Members of Perfume Warehouse Armed Robbery Scheme Involving NYPD Officers Sentenced
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 01, 2011 |
NEWARK, NJ—Brothers Danny and Alan Bannout of Brooklyn, N.Y., were sentenced to prison today for their roles in the armed robbery of a Carlstadt, N.J., perfume warehouse in which approximately $500,000 in perfume was stolen while 11 employees were held hostage, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
In Newark federal court today, U.S. District Judge William H. Walls sentenced Danny Bannout, 36, to 190 months in prison and sentenced Alan Bannout, 25, to 135 months in prison. The Bannouts had previously admitted that they, along with three active New York Police Department officers, one former NYPD officer, and others, stole approximately $500,000 perfume. They had also admitted their roles in a separate burglary of a storage facility in North Brunswick, N.J., for which they were each sentenced to 60 months in prison, to run concurrently with their other sentences.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The defendants conspired to obstruct commerce by robbing hundreds of boxes of perfumes and fragrances from a warehouse used by a company known as In-Style USA Inc. in Carlstadt.
The Bannout brothers admitted that from December 2009 to February 2010, they conspired with NYPD Officer Jones and others to rob the In-Style warehouse. The Bannouts also admitted that they and some of the other members of the robbery crew previously stole merchandise valued at $5,000 or more from a storage unit located in North Brunswick, N.J., and then transported the stolen merchandise to New York.
In addition to their prison sentences, Judge Walls sentenced both brothers to three years’ supervised release. A restitution hearing is scheduled for Nov. 9, 2011.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, for conducting the investigation. He also thanked the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of John L. Molinelli, as well as the Carlstadt Police Department and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, for their work.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric T. Kanefsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.
Defense counsel:
Danny Bannout: Joseph Hayden Esq., Roseland, N.J.
Alan Bannout: Jonathan Marks Esq., New York