June 24,1998

OWNER AND EMPLOYEE AT ASTORIA ELECTRONICS STORES ARRESTED FOR DEALING IN STOLEN GOODS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that an owner and an employee at two Astoria electronics stores have been arrested for purchasing what they believed was stolen property in an undercover sting operation.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Zbigniew Kowalowka, 33,. of MTZ Electronics, 31-21 Ditmars Boulevard and Yasha Mirzakandov, 49, of Video Time at 49-17 30th Avenue both in Astoria. Mirzakandov has been charged with failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first degree and three counts of attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree Kowalowka has been charged with three counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree.

District Attorney Brown said that according to the allegations, on June 18 an undercover police officer entered Video Time and offered to sell to the owner, Mirzakandov a portable phone and a VCR, telling him that he had just stolen the property. The defendant allegedly indicated an interest in the phone and purchased it for five dollars. Police from the 114th Precinct then entered the store with a search warrant and in addition to the phone,. they allegedly recovered a camera, VCR, and a Watchman T.V. sold to the owner on prior occasions by undercover detectives. In the course of the search, the detectives noticed that the videos on the shelves did not look like the type they normally see. A representative for the Motion Picture Association of America was called and examined 120 tapes and found that all were allegedly unauthorized reproductions. More illegal or bootleg tapes were allegedly discovered, filling up 149 garbage bags. Also found, according to the charges, concealed in video cassette boxes was $10,514 in cash.

Similar charges have been filed against the defendant Kowalowka who was employed at MTZ Electronics. On June 22, an undercover police officer allegedly brought a VCR to Kowalowka, told him it was stolen property and the defendant allegedly purchased it for $25. With the aid of a search warrant, police went into MTZ Electronics and recovered the VCR along with a second video cassette recorder which had allegedly been sold to the defendant previously. A third item which had allegedly been sold to the defendant earlier has yet to be recovered.

Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Connelly, of the Civil Enforcement Bureau under the overall supervision of Anthony M. Communiello, is in charge of the case.

It is to be noted that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.