Brooklyn man faces 14 more burglary counts, Nassau cops say

A Cipriani waiter is facing 17 counts of burglary after Nassau County police said they found more than $300,000 in stolen property in his home, officials said.

Mamuka Bokuchava, 31, who prosecutors say waits tables at one of the restaurant’s Manhattan locations, was arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Hempstead. Judge Helen Voutsinas set bond at $1.4 million bond or $700,000 cash bail.

Bokuchava did not enter a plea.

He was first arrested Feb. 20 and charged with three counts of burglary. Afterward, police searched Bokuchava’s Brooklyn home and found a bevy of high-priced stolen goods, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets and pearls, officials said.

From one home, the waiter swiped $20,000 in jewelry, police said. From another, he pilfered $100,000 worth of high-end items, police said.

The stolen property helped police link Bokuchava to an additional 14 burglaries, all of which happened in Nassau between November 2014 and this month, officials said.

“It’s just a massive amount” of stolen goods, Nassau Chief of Detectives Kevin Smith said at a news briefing Saturday. “We’re just taking it out in carts and bringing it over and going through it piece by piece.”

Smith said Bokuchava’s rationale for keeping the property in his home is “kind of a puzzle.”

“He had stuff going way back,” Smith added.

One of the burglary victims, Karl Stoecker, 54, said Bokuchava stole his most prized possession, a 100-year-old pocket watch that belonged to Stoecker’s great-grandfather. Police said they found the timepiece in Bokuchava’s apartment.

“This was like a miracle that they caught this guy and they recovered this. . . . Just beyond belief,” Stoecker said.

Police said there was no apparent connection between Bokuchava’s crimes and the diners he waited on at Cipriani.

A spokeswoman for the restaurant declined to comment.

Bokuchava’s attorney, Tara Whelan of Queens, said he is the “sole provider” for his wife and 5-year-old son.

With Candice Ruud