The pair of owners of Diamond District pawnshops are fenced around $5 million in stolen items as part of a South American robbery ring tied to an NFL star high-end robbery, according to federal prosecutors.
Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, 43, and Juan Villar, 48, have at least five crew members associated with the ring targeting Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Barrow and Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Traviskells. I cooperated with him.
“They created a market that encourages robbery of U.S. homes and businesses,” U.S. Attorney Assistant Director Michael Mafay told court Wednesday.
Nezinski, a Georgian national from North Bergen, New Jersey, was swept by the FBI on Tuesday under the nickname “Russo” and US-born Queens resident, and was charged with a series of high-end robberies up to 2020. , according to a federal complaint.
Federal agents stormed a pawn shop on West 47th and 6th Avenues, maintaining Nezinski in New Jersey and closing out both men as part of their operations.
Maffei says that if the Fed sorts the evidence and has a price tag, if the Fed is attached, the stolen item (valued at about $1.5 million so far) will be worth at least $5 million. It is expected to be there.
The robber ring targets luxurious items such as expensive watches, jewelry, clothing and sports memorabilia, and includes high-priced wine and artwork, prosecutors said.
Nezhinskiy also linked to a robbery at Burrow's $7.5 million mansion in Anderson Township in December, and had been in contact with at least two suspicious burglars a week ago.
Four Chilean citizens were arrested last month in connection with a robbery at a quarterback's home.
Police previously said that South American crime rings are also behind the robbers of Chiefs Starzmahomes and Kels' homes in October, but Nezinski and Villar are not tied to them.
In court, Nezinski turned his father in the audience – he is expected to post his liar and his $1 million bail on two New Jersey properties – and “Sorry.” “I put the words in my mouth.
His lawyer, Todd Greenberg, insisted on lower bail on the two suspects, saying “they are out of business.”
US Magistrate Judge Lala Eshikenazi said bail will be secured by two condors owned by Yuriy, the father of Georgia 78-year-old Georgia doctor Nezinski.
The judge said $150,000 in cash would be added to bail.
However, Eshkenazi balked on the $250,000 bail proposed by Villar's lawyers and held him down until the lawyer could put together a more practical bail package.
Both returned to court on Friday.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in New Jersey on Tuesday filed accusing another suspect of a favorable South American robbery ring.
The prosecutor said Gustavo Ignacio Salas Ortega, a 33-year-old Chilean national, has been charged with receiving stolen property and is linked to a series of robberies at the New Jersey Mall.
The complaints include surveillance photos of Ortega, who allegedly dyed a jewellery store in the mall and created cash ATM deposits in the Westchester County cities of Mount Vernon and White Plains.
