January 14, 1999

TWO SELF-PROCLAIMED GRIFTERS ARRESTED FOR POSING AS MERRILL LYNCH EMPLOYEES IN ORDER TO DEFRAUD ELDERLY SUNNYSIDE RESIDENT OF MORE THAN $300,000 IN STOCKS AND SAVINGS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced the arrest of two self-proclaimed grifters who posed as Merrill Lynch employees in order to defraud an elderly Sunnyside resident of more than $300,000 in savings and stock account monies.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Diane Miller, 52, of 147-14 14th Street, Astoria and Michael Sambello, 27, of 146-03 Reeves Avenue, Flushing. They have been charged with grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree and criminal impersonation in the second degree. They face up to 15 years in prison in the event of their conviction.

District Attorney Brown said, "It is alleged that the two defendants on two separate occasions posed as Merrill Lynch employees and urged the victim to sell certain stocks in his account in order to invest in other stocks that were doing better in the market. As a result of his conversations with the defendants, it is alleged, the victim withdrew in excess of $150,000 from his bank account in checks made out to Merrill Lynch and gave the checks to the defendants. On the second occasion he withdrew $137,000 and $76,000, respectively, from his Merrill Lynch stock account with the checks to be mailed to his residence. It is further alleged that the two defendants came to his residence, stole his mailbox key and took the checks from the victim's box. The victim's family became worried when they learned that the victim was not receiving his mail and after learning that he had withdrawn all of his savings from his Merrill Lynch account, the family notified the police. Upon being contacted by the defendants, the victim, with the help of the police, arranged to meet them in a parking lot so he could endorse the check for $76,000 that they allegedly stole from his mailbox. The defendants were arrested at the site."

District Attorney Brown said, "The defendants were caught due to the concern of the victim's family and the through work of Detectives Thomas Hickey and Karleen Torres of the NYPD, under the supervision of Inspector Paul Amundson, Detectives Bureau, Borough of Queens and U.S. Postal Inspector Patrick Shea under the supervision of Leonard Kennedy, Postal Inspector Supervisor, Queens."

Assistant District Attorney Krystallo Halikiopoulos-Hoffman of the District Attorney's Economic Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael J. Mansfield and Deputy Bureau Chief John R. Mechmann and under the overall supervision of Robert D. Alexander, Executive Assistant District Attorney, is in charge of the case.

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