force, which included the New York State Police and deputies from the Cayuga, Tompkins and Cortland county sheriffs offices, was created after those agencies realized their burglaries were connected, police said.

In exchange for the plea deal, Salerno will have to cooperate in the investigation against Samson, whose charges are still pending.

Salerno's guilty plea to felony burglary satisfied another burglary charge and two counts of misdemeanor petit larceny.

After Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone set bail at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond, he said he would release Salerno, who has a prior conviction for possessing methamphetamine, if she got into an inpatient treatment facility to deal with the underlying drug problem that caused her to participate in the crimes.

Also in court:

€ A man who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $55,000 from his employer will be required to pay $15,000 in restitution in addition to being placed on five years probation.

Budelmann said that while Robert Trumbull, 48, of 38 Logan St., Auburn, could not pay the full restitution, he would be required to pay for the insurance deductible that covered Oak Creek Apartments' losses.

Trumbull told the court that he used the business's computer to conceal the theft over a three-year period.

€ A local man pleaded guilty to hiding nearly 21 ounces of marijuana in his freezer.

Seth Greathouse, 27, of 33 Pine St., Auburn, admitted that he had the drug in his house when four officers from the Auburn Police Department arrived to execute a search warrant at his residence last November.

Greathouse is expecting to receive six months in the Cayuga County Jail and five years of probation when he is sentenced on Dec. 18.

The plea will satisfy two pending felony sale of marijuana charges.

€ An Aurora woman was sentenced to five years of probation and will be required to enroll into Auburn's drug court after she was sentenced for felony grand larceny and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

Tracey Mosher, 41, of 330 Ellis Point Road, Aurora, will also be required to pay nearly $103 in restitution for stealing and using a credit card she found while shopping at the Fingerlakes Mall.

€ A local man was sentenced to two years in prison for felony sex abuse and attempted sex abuse through forcible compulsion after he assaulted two children in their home.

Anthony Mosier, 20, of 137 North St. Apartment 3, had previously admitted that he used force to sexually abuse a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old in their home in April.

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net