Updated news on the Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, Lucchese and Colombo Organized Crime Families of New York City.

Monday, January 10, 2011

First dumped, then Maced; Craigslist user testifies of Village engagement ring heist


Jilted and heartsick two years ago, all salesman David Cushman wanted was to sell his ex-fiance's $30,000 engagement ring on Craigslist and move on with his life.
Instead, he told a Manhattan jury today, he wound up Maced in the face in a Christopher Street vestibule by the thieving thug named "John" who answered his ad.
"I was not able to see, I was coughing, I felt like I wanted to puke...I felt like I'd put my head in an oven," Cushman, 31, told the jury of the spritz-and-swipe scheme of alleged Ring Worm Gerard DeGerolamo.
Fortunately, Cushman had no idea at the time that DeGerolamo, 67, was a Lucchese associate, as FBI sources have told The Post.
Gerald DeGerolamo, seen here heading to court in 2009.
Gerald DeGerolamo, seen here heading to court in 2009.
 
Nor did he know that DeGerolamo had allegedly tried to pull a similar theft -- sans Mace -- on a 33-year-old woman selling two diamond rings on Craigslist that her husband, who she was divorcing, had given her, a case to be tried later this year.
"He was targeting individuals who were selling expensive jewelry on Craigslist, and those individuals were going through a traumatic time in their lives," prosecutor Steve Pilnyak had said last week in a pre-trial hearing.
Cushman -- who testified he'd been lured to the Christopher Street location by DeGerolamo's tale of having a daughter who lived there and who would broker the deal -- said he wound up tackling DeGerolamo and getting the ring back despite the Macing.
DeGerolamo is looking for a break by insisting he's just a peaceful ring thief who shouldn't be charged with violent robbery. He faces up to 15 years if convicted.


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