| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that two men pleaded guilty today to conspiring in a $1.5 million series of thefts involving tractor-trailers loaded with cargo, including clothing, beauty products, auto parts and beer, which the defendants stole and fenced. Seven men pleaded guilty previously to taking part in the theft ring, which operated in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
A total of 12 men were charged in a June 4, 2015 indictment stemming from Operation Midnight Run, a long-term investigation by the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit, the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Border Enforcement Security Task Force.
Each of these defendants pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge James J. Guida in Bergen County:
- Yoanny Justiz, 32, of North Bergen, N.J., pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy, and
- Luis Marin, 46, of Union City, N.J., pleaded guilty to second-degree receiving stolen property.
Under their plea agreements, the state will recommend that each man be sentenced to nine years in state prison. Sentencing for Justiz and Marin is scheduled for June 10.
Deputy Attorney General Debra Conrad, Senior Counsel for the Specialized Crime Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General Danielle Scarduzio are prosecuting the case for the Division of Criminal Justice and took the guilty pleas today.
The members of the cargo theft ring worked together in various combinations to steal tractor-trailers containing cargo from the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. They brought the stolen cargo to warehouses and lots in New Jersey, Brooklyn, N.Y., and the Bronx, N.Y. Between June 2012 and April 2015, ring members engaged in nine thefts and two purchases of additional stolen goods in which the total value of the cargo and tractor-trailers stolen exceeded $1.5 million. The stolen cargo included $120,000 worth of catalytic converters, stolen in Linden, N.J., and recovered at a warehouse in Saddle Brook, N.J.; $165,000 worth of Moroccanoil hair and body products stolen in Allentown, Pa., and transported through New Jersey to a lot in the Bronx, N.Y.; and $152,000 worth of GNC fish oil capsules stolen in Paterson, N.J., and recovered at a furniture store in Hillside, N.J.
The following seven defendants pleaded guilty previously and also are awaiting sentencing:
- Horacio Llerena-Martinez, 55, of North Bergen, N.J., pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to second-degree conspiracy and faces a recommended sentence of eight years in prison.
- Angel Dominguez, 44, of Union City, N.J., pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to second-degree theft and faces a recommended sentence of seven years in state prison.
- Pedro Arias, 68, of Elizabeth, N.J., pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 to second-degree theft and faces a recommended sentence of five years in state prison.
- Carlos Toriac-Almira, 36, of Union City, N.J., pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 to fourth-degree receiving stolen property and faces a recommended sentence of 18 months in state prison.
- Kenneth Manus, 61, of Norwood, N.J., pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to third-degree receiving stolen property and faces a recommended sentence of 364 days in the county jail.
- Hector Rivas, 38, of Union City, N.J., pleaded guilty on Nov. 30 to third-degree receiving stolen property and faces a recommended sentence of 364 days in the county jail.
- Wilson Ferrer-Reyes, 51, of Union City, N.J., pleaded guilty on Jan. 4 to third-degree receiving stolen property and faces a recommended sentence of 364 days in the county jail.
“This ring was stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cargo and transporting it through New Jersey on a regular basis so that they could fence the stolen products and reap major profits,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “Their conspiracy did not stop at our state borders, and neither did our investigation, thanks to our partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. We tracked these thieves across three states and hundreds of miles of highway to ensure that they were held accountable for the full scope of their crimes.”
“Organized criminal syndicates are drawn to cargo theft because of the huge illicit profits that can be generated,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Working with the New Jersey State Police and our federal partners, we are aggressively investigating and prosecuting this underworld activity, which disrupts commerce, inflicts big financial losses, and frequently finances other crimes.”
“Truckloads of cargo have always been a lucrative target for organized criminal groups. Our Interstate Theft Unit, along with our partners in Operation Midnight Run, are glad to have taken this group off the road and recovered large quantities of stolen goods,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“This case is an excellent example of how teamwork among state, local and federal agencies can disrupt these types of large-scale criminal activities and ensure that those involved are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Newark.
One of the indicted defendants was admitted by the court into the Pre-Trial Intervention Program. The indictment is pending against the two remaining defendants, who face charges of first-degree conspiracy, first-degree money laundering, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, second-degree fencing, second-degree receiving stolen property, and third-degree burglary. They are:
- Osmay Perez-Herrera, 51, of New York, N.Y., and
- Luis Requena, 24, who was deported after his arrest in 2013.
The charges against these remaining two defendants are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Manus owned the warehouse on Midland Avenue in Saddle Brook where the Corning catalytic converters – stolen on June 20, 2012 and worth more than $120,000 – were recovered. Manus fenced goods stolen by the ring, buying them himself or finding a buyer. At that warehouse, investigators also recovered pallets of beer – including a large amount of Guinness stout – worth more than $23,000, which allegedly were stolen by the theft ring in Easton, Pa. on June 22, 2012. The tractor-trailer stolen with the beer was recovered in Passaic, N.J., and the tractor-trailer stolen with the catalytic converters was recovered in Paterson, N.J.
Ring members allegedly rented space at a furniture store on Route 22 in Hillside, N.J., which they also used as a location for their fencing activities. In addition to the GNC fish oil supplements, which were stolen in Paterson on May 28, 2013, investigators also recovered the following cargo at that location which allegedly was stolen by the ring: over $77,000 worth of Bell bicycle parts stolen in Paterson, N.J. on May 28, 2013; about $65,000 worth of bedding, which was part of a trailer-load of $88,000 in bedding stolen from South Plainfield, N.J., on June 14, 2013; and over $9,000 worth of Little Hug juices stolen in Passaic, N.J., on July 1, 2013. The tractor-trailers stolen with the fish oil and bedding were recovered in Newark, N.J., and the tractor-trailer stolen with the juices was recovered in Kearny, N.J. The tractor stolen with the bike parts was recovered in Jersey City, and the trailer in Newark.
Osmay Perez-Herrera, who uses the name “Omar,” is co-owner of the Mi Pais Supermarket on St. Nicholas Avenue in New York, N.Y. Investigators conducted two sting operations in which goods that were purportedly stolen allegedly were sold to Perez-Herrera for resale at various locations, including at the store. The “stolen” goods consisted of $80,000 worth of perfume and 330 counterfeit North Face jackets. Perez-Herrera is charged with third-degree counterfeiting in connection with the jackets.
The defendants, acting as theft crews in various combinations, also stole the following:
- a tractor-trailer containing approximately $201,000 worth of clothing, which was stolen in Elizabeth, N.J., on March 12, 2015 and transported to a lot in Brooklyn, N.Y.
- a tractor-trailer containing more than $143,000 worth of Nivea skin lotion, which was stolen in Easton, Pa., on Sept. 25, 2013 and transported to a lot in the Bronx, N.Y.
- a tractor-trailer containing more than $151,000 worth of Goodyear tires stolen on April 7, 2015 from Grantville, Pa., which Dominguez and Marin were transporting through New Jersey when they were stopped by investigators in Readington, N.J., and arrested.
- a tractor-trailer containing $100,000 worth of mozzarella cheese stolen on Sept. 27, 2013 from a warehouse in Sayreville, N.J. Arias was arrested on the New Jersey Turnpike after he and other defendants stole the cheese from the warehouse. Requena and Justiz were riding in a car immediately in front of Arias and also were arrested.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman commended the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Border Enforcement Security Task Force for their work on the case.
Deputy Attorney General Conrad and Deputy Attorney General Scarduzio presented the case to the state grand jury and were assigned to the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crime Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Jacqueline Smith, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Deputy Attorney General Jill Mayer, Bureau Chief. #### |
