OWNER AND WORKER AT SUNNYSIDE JEWELRY STORE ARRESTED FOR DEALING IN STOLEN GOODS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the arrest of two men for dealing in stolen goods at Boulevard Gold Exchange jewelry store in Sunnyside.

The District Attorney identified the defendants as Salvatore Bongiorno, the owner of the store, 31, of 97-35 77th Street, Ozone Park and Carlos Mendez, an employee, 21, of 3340 Independence Avenue, the Bronx. They have been charged with falsifying business records in the first and second degrees; attempted criminal possession of stolen property in the third and fifth degrees; criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; possession of an unregistered shotgun under the New York City Administrative Code; and failure to maintain records of purchases and sales under the Administrative code. They face up to four years in prison upon conviction.

District Attorney Brown said, "We do our utmost to rid the business sector of dishonest merchants who buy stolen property and then pass the merchandise on to unwitting customers, often compounding the crime by charging exorbitant prices well beyond the actual value of the merchandise. We will continue to protect the citizens of Queens County from these unscrupulous merchants and the thieves who supply them with stolen goods. "

According to the charges, on Thursday, October 8th, an undercover agent went into Boulevard Gold Exchange at 39-38 Queens Boulevard and presented more than three thousand dollars worth of gold jewelry to the defendants, telling them that the jewelry had been stolen from a safe in Atlantic City. The defendants allegedly made a deal to give the undercover agent $1,000 for the jewelry. After the sale, the undercover agent exited the premises and police entered with a search warrant and, in addition to recovering the proported stolen jewelry, saw a shotgun loaded with five live shells and eight additional shells lying nearby. More of the stolen jewelry was found in a safe along with a .22 caliber semi-automatic loaded revolver and six additional .22 caliber bullets lying on a shelf. The defendants were then placed under arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Connelly of the District Attorney's Civil Enforcement Bureau, under the supervision of Anthony M. Communiello, Bureau Chief and under the overall supervision of Robert D. Alexander, Executive Assistant District Attorney is in charge of the case.

It is to be noted that an arrest is merely an accusation and that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.