Joseph Borelli from Howard Beach, 42, was arraigned on a 21-count indictment for a string of commercial burglaries in Nassau between January and June 2015, in which he allegedly stole more than $200,000 in jewelry, cash and other items, according to Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.
Borelli was arraigned on 10 counts of third-degree burglary, 10 counts of second-degree criminal mischief and possession of burglar’s tools. The defendant was held on $450,000 cash or bond bail and is due back in court Jan. 5. He faces a maximum of three-and-a-half to seven years in prison on each top count.
Borelli is charged with conducting overnight “smash-and-grab” burglaries in jewelry stores, delis, a market and a shoe repair store throughout a span of six months in Great Neck, Merrick, Greenvale, East Norwich, New Cassel, Massapequa, Valley Stream, Syosset and Plainview. On Jan. 10, in Cookshop Deli at 374 Great Neck Rd., $500 cash and lottery tickets were stolen, and on May 25, in Bagelman of Great Neck at 491 Great Neck Rd., $200 was stolen.
“The defendant’s alleged avarice knew no bounds and he stole everything from lottery tickets at mom-and-pop delis to jewelry at boutique stores,” Singas said. “The defendant’s alleged ‘smash-and-grab’ burglary spree ended when our partners in the Nassau County Police Department, working with our office, arrested him in June.”
The Acting DA said that officers in the NCPD 3rd Squad initially identified a burglary pattern and, working with the NCPD DA Squad and the NCDA Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, assisted in a six-monthlong investigation, obtaining warrants and helping to track and arrest Borelli and his codefendants, Edan Balila and Rotem Balila, both from Great Neck. Video surveillance and court-authorized GPS tracking helped bring the arrests.
Codefendants Edan Balila and Rotem Balila both pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree burglary and are awaiting sentencing.
