Brooklyn Man Indicted as Conspirator in Carlstadt Perfume Warehouse Armed Robbery

NEWARK, NJ—Anselmo Jimenes, a/k/a “Ansemo Jimenes,” was indicted today for his alleged involvement in the robbery of a Carlstadt, New Jersey warehouse where approximately $600,000 of perfume was stolen while 11 employees were held hostage, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

The five-count Indictment returned today charges Jimenes, 30, of Brooklyn, New York, with offenses related to the robbery of hundreds of boxes of high-end perfumes and fragrances from a warehouse used by a company known as In-Style USA, Inc., as well as a separate heist from a storage facility in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

On March 5, 2010, Jimenes was arrested and charged in a one-count Complaint along with NYPD Officers Brian Checo and Richard LeBlanca; former NYPD Officer Orlando Garcia; Gabriel Vargas, Alan Bannout and Luis R. Morales. Kelvin L. Jones was charged the same day in a separate Complaint as part of the continuing investigation by federal authorities into the heist.

According to the Indictment and other documents filed in Newark federal court:

On February 9, 2010, several of Jimenes’ co-conspirators entered the Carlstadt facility with guns, forcibly restraining 11 In-Style employees’ hands behind their backs with plastic ties. While the employees were held hostage, Jimenes and other co-conspirators loaded rental trucks with the stolen merchandise, which were ultimately driven from New Jersey and unloaded into storage facilities in New York.

Jimenes, Bannout, and Vargas also burglarized a storage facility in North Brunswick that contained various tobacco products, batteries and other miscellaneous items. Jimenes gained access to the facility by cutting the padlock with a lock cutter. The stolen goods were then transported in rental trucks from North Brunswick to a storage facility in New York.

The first three counts of the Indictment pertain to the In-Style warehouse robbery; the fourth and fifth counts pertain to the robbery of the North Brunswick facility. Counts One and Two, which charge Jimenes with conspiracy to obstruct interstate commerce and the obstruction of interstate commerce, respectively, each carry a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; Counts Three and Four, which charge Jimenes with conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce, each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Count Five, which charges the transportation of stolen goods in interstate commerce, carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of the merchandise stolen by Jimenes in both robberies, as well as the proceeds from these offenses.

In determining an actual sentence, the District Judge assigned to the case 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 of that time.

Fishman credited Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, with the investigation of the case, and 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 in the ongoing investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Gramiccioni and Eric T. Kanefsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division. The charges and allegations made in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Edward Sapone, Esq., New York, New York