Burglary victim files $3M civil suit

More than $200,000 in property such as bonds, cash, electronics, jewelry and family heirlooms were stolen from Helene Berman’s condominium in August 2006, according to documents filed in the lawsuit.

Brothers Timothy James Denzel, 30, and Jaime Cowger Denzel, 23, are serving time for their role in the burglary. The older brother, who is also charged in connection with an Olde Towne bank robbery, was sentenced last month to eight years with all but 15 months suspended for conspiracy to commit theft over $500. The younger brother pleaded guilty to first degree burglary in January, according to an online court database.

Renee Sandler, attorney for Timothy Denzel, said she hadn’t been served with the lawsuit, but said it ‘‘is absolutely frivolous.”

‘‘Timothy Denzel did not reside in that condominium association,” she said Tuesday. ‘‘There’s absolutely no basis they make allegations against Timothy Denzel.”

Barry Leibowitz, Berman’s attorney in Wheaton, asserts that Jaime Denzel had access to Berman’s home because his mother, Susan Denzel, was president of Kentlands V Condominium Association, and employed him to perform plumbing maintenance in homes at the complex. Susan Denzel is named in the lawsuit.

Their father, Walter Denzel also was employed at the complex and was named in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

The Association and management company Main Street Property Management Inc. of Gaithersburg were negligent in approving access to men with criminal histories without notifying the homeowners, and without providing appropriate supervision, Leibowitz said.

Timothy and Jaime Denzel were on probation for armed robbery prior to the August 2006 burglary, according to court records.

‘‘This is an example of what happens when people don’t get background checks and when somebody is trying to enlist other condo unit owners to provide access without all the facts,” Leibowitz said in an interview Monday.

Main Street President Jeff Kivitz said by phone Tuesday they had not been served with the civil case and declined to comment.

A man who identified himself by phone as Walter Denzel on Tuesday deferred comment to his Rockville attorney, Steven Kupferberg. Kupferberg could not be reached for comment.