On July 18, Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, co-owner of a pawnshop in New York City’s 47th Diamond District, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to conspiring to receive stolen property transported in interstate commerce.
Nezhinskiy faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, and monetary penalties totaling $4.5 million.
The government charged that Nezhinskiy and the pawnshop’s other owner, Juan Villar, regularly bought stolen items from South American theft crews that are believed to have conducted at least two dozen residential and commercial burglaries. News accounts say one of the homes the crews robbed belonged to Joe Burrow, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Prosecutors further alleged that an undercover detective conducted seven sales of purported stolen property to Nezhinskiy and Villar’s pawnshop, during which the officer made clear that the goods were stolen.
The government said that when federal agents raided the two men’s pawnshop this February, they found several watches and jewels they believed to be stolen. A subsequent search of Nezhinskiy’s storage units in New Jersey also unearthed “large quantities” of luxury goods, clothing, and sports memorabilia, as well as power tools commonly used in burglaries and opening safes, it said.
Villar pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive stolen property in June.
“[Nezhinskiy] ran a black-market pipeline, buying stolen luxury goods from organized theft crews that targeted homes and businesses,” said New York City Police Department commissioner Jessica Tisch in a statement. “It was a deliberate operation that helped professional burglars prey on innocent people. Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message: If you profit off stolen property, we will find you and dismantle your operation.”
Nezhinskiy’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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