Suspected mobsters nabbed in $2M Manhattan jewelry heists

Dec 06, 2023

A crew of armed jewelry thieves with ties to the Lucchese crime family was nabbed for a pair of broad daylight diamond heists in Manhattan that netted about $2 million worth of gems, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

They said Tuesday the five suspected mobsters were arrested and charged in connection with armed robberies that took place Jan. 3 and May 20 at jewelry stores in Midtown and Chinatown.

An image from surveillance video from inside the lobby of the building located on Madison Avenue between East 60th and East 61st Streets, in New York at the time of the robbery on Jan 3, 2023. (Court Evidence )

The gunmen pretended they were construction workers, authorities said.

Busted were Frank DiPietro, Vincent Cerchio, Vincent Spagnuolo, Michael Sellic and Samuel Sorce, who were arrested at New York and New Jersey addresses.

DiPietro, Cerchio, Spagnuolo, and Sellick were charged with holding up a Madison Ave. jeweler on Jan. 3, making off with three pieces of high-end diamond jewelry.

Surveillance video captured DiPietro and Sellick walking into the store in construction vests when DiPietro pointed a gun at an employee and said "give it to me" before Sellick ordered them to get in a closet, according to charging documents.

The group made off with a 73-carat necklace, a six-carat ring, and a 17-carat pair of earrings, according to authorities.

DiPietro and Sellick wore the same getups when they held up an Elizabeth St. jeweler months later on May 20, when footage caught the two men ambushing workers as they opened for the day, pointing a gun and ordering them to get on the ground.

The duo fled in a getaway car with Sorce and then changed to a second one driven by Spagnuolo, according to Manhattan prosecutors.

The group made off $1.4 million in jewels from the Chinatown shop, officials said.

"Dressed as construction workers, the defendants allegedly sought to blend into the busy streets around them before pointing guns at the jewelry stores’ employees," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

DiPietro, 65, of Red Bank, N.J., Cerchio, 69, of Howard Beach, Sellick, 69, of Franklin Sq., Sorce, 25, of Florham Park, N.J., and Spagnuolo, 65, of Monmouth Beach, N.J., were charged with Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

The charges carry potential 47-year prison terms.

Sellick's lawyer Gerald McMahon said his client was not involved.

"My client is the victim of a terrible mistake," the attorney said. "Basically, since 2014, he has been painting bridges — six or seven days a week, $55 an hour. It's impossible that he would be on Madison Ave. pulling off a jewelry heist while he's on the underbelly of the Verrazzano Bridge."

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said the men are connected to the Lucchese crime family.

"They kind of decoy their way into the store, pull out guns and then do a gunpoint jewelry store robbery," he said.

"They’re outside, they act like they’re working," Essig continued. "When the place opens up, they walk into the store and pull guns.

"They staked them out very extensively, pre- and post-incident. They were there for a while at each incident," he said, adding that authorities discovered the group were casing the businesses the day before.