NEW YORK — Three men accused of stealing more than $5 million in a series of bank thefts in New York City are now facing federal charges.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is expected to formally announce charges against Michael Mazzara, Charles Kerrigan and Anthony Mascuzzio, of Brooklyn, on Tuesday.
According to the complaint, the suspects are allegedly responsible for the burglary of Maspeth Federal Savings bank on Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park on May 24. Investigators say the suspects cut a hole in the roof and ransacked through several deposit boxes before fleeing the scene.
Contents from several safe deposit boxes were taken and the boxes were left empty on the roof. According to officials, approximately $296,000 in cash was stolen, along with $4,340,000 in jewelry, diamonds and other valuables.
The crew used torches to cut holes in the roof of an HSBC bank to get inside for the heist. pic.twitter.com/yJ7VjtQjnq
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 26, 2016
“It’s very, you know, I lost everything,” Tagua Demirchyan, of Middle Village, told CBS2 at the time of the incident. “They can’t do nothing, I don’t’ think so, they can’t do nothing.”
The complaint also alleges the men were responsible for the April 2016 burglary of a HSBC bank on 13th Avenue and 44th Street in Borough Park, where the suspects stole around $330,000 in cash and other valuables. Alarm wires had also been cut.
Investigators say they struck when the bank was closed over the weekend of April 8, using flammable gas and a fire torch to cut through the roof before jumping down and clearing the place out, CBS2’s Magdalena Doris reported.
Investigators say Mazarra, Kerrigan and Mascuzzio were caught collecting supplies for the burglary: buying plywood, paint and gas tanks. Their credit card statements show all the purchases made at Home Depot.
Feds say in April the trio used a vacant storefront next door to the HSBC bank as headquarters, storing break-in supplies inside.
After the heist, they returned to their hangout, on the block where Kerrigan and Mazarra live, splitting their bounty. They were caught by the watchful eye of a strategically placed FBI camera.
Charges against the suspects include bank burglary and conspiracy to commit bank burglary.
It isn’t clear if the goods taken in the heists were recovered or if they will be returned.
