Have you really been to The Home Depot if you haven't stolen $2.2 million in merchandise from 128 stores across nine states??
Thirteen people were in on this (anyone want to guess their immigration status?), and they hit 128 stores for $2.2 million in just thirteen months. Stores from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Maryland were all hit by the thieves.
The crew included:
Armando Diaz, aka The Boss
Joana Carolina "The Monkey" Fermin, who surveilled the parking lot for security or police
Francisco Ayala-Ariza
Oscar Eduardo Valencia Diaz
Mateo Arias Toro
Victor Diaz
Freddy "Little Bull" Padilla
David Araque Montoya
Angel Yamba Ortiz
There was also Kyle "Italian" Goonan (though that's an Irish last name 😂), and Wilfredo "Fredo" Arango-Calle (whose nickname is a little on the nose).
The whole thing is Ocean's Eleven meets Logan Lucky meets The Godfather meets Sicario.
And as the cherry on top, the crew also found a Brooklyn Jewish guy named Nechemia Blatter to be one of the Facebook fences. 😂
(No word on whether the infamous Jewish Brooklyn tunnels were used 😉).
More from the local news:
Thirteen people have been charged in a 780-count indictment for stealing and fencing more than $2 million worth of goods from Home Depot stores in New York and eight other states.
The suspects face grand larceny, conspiracy and criminal possession of stolen property charges.
Police seized tools, building supplies and home goods, but it's just a fraction of what authorities said was stolen between August 2024 and September of this year.
As you saw in the video above, some of the thieves would break into cages and steal power tools, some would load up for-sale garbage cans with goods, and some would just walk right out with a pushcart full of goods. Many times, one person in the group would distract an employee while the others stole.
The thieves would get on conference calls when they were in the stores and coordinate on the spot. They eventually sold the merchandise through storefronts and also Facebook Marketplace.
Eleven of the thieves were in court last week, while authorities are still on the lookout for one more of the suspects.
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