DA: Guilty plea in Shea Stadium theft

NEW YORK — A Brooklyn man who worked as a security guard during the demolition of Shea Stadium has pleaded guilty to stealing Mets memorabilia.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Gerald Tacopino pleaded guilty to petit larceny on Wednesday.

Tacopino was fined $500 and sentenced to a conditional discharge, provided he pays $842.50 in restitution. He also was ordered to stay away from the new Mets stadium, Citi Field, for one year.

The district attorney said various stadium items were recovered from Tacopino’s apartment in December 2008. They included Mets security jackets and shirts and seat bottoms and backs.

The 44-year-old man was hired to prevent looting of items that were being removed from Shea Stadium to be sold as memorabilia.