Top Tier
Jan 15, 08, 7:30 pm
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nythefvr5537778jan14,0,3888695.story
A Massapequa man and his supervisor were arraigned yesterday on charges that they stole $250,000 worth of diamonds and jewelry from the American Airlines cargo area at Kennedy Airport where they worked.
Richard Lombardo, 51, and his boss, 39-year-old Steve Tsihlas of Astoria, were arrested Friday on charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Bail was set at $5,000 each.
Kevin Ryan, spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, said the two men face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the two felonies. Ryan said the theft occurred early Jan. 9 at Kennedy.
The two men, both longtime American employees, were working together between 3:30 a.m. and 7 a.m., Ryan said, when Tsihlas opened a sealed container from Zurich marked "high value."
Inside were boxes containing loose diamonds, expensive watches and other valuables, Ryan said.
The district attorney maintains that Tsihlas took three boxes and handed them to Lombardo, who tucked them into his jacket.
He later stashed them in a locker in the American Airlines terminal, Ryan said.
After an investigation, Port Authority police arrested the two men. Neither had criminal records, Ryan said.
"When you look at it, it doesn't make sense," said Lombardo's court-appointed attorney, Steven Goldenberg. "He's got a good record and 19 1/2 years working there."
Tsihlas's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
American Airlines also did not respond to a request for comment.
A Massapequa man and his supervisor were arraigned yesterday on charges that they stole $250,000 worth of diamonds and jewelry from the American Airlines cargo area at Kennedy Airport where they worked.
Richard Lombardo, 51, and his boss, 39-year-old Steve Tsihlas of Astoria, were arrested Friday on charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.
Bail was set at $5,000 each.
Kevin Ryan, spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, said the two men face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the two felonies. Ryan said the theft occurred early Jan. 9 at Kennedy.
The two men, both longtime American employees, were working together between 3:30 a.m. and 7 a.m., Ryan said, when Tsihlas opened a sealed container from Zurich marked "high value."
Inside were boxes containing loose diamonds, expensive watches and other valuables, Ryan said.
The district attorney maintains that Tsihlas took three boxes and handed them to Lombardo, who tucked them into his jacket.
He later stashed them in a locker in the American Airlines terminal, Ryan said.
After an investigation, Port Authority police arrested the two men. Neither had criminal records, Ryan said.
"When you look at it, it doesn't make sense," said Lombardo's court-appointed attorney, Steven Goldenberg. "He's got a good record and 19 1/2 years working there."
Tsihlas's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
American Airlines also did not respond to a request for comment.