FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
DA Vance and DA Thompson Announce Indictment of Seven Individuals for Stealing Heating Oil from Brooklyn Terminal
Indictment Follows Longterm Investigation by Manhattan DA’s Office’s Rackets Bureau and Partners into Widespread Fraud in Heating Oil Industry
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced the indictment of seven individuals in connection with the theft of heating oil valued at approximately $500,000 from a terminal in Brooklyn. The defendants are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degrees. The Brooklyn indictment was filed in connection with a related investigation into industry fraud and criminal charges announced last year by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, New York City Police Department Organized Crime Investigation Division (“OCID”), New York City Business Integrity Commission (“BIC”), New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said: “More than 50 individuals and nine companies working in an around the City’s heating oil industry have now been indicted in connection with this alleged widespread fraud. In the case announced last fall, the defendants were charged with profiting from the sale of heating oil stolen from residential and municipal buildings. Today’s indictment represents a continuation of that investigation, as well as my Office and our partners’ commitment to rooting out fraud in this industry. The heating oil industry should now be on notice to clean up its act.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said: “These defendants are charged with running a scheme to systematically steal heating oil from a Brooklyn terminal to enrich themselves and we intend to now hold them accountable. I would like to commend DA Vance for his efforts to eradicate fraud in this industry all across the city. We will continue to work together with his office and other law enforcement partners to make sure that larceny is investigated and prosecuted wherever it occurs.”
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, between January and July 2014, the defendants facilitated the theft of hundreds of thousands of gallons of heating oil, valued at approximately $500,000, from Buckeye Partners, L.P. (“Buckeye”), which owns and operates an oil terminal located at 722 Court Street in Brooklyn. During this period, SCOTT VITELLO, 39, managed the terminal, and with the assistance of BART DiCARLO, 26, a terminal operator, VITELLO allowed unauthorized individuals and tanker trucks to pull into the loading racks, fill the tanks with heating oil, and leave the Buckeye terminal with stolen product, which was sold by VITELLO and DiCARLO at a fraction of the retail cost.
ANGELO GUADAGNO, 51, acted as a broker who negotiated prices, scheduled pick-up times, and made arrangements for ALEXANDER COCCHIOLA, 57, the owner of Cypress Fuel, and PAUL CILIENTO, 37, the owner of Boomerang Trucking, to steal heating oil from the Buckeye terminal. PETER D’ARCO, 65, the owner of SJ Fuel, and FREDERICK DeCICCO, 48, a driver for MDC Services, also worked directly with VITELLO and DiCARLO to coordinate unauthorized pick-ups.
In an attempt to cover the theft, VITELLO and DiCARLO dismantled counters that track the number of gallons dispensed at the loading racks and changed the positioning of several security cameras at the terminal. In total, unauthorized trucks were allowed to enter the terminal more than 50 times and load stolen oil, often during late evening or early morning hours.
Previously, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Rackets Bureau presented evidence to a grand jury that voted to indict nine companies and 44 individuals in connection with various schemes to defraud customers by shorting heating oil deliveries to residential, commercial, and municipal properties throughout New York City. The indicted heating oil transportation and retail companies include: F&S DISTRIBUTION, INC., G&D PETROLEUM TRANSPORTATION, INC., G&D HEATING OIL INC., CASANOVA FUEL OIL, INC., EXPRESS PETROLEUM, INC., 4th AVENUE TRANSPORT, INC., ALL-BORO TRANSPORTATION, INC., ENTERPRISE TRANSPORTATION, INC., and CENTURY STAR FUEL CORP. The indicted individuals also include the principal owners of the indicted companies, three fuel depot dispatchers, and 29 truck drivers charged with taking part in the theft, resale, and purchase of stolen heating oil.
DOI and BIC also issued a detailed report on fraudulent schemes employed by delivery companies in order to help consumers protect themselves from fraud.
The following members of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office contributed to the investigation and case: Assistant District Attorney Anne Ternes, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorneys Jerrold Steigman and Thomas Mooney, Senior Investigative Counsel to the Rackets Bureau, and under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Ohm, Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen, Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Jodie Kane, Chief of the Rackets Bureau, and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Additional assistance was provided by: Paralegals Kyle Tramonte, Lauren Riddell, Paul Lee, Alexandra Oviedo, and former Paralegal Zoe Egelman; Transcription Analyst Olivia Sitbon; Senior Financial Investigator Daniel McNichol; and former Senior Investigative Counsel Richard Buckheit.
The case is being supervised by Assistant District Attorneys Rebecca Gibson and Felice Sontupe of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, under the overall supervision of William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the Investigations Division.
District Attorneys Vance and Thompson thanked the following agencies and individuals for their assistance and cooperation with the investigation: NYPD, and in particular, Detectives William Martin and Biagio Santangelo, as well as the NYPD OCID-BIC team; BIC, and in particular, Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Christopher Mahon and Investigator Dominick Albergo; and Buckeye Partners, L.P..
#
An Indictment is merely an accusation and not proof of the defendants’ guilt.
Defendant Information:
PAUL CILIENTO, D.O.B. 8/29/1978
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 1 count
ALEXANDER COCCHIOLA, D.O.B. 2/8/1959
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 1 count
PETER D’ARCO, D.O.B. 7/4/1950
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 1 count
FREDERICK DeCICCO, D.O.B. 7/27/1967
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 1 count
BART A. DiCARLO, D.O.B. 9/15/1989
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 3 counts
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 1 count
ANGELO GUADAGNO, D.O.B. 6/5/1964
Staten Island, NY
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 2 counts
SCOTT VITELLO, D.O.B. 6/24/1976
Lauderhill, FL
Charged:
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 3 counts
- Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 1 count