Former NYPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Committing Perfume Warehouse Armed Robbery with Active-Duty Cops

NEWARK, NJ—A former New York City police officer pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit the armed robbery of a Carlstadt, New Jersey perfume warehouse, in which he, three active New York Police officers, and others stole approximately $600,000 of perfume while holding 11 employees hostage, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Orlando Garcia, 25, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls. Garcia was remanded pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for August 2, 2010.

On March 5, 2010, Garcia was arrested pursuant to a Complaint along with NYPD Officers Brian Checo of New York, New York and Richard LeBlanca of New York, New York; as well as Gabriel Vargas of Brooklyn, New York; Luis R. Morales of Brooklyn, New York; Anselmo Jimenes, a/k/a "Ansemo Jimenes," of Brooklyn, New York; and Alan A. Bannout, of Brooklyn, New York. According to the complaint charging the aforementioned defendants, 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, New Jersey.

NYPD Officer Kelvin L. Jones, of New York, New York, was charged in a separate complaint on March 5, 2010 as part of a continuing investigation by federal authorities into the heist.

At his plea hearing, Garcia, who worked in the 30th Precinct, admitted that from December 2009 to February 2010, he conspired with NYPD officers Jones, Checo, and LeBlanca, and others to rob the In Style USA warehouse. Garcia stated that on February 9, 2010, he, Jones, Checo, LeBlanca, and others entered the warehouse office while carrying firearms, displaying NYPD-issued badges, and announcing themselves as NYPD officers. Garcia admitted that, during the course of the robbery, 11 employees were held hostage while the conspirators loaded hundreds of boxes of perfume onto trucks that were used to transport the stolen perfume. Garcia further stated that, after leaving the warehouse, he met Jones, Checo, LeBlanca, and others in New York, where they developed a plan to conceal the crime after some of the conspirators had been arrested at the robbery site by Carlstadt authorities. Garcia admitted that, in an effort to conceal his involvement, he falsely reported to his credit card company that his credit card had been stolen—the same card he had used earlier that day to pay for rental of one of the two trucks used in the heist.

Checo and LeBlanca both pleaded guilty before Judge Walls to conspiring to commit armed robbery, on March 23, 2010, and April 20, 2010, respectively. As for the other defendants, the charges against them are merely accusations and they are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charge to which Garcia pleaded guilty carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Walls will consult the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining the sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Fishman credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, New Jersey, for conducting the investigation. Fishman 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 assistance.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric T. Kanefsky and Christopher J. Gramiccioni of the Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.