NEW YORK — Eight men from the Bronx have been charged with involvement in a two-year string of beer thefts targeting rail yards and warehouses in the Northeastern U.S.. The thefts netted hundreds of thousands of dollars of beer; those involved face charges carrying maximum penalties ranging from five years to life in prison, according to a Wednesday announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.
Six of the men were arrested Wednesday, one is in state custody in Connecticut, and one remains at large. Their theft ring mostly targeted Corona and Modelo beer shipped from Mexico, with thefts in locations including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.
The New York Times reports that, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Jose Cesari — the man still at large — is accused of leading what prosecutors call the “Beer Theft Enterprise.” They say he recruited other participants via Instagram posts, one of which “guaranteed” those hired would make “100k+ in a month” through the “beer train method.”
Those involved would break into a yard or warehouse, sometimes by cutting through fencing, then drive a truck onto the property. At rail yards, they would break the lock on cars carrying pallets of beer, load the beer on to the truck, take it to the Bronx, and sell it to unidentified buyers. Those participating were usually paid hundreds of dollars for a night’s work, the U.S. Attorney’s office alleges.
Cesari, 27, faces the most serious charge — carrying or using a firearm in a violent crime, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He faces six other counts including conspiracy to steal from interstate or foreign shipments by carrier. Also charged are Luis Izquierdo, 40; Kemar Bonitto, 38; Antonio Gonzalez, 33; Miguel Cintron, 32; Wakeim Johnson, 31; Deylin Martinez-Guerrero, 28; and Justin Bruno, 23. All face the conspiracy charge; three face one or more additional charges.
“For years, the Beer Theft Enterprise has operated brazenly,” U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said, “allegedly breaking into rail yards and beverage distribution facilities throughout the northeast and filling U-Haul box trucks to the brim with cases of beer. That dangerous and disruptive conduct — sometimes allegedly accompanied by the threat of violence — has left several beverage distribution and railroad companies ailing.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, CSX police, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police were involved in the investigation.
“CSX is committed to protecting the safety of its property and that of its customers,” said Sean Douris, CSX chief of police, public safety, and infrastructure protection. “We take criminal activity very seriously. Rail yards are privately owned property and unauthorized activity is considered criminal trespassing and violators will be prosecuted. CSX appreciates the valuable partnerships we have with federal and local law enforcement agencies in New York, and across our network, who are crucial when it comes to investigating incidents and prosecuting individuals responsible for theft.”
WE THEY US CITIZENS!
This is so funny, because I made light of how the modern box car needed a redesign to support modular freight like what is used on airlines. The example I used was the constant theft of Budweiser products from said box cars. Easy to get in and grab the cases and run off if you have enough people.
In the Chicago story the railroad police went door to door looking for kids with a case of Budweiser stashed away, but most of it went out on the 10’s of trucks that had backed their way into the yard with their lights off and were standing ready when the box door came open.
Then when the siren of the RR police truck came on, the perps trucks took off like roaches in the spotlight.
This was a big problem on the CSO stealing wine, beer and can goods, I think all the traffic is now gone, would mostly go to warehouses in East Hartford and Manchester.
I’m not sure CSX is taking the theft issue seriously if it took them two years to solve the case. Back in my time when Budweiser was shipped in MRS cars we usually had it stopped in under a month at its destination.
A case in Chicago where the neighborhood hit a container of Seagrams it was solved the same day by following the trail of the purple bags. That was way to easy.
Nobody stealing Bud Light?
Are they touching Yuengling?
BudLight- the beer for people who don’t really like beer at all.
Make the fines and sentence the maximum. Better than what happens now. A slap on the wrist and don’t to again! Maybe it would deter some of the people. Everyone needs to learn about consequences again. To little action is taken anymore.