Police say a group of security guards from an Orange County mall stole from the same stores they were paid to protect.

Cops say the security guards at the Galleria Mall in the town of Wallkill stole at night after the mall closed. They say the thefts had been going on for months, but the guards covered it up before it could get to police.

?The people the complaints were being made to were the members of the security department,? says Lt. Brian Shortall, of the New York State Police. ?The stores reported it to them and as such we would not be notified.?

The alleged spree ended Sunday when the security guards, 36-year-old Jorge Irizzary, of New Jersey, 21-year-old Ruben Ramos, of Middletown, and 21-year-old Daniel Loeb, of Sparrowbush, were connected to a burglary at the Blue Ribbon Sports store after managers called police.

?It wasn't until they contacted us [that] we became aware the thefts were taking place,? Shortall says.

Police say the men, who were employed by Pyramid Security, had been stealing from a number stores and kiosks inside Galleria Mall since November 2007. According to cops, the men also stole GPS devices from cars parked in the mall?s lots and even tried to rob a safe of $30,000 on Christmas night.

Two of the accused guards are in Orange County Jail on $2,000 bail. The other suspect has been released. All three are due back in court later this month.