16 people charged as two independent rings allegedly stole from clothing bins operated by a charity, Suffolk DA says

Sixteen people accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of clothing from donation bins across Suffolk County face 98 felony and two misdemeanor counts following a yearlong investigation, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney and other law enforcement officials said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The defendants, representing two rings that operated independently from each other, allegedly primarily targeted donation bins operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island, a Catholic organization dedicated to providing assistance to the needy, authorities said. A 17th defendant is in custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is expected to be charged in Suffolk at a later date, authorities said.

St. Vincent de Paul, the officials said, uses money raised through the sale of donated clothing to provide food, shelter and other assistance to needy Long Island residents. The defendants allegedly stole more than a half-million pounds of donated clothing from bins during 70 incidents at eight churches from Lindenhurst to Mastic Beach between November 2024 and this month. Officials recovered 25,000 pounds of clothing and seized 14 vehicles that were used during the alleged thefts.

“In Suffolk County, you cannot steal other people’s property without being held responsible,” Tierney said. “That is in any situation, but especially when you endeavor to steal from the poorest and most needy among us. You are literally taking food and clothing and shelter from needy people’s hands, and we will not stand for it.”

Tierney’s office, along with the Suffolk County Police Department, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service, launched the investigation after St. Vincent de Paul officials reported concerns that donations were being stolen.

“Stealing from anyone is bad, but stealing clothing from a donation bin is truly unconscionable,” said Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, who likened the defendants’ actions to stealing money from a church poor box.

St. Vincent de Paul Long Island CEO Thomas Abbate told Newsday that thieves have targeted donation bins in Nassau as well, and that his organization has shared concerns with county officials.

“NCDA is aware of similar conduct involving St. Vincent de Paul clothing bins in Nassau County and continues to work with our law-enforcement partners to prosecute individuals for thefts and other potential crimes,” said Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

One ring was led by Alfredo Perez, 67, of Copiague, authorities said. That group, which included two juveniles, allegedly stole approximately $107,440.16 worth of donate clothing during the course of the investigation, officials said. Perez, who was charged with second-degree grand larceny, 10 counts of third-degree burglary and one count of fourth-degree conspiracy, pleaded not guilty at a Sept. 28 arraignment before Suffolk District Judge John B. Zollo. Zollo ordered Perez held on $10,000 cash, $30,000 bond or $100,000 partially secured bond. He is scheduled to return to court on Thursday.

An attorney for Perez, Margie Coello-Lorenzotti, did not return a request for comment.

The other ring, led by Manuel Cabrera, 62, of Lindenhurst, allegedly stole approximately $91,550.05 worth of donate clothing from the bins, authorities said. Cabrera is charged with second-degree grand larceny, three counts of third-degree burglary, and fifth-degree conspiracy.

Cabrera pleaded not guilty at a Sept. 28 arraignment before Zollo, who placed him on supervised release GPS monitoring. He is expected to return to court on Oct. 27. Cabrera’s attorney, Anthony Scheller, did not return requests for comment.

Authorities said the defendants parked vans and other vehicles next to donation bins. One defendant would climb into the donation bin, and then pass bags of donated clothing to their accomplices, who would load them into the waiting vehicle. After stealing multiple bags, the defendant inside the bin would exit and the defendants would flee with the stolen property.

The rings later allegedly sold the donated clothing to clothing wholesalers, officials said.

“These individuals did not just steal bags of clothing,” Suffolk Undersheriff John Becker said. “They stole from the generosity of Suffolk County residents and the charities for our neighbors in need.”

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said it was disturbing that people would steal from an organization that assists Long Island’s poor and needy. “How do you do that?” Romaine asked.

“We are determined to keep Suffolk safe,” he added. “Even crimes like this, we will track them down, we will find them, we will prosecute them, we will jail them.”