Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Long Island City man was indicted on grand larceny and other charges for two 2022 commercial thefts in which the defendant allegedly burglarized Plainview businesses and stole a total of more than $500,000 in merchandise and currency.
John Cipolla, 50, was arraigned yesterday before Judge Robert Schwartz and charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a C felony); four counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a D felony); four counts of Burglary in the Third Degree (a D felony); two counts of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree (a C felony); Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree (a D felony); Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (an E felony); four counts of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree (an A misdemeanor); and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree (an A misdemeanor).
The defendant pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $1 million cash, $2 million bond, and $4 million partially secured bond. As an eligible persistent felony offender, the defendant faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is due back in court on December 1, 2023.
“Over the course of three months, this defendant allegedly engaged in two conspiracies that netted him more than $500,000 in electronic merchandise and quarters,” said DA Donnelly. “The defendant allegedly stole box trucks from an area business and used them to haul away the proceeds of his theft to storage facilities in Queens. I thank the Nassau County Police Department’s Burglary Pattern Squad for their concerted investigative efforts that led to this indictment.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, on July 31, 2022, at approximately 9:42 p.m., the defendant and other unidentified individuals, allegedly entered ADI Global Distribution located at 101 Fairchild Avenue in Plainview, disabled an alarm system, and stole $285,000 worth of electronics.
In another separate criminal conspiracy, on October 22, 2022, at approximately 8:33 p.m., Cipolla and co-defendant Jose De La Cruz, of Ozone Park, Queens, allegedly broke into a Nassau County Auxiliary Police booth at 831 Hempstead Avenue in Hempstead and stole two police radios. Just a half hour later, Cipolla, De La Cruz, and unknown others allegedly met at a Home Depot parking lot on Jericho Turnpike and communicated with one another.
Later that evening, Cipolla and another unknown individual allegedly stole two U-Haul Trucks from a U-Haul at 121 Jericho Turnpike. Cipolla and De La Cruz then allegedly met at a Brinks location at 100 Commercial Street in Plainview where they stole approximately $250,000 in quarters from the location. Cipolla and De La Cruz allegedly transported the stolen currency from Nassau County in the U-Haul vehicles to storage units located in Queens.
Cipolla was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department and New York City Police Department in Queens on July 6, 2023.
De La Cruz, 49, was arrested by NCPD in Glen Cove on July 6, 2023. He is awaiting arraignment on the indictment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Travis Puckett of the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau. Cipolla is represented by Dennis Lemke, Esq. De La Cruz is represented by Joseph Terino, Esq.
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.