for immediate release contact - Queens County District Attorney

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
QUEENS COUNTY
125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568
718-286-6000
Release # 139-2011
www.queensda.org
RICHARD A. BROWN
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: PRESS OFFICE
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011 (718) 286-6315
TWO INDICTED FOR SERIES OF COMMERCIAL BREAK-INS
IN QUEENS AND BROOKLYN
Allegedly Caught With Over 1,000 Stolen Lottery Tickets; Face Up To 49 years If Convicted
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that two men have been
indicted for seven break-ins of commercial businesses in Queens and Brooklyn over a four-month
period between 2010 and 2011 in which, among other property, thousands of dollars in cash and
New York State Lottery tickets were taken.
District Attorney Brown said, “The defendants are accused of brazenly committing a pattern
of burglaries involving small mom and pop businesses in two counties. Small business owners – like
everyone else – are struggling during the economic downturn and don’t need to worry about losing
revenue while awaiting repair of broken locks and windows. The defendants must be held
accountable for their actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendants as David Arroyo, 38, of 93 North Park
Avenue, North Babylon, Long Island, and Diego Ercoli, 38, of 37-03 95 th Street, Corona, Queens.
The two defendants were arraignment today before Queens Supreme Court Justice Fernando
L. Camacho on an 18-count indictment charging them with seven counts of third-degree burglary,
three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, three counts of third-degree criminal mischief, three
counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, one count of third-degree criminal
possession of stolen property and one count of possession of burglar’s tools. The defendants, who
were ordered to return to court on September 22, 2011, each face up to forty-nine years in prison if
convicted. Arroyo and Ercoli have been held in jail in lieu of $30,000 and $15,000 bail, respectively,
since their arrest in March 2011.
District Attorney Brown said that, according to the indictment, Arroyo and Ercoli broke into
seven businesses in Queens and Brooklyn between December 2010 and March 2011, that ranged
from ninety-nine cents stores and delicatessens to a live poultry shop and a day care center and stole
property, including cash and lottery tickets. In one instance, the two defendants allegedly broke into
99 Cent Collection, Inc., located at 25-71 Steinway Street in Astoria sometime between 9:50 p.m.
on January 18, 2011, and 10:30 a.m. on January 19, 2011, and stole various items – including $7,850
worth of New York State Lottery tickets. They are also alleged to have broken into Elf Day Care,
located at 550 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, between 6:00 p.m. on March 9, 2011, and 7:30 a.m. on
March 10, 2011, and stole $4,000 in cash, among other property.
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District Attorney Brown said that, according to the indictments, the other businesses that
were allegedly broken into include: Wins Café located at 7206 New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn;
Temal 99 Cent & Up located at 132-07 120 th Avenue in Queens; Henry’s Deli located at 2921
Avenue S in Brooklyn; K&B Live Poultry located at 127-15 Rockaway Boulevard in Queens; and
Ukraina, a delicatessen located at 1214 Avenue J in Brooklyn.
The two defendants were summarily arrested on March 11, 2011, by officers assigned to the
New York City Police Department’s Queens North Anti-Crime Unit’s Burglary Larceny
Apprehension Suppression Team (BLAST) that investigates ongoing patterns of residential and
commercial burglaries. At the time of their arrest, the defendants were allegedly found to be in
possession of more than 1,000 stolen lottery tickets, burglar’s tools and the addresses of two of the
Brooklyn burglary locations.
The investigation was conducted by Police Officer Gianfranco Mezzoiuso, of the New York
Police Department’s Patrol Borough Queens North Anti-Crime Unit, under the supervision of
Captain Michael Amiri, Lieutenant Robert Rattigan and Sergeant Joseph Tarsio, and under the
overall supervision of Assistant Chief Diana L. Pizzuti, Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough
Queens North. The New York State Lottery also assisted in the investigation.
Assistant District Attorney Marnie B. Lobel, of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings
Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M.
Communiello, Bureau Chief, and Oscar W. Ruiz, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision
of Executive Assistant District Attorney of the Investigations Division Peter A. Crusco and Deputy
Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is
presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Note to Editors: An e-version of this press release is posted on the QDA website at www.queensda.org.