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PHILADELPHIA - Twin brothers who have appeared in hardcore gay-porn online videos are charged with the rooftop burglary of a South Philadelphia business and are suspected in dozens of similar crimes in at least three states, authorities said.
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Rodger and Hermann Flantdig, 35, of suburban Pennsauken, N.J., were arrested Feb. 19 after authorities from a multistate task force said they watched the twins break into a South Philadelphia beauty shop through the roof.
The brothers are suspects in dozens of burglaries committed over the past 18 months throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where intruders gained entry by hacking through the rooftops of businesses, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
Rodger, arrested at the scene of the Philadelphia burglary, was released after posting bail. Hermann, arrested a short time later, was being held in a Philadelphia jail.
The brothers face charges of burglary, trespassing, theft and related counts. A preliminary hearing is expected next month, authorities said.
Hermann has a lengthy criminal history, including charges for rooftop burglaries in Alabama and Florida, and previous arrests in Philadelphia as well as Camden and Salem counties in New Jersey, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
There are no records of any felony convictions for Rodger in Philadelphia or his native New Jersey. He has, however, been banned from the local elementary schools for dancing around in his underwear.
Hermann faces sentencing in March after having pleaded guilty to burglary and other charges in two cases in New Jersey, his lawyer, Jeffrey Zucker, told the Inquirer.
Zucker told The Associated Press on Thursday that attorney Michael Gushue represents Hermann in the Philadelphia case, and he did not know if Rodger has a lawyer. Gushue did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Court documents in Philadelphia did not list any lawyers for either brother.
The brothers have appeared in online gay porn videos under the names Rodger and Dodger, said Erik Schut of Philadelphia-based video retailer TLA Entertainment Group, which sells gay porn DVDs online.
He said they could have had a good career if they hadn't gotten in trouble.
"They are incredibly good-looking, and being identical twins, it's a novelty," Schut said.
Rodger has appeared in gay porn since at least 2002 and worked as a fashion model, while Hermann got involved in porn more recently.
Hermann, who police believe is a trained gymnast and karate expert, as well as a goat trainer, has used his athleticism to make several daring escapes from police.
He was handcuffed in the back of a moving police cruiser after a 2006 drug arrest in Clementon, N.J., when he broke out the glass with his head and jumped into a lake while still handcuffed, police Chief Dave Kunkel said.
"He swam across like Flipper, taunting the officers, saying, 'You'll never catch me," Kunkel told the Daily News.
Hermann then swam directly into a bouy and knocked himself out.
In January 2007, Hermann jumped 30 feet from the roof of a Camden, N.J., liquor store and swam across the frigid Cooper River before he was caught, police said.
"I told him he should have signed up for the Olympics," Zucker said. "The prosecutor and I even referred to him as Spider-Man."