Today In History: Watergate Break-In

Early on June 17, 1972, burglars tied to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign were caught breaking into Democratic headquarters at the Watergate office building in Washington. They were trying to replace a faulty telephone bugging device installed during an earlier break-in.

The Associated Press filed this report on the burglary:

Five men were arrested Saturday as they attempted to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, police reported.

Police described the men as "a professional ring" and said nothing was stolen. The police said they were at a loss of why the men would pick such a target unless they were searching for documents.

Seized with them were an assortment of lock picks and other burglary tools.

The five being held for a U.S. magistrate's hearing later in the day were identified tentatively as residents of Miami, Fla. Police listed them as Raul Godoy, Gene Valdez, Edward Martin, Edward Hamilton and Frank Carter.

Police said a security guard heard noises near the locked Democratic headquarters at 1:30 a.m. and called police to a swank apartment complex next to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Police arrested the five and a complaint was filed by Stanley L. Greigg, 40, a former Iowa congressman who is now assistant chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

A security guard at the building said the burglary evidently was preplanned. He said a tape had been placed over a lock to keep a door accessible to the stairwell that leads directly to the headquarters.

The burglary and resulting cover-up ultimately led to Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, under threat of impeachment.

By CBS.com Associate Producer Joshua Platt and Coordinating Producer Andre Rodriguez