Monday, March 14, 2005

D.A. BROWN: MOTORCYCLE THEFT RING LEADER SENTENCED TO UP TO NINE YEARS IN PRISON; CO-LEADER ALONG WITH THEFT RING MEMBER -- NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTER -- PLEAD GUILTY; RING ALLEGEDLY STOLE EIGHTY-ONE MOTORCYCLES VALUED AT OVER $1.0 MILLION IN TRI-STATE REGION

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today a leader of a Queens-based motorcycle theft and fencing ring that stole 81 motorcycles valued at over $1.0 million from owners in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and also burglarized homes has been sentenced to up to nine years in prison. A second leader along with a member -- a New York City Firefighter -- have pled guilty to being part of the ring and also face prison sentences.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendants have admitted their guilt, waived appeal and acknowledged their involvement in an motorcycle theft and fencing ring based in Queens County that allegedly stole 81 motorcycles from owners and also burglarized homes. The prison sentences are more than warranted by the seriousness of the crimes.”

The District Attorney identified the defendants involved in today’s proceedings as:

-Christos Demetroules, 34, of 35-17 168th Street, Flushing, a leader. The defendant pled guilty on February 8, 2005 to Enterprise Corruption under New York State’s Organized Crime Control Act and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter who sentenced him earlier today to an indeterminate term of three years to nine years in prison. He admitted that he was a driving force in the ring and possessed at least three stolen motorcycle engines.

-Michael Kontos, 35, of 12-15 121st Street in College Point, Queens, a second leader. The defendant pled guilty earlier today to Enterprise Corruption with the understanding that he, too, would receive an indeterminate sentence on May 5, 2005 of from three years to nine years in prison. He admitted that he was a driving force in the ring and possessed at least three stolen motorcycle engines and possessed at least three stolen motorcycles.

-Eric Kohler, 32, of New York City, a New York City Firefighter. The defendant pled guilty earlier today to Enterprise Corruption. The defendant has agreed to also plead guilty to Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of Forgery Devices at sentencing on March 30, 2005 with the understanding that he would receive a sentence of from one and one-half years to four and one-half years in prison. He admitted that he was a member of the ring, possessed at least three stolen motorcycle engines and sold them over the Internet.

According to District Attorney Brown, two months ago, in January, the three defendants and 13 others were apprehended and accused of stealing to order scores of motorcycles including expensive Bourget, Big Dog, Yamaha and Suzuki models. It has been alleged that the stolen motorcycles were chopped and altered at garages in Queens County and the parts, including high-performance engines, sold over the Internet to purchasers, mainly Dwarf car racers, in the Mid-West, including Ohio, and California as well as to individuals in Italy, Spain and Australia.

The investigation began in March 2004 when a motorcycle owner residing in the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood, Queens reported to police that he recognized parts of his motorcycle, which had been stolen from the driveway next to his home, being offered for sale on e-Bay. The owner’s complaint was forwarded by the case detective to the NYPD’s Auto Crimes Division which launched a wider investigation in conjunction with the Queens District Attorney’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau and the New York State Insurance Department Insurance Frauds Bureau.

District Attorney Brown identified additional defendants who were employed by the ring as “steal men” and whose cases have previously been disposed as:

-Jose Hernandez, 32, 10-38 Bay 32nd Street in Bayswater who pled guilty on March 7, 2005 to Enterprise Corruption and Burglary in the Second Degree and will be sentenced on March 28, 2005 to an indeterminate term of from four and one-half years to nine years in prison;

-Adam Alvarez, 33, of 196 Kingsland Avenue in Brooklyn who pled guilty on January 6, 2005 to Attempted Enterprise Corruption and was sentenced to a conditional discharge;

-Gerard Beauchamp, 31, 260 Withers Street in Brooklyn who pled guilty on February 4, 2005 to Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree and was sentenced on February 28, 2005 to an indeterminate term of two years to four years in prison;

-Philip Serrano, 30, 51 Hendrickson Avenue in Elmont, New York who pled guilty to Attempted Enterprise Corruption on February 7, 2005 and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. The defendants were employed by the ring as “steal men”.

Defendant Eric Nieves, 31, of 44 Newell Street in Brooklyn pled guilty on March 9, 2005 to Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree and received a sentence of time served and five years probation.

The other defendants have been variously charged with Enterprise Corruption, Burglary in the Second and Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree and Fourth Degree, Forgery of VIN and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree and cases are pending in Queens Supreme Court. The defendants charged with Enterprise Corruption face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

The investigation, which included the use of sophisticated court authorized electronic surveillance, was conducted in cooperation with the NYPD’s Computer Crimes Squad, Police Departments in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Los Angeles, Sacramento, State Police in Columbus County, Ohio, the District Attorney’s offices in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and with the assistance of Forward Air, Incorporated, a shipping company based in Groveport, Ohio.

According to the District Attorney, the criminal enterprise consisted of fences, locators and “steal men” who stole motorcycles from the street and from private homes and drove or hauled them by van back to garages at 70-17 Main Street and 43-16 194th Street in Flushing and 7-15 154th Street in Whitestone. At the garages, it has been alleged, the stolen motorcycles were chopped up, identifying numbers on the parts altered, the parts photographed for Internet sale and then packaged for shipment to purchasers, chiefly Dwarf car enthusiasts, in Columbus, Ohio and Sacramento and Los Angeles in California, as well as to individuals in Italy, Spain and Australia.

Defendants Demetroules, Kontos and Kohler, admitted fences, along with another alleged fence determined which motorcycle models were marketable over the Internet and directed the “steal men” to obtain them and deliver them to specified locations. The “steal men” would then allegedly spot motorcycles around the tri-state area, copy their license plate numbers, or receive the license plate numbers from Demetroules or Kontos, obtain from insurance brokers for a $15 fee the owner’s name and home address and then go to the owner’s residence and steal the motorcycle.

It has been alleged that the “steal men” would sell the stolen motorcycles to the fences for up to $2,500 each and that the fences would sell the engines alone for up to $2,500 and other motorcycle parts for up to $5,000.

Among the motorcycles allegedly stolen by the ring were:

-a 2003 Suzuki motorcycle valued at $9,000 reported stolen on June 27, 2004 in Virginia Beach, Virginia by its owner, a United States Navy Petty Officer Second Class;

-a 2003 GSXR 1000 motorcycle valued at $10,000 reported stolen on October 12, 2004 from a private home in Suffolk County by its owner, a United States Army Staff Sergeant;

-a 2004 Harley Davidson “Fat Boy” motorcycle valued at $25,000 reported stolen on September 22, 2004 from a private home in Flushing by its owner, an attorney.

Detectives executed eight court-authorized search warrants on October 20 and 21, 2004 at the garages in Flushing and Whitestone and the homes of Demetroules, Kohler, Kontos and Fili and recovered $169,000 in cash, several computers allegedly containing records of the ring’s Internet sales transactions and numerous stolen motorcycles, stolen motorcycle engines and other parts, two stolen automobiles as well as tools used to dismantle vehicles and alter their identifying numbers.

Additionally, NYPD Auto Crime Division detectives coordinated with investigators in Ohio and California the execution of 15 “sneak and peak” search warrants. The warrants allowed law enforcement officers to covertly open packages containing stolen engines shipped by the alleged fences, photograph the engines and their identifying numbers, reseal the packages and forward them to their intended destinations, enabling the investigation to continue.

District Attorney Brown noted that Dwarf cars are modeled after cars manufactured circa 1948, are approximately six feet long and five feet wide and are powered by motorcycle engines. They cost about $10,000 to build and are used for oval track racing, popular throughout rural America. Government does not regulate ownership and operation of Dwarf cars, and so they are not subject to annual safety inspection or other government scrutiny, making them a lucrative outlet for stolen motorcycle engines.

District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to the Police Departments of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the State Police in Columbus County, Ohio, including Detectives Martin Malone, Joseph Donovan, Christopher Britt and Jeffrey Skinner, the Los Angeles Police Department, including Detective Michael Binford, the Sacramento Police Department, including Detective Darin Reese, Nassau County District Attorney Denis E. Dillon and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and their respective offices, the New York State Insurance Department Insurance Frauds Bureau, e-Bay, Yamaha and Forward Air, Incorporated for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.

The investigation was conducted by Detectives Michael McMahon, Kenneth Destefano and David Moore of the NYPD Auto Crime Division under the supervision of Sergeant George Nash and Lieutenant Gene Borelli and the overall supervision of Captain Michael Byrne, Deputy Inspector Howard Lawrence and Organized Crime Control Chief Douglas Zeigler; and Detectives Richard Sullivan and Dominick Franzo of the NYPD’s Computer Crimes Squad under the supervision of Lieutenant Juan Otero and the overall supervision of Chief Jeremiah Quinlan.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Peri Alyse Kadanoff, Chief, Auto Crime and Insurance Frauds Unit, and Ishak David Akyuz of the District Attorney’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Gerard A. Brave, Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Marc P. Resnick, Deputy Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
#

Note to Editors: Press release e-version posted at www.queensda.org).