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Press Release

Two Men Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court For Racketeering And Firearm Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
Responsible For More Than Two Dozen Home Invasions

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that PAUL DIBIASE, a/k/a “Carmine Stanzione,” and DANIEL DIBIASE, were sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 27 years in prison and 15 years in prison, respectively. The defendants, who are brothers, previously pled guilty to racketeering and firearm charges arising out of their participation in 27 home invasions, including five gun-point robberies, and approximately two dozen other burglaries in Connecticut and New York between July 2011 and October 2012. In total, the defendants stole more than $2.5 million in jewelry, silver, and other valuables. They were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The DiBiase brothers committed crimes that involved not only theft but also threatened their victims with gun violence. Their cruel actions have earned them time in federal prison.”

According to the respective Superseding Information charging documents to which each defendant pled guilty, statements made at sentencing, and other court documents in the public record:

From July 2011 to October 2012, PAUL DIBIASE, DANIEL DIBIASE, and a third man (“CC-1”), were part of a criminal enterprise (the “DiBiase Home Invasion Crew”) engaged in a systematic scheme to locate vulnerable, upscale homes in New York and Connecticut; conduct coordinated, planned robberies and burglaries at those homes in order to steal jewelry, silverware, and other valuables; transport those stolen goods back to Dutchess County, New York; and launder the criminal proceeds through a fence in Manhattan’s Diamond District.

As part of the scheme, PAUL DIBIASE conducted extensive Internet research, reviewed newspapers and real estate listings, and did physical surveillance, for the purpose of identifying upscale homes of wealthy individuals in order to steal valuable goods from those homes. In July 2011, PAUL DIBIASE stole a firearm from the residence of a law enforcement officer, which he and CC-1 used along with other guns and replica guns during robberies and burglaries. PAUL DIBIASE typically decided which homes would be invaded, on the basis of his research. During the home invasions, PAUL DIBIASE and CC-1 entered the properties while DANIEL DIBIASE served as the getaway car driver.

In the majority of home invasions, the homes were unoccupied, and PAUL DIBIASE broke into the homes while CC-1 served as a lookout. On multiple occasions, the homes were occupied, including instances when the defendants knew occupants were inside and purposefully robbed them, and instances when the defendants came upon occupants after mistakenly thinking no one was home. During these home invasions, PAUL DIBIASE and CC-1 entered the homes together, and, at least five times, confronted and physically subdued occupants. On these occasions, PAUL DIBIASE was armed and, according to the victims, brandished firearms during the robberies. During one such incident, PAUL DIBIASE tied a female occupant’s hands and feet, demanded her diamond engagement ring, forced her to open a safe, hit her in the back, and threatened to “blow [her] head off.”

PAUL DIBIASE and CC-1 routinely returned to the waiting getaway car upon leaving the homes, and DANIEL DIBIASE drove the crew back to Dutchess County. There, the member of the DiBiase Home Invasion Crew sorted the stolen goods, compiling expensive jewelry and silver for later trips to a fence in Manhattan’s Diamond District, handpicking certain items for gifts to family members, and discarding costume jewelry and other less valuable items into a nearby lake.

PAUL DIBIASE, DANIEL DIBIASE, and CC-1 were arrested on October 18, 2012.

On February 24, 2014, DANIEL DIBIASE pled guilty before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith to one count of racketeering conspiracy, and one count of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. On June 20, 2014, PAUL DIBIASE pled guilty before Judge Ramos to one count of racketeering conspiracy, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, after having previously been convicted of three separate violent felonies.

In addition to the prison terms, Judge Ramos sentenced PAUL DIBIASE, 59, who is a resident of Dutchess County, New York, to three years of supervised release. Judge Ramos sentenced DANIEL DIBIASE, 58, also a resident of Dutchess County, to three years of supervised release. The Court also imposed restitution in the amount of $2,517,997 on both defendants.

In imposing today’s sentences, Judge Ramos said that the conduct in this case “borders on sadism,” and that the DIBIASEs and their co-conspirators were responsible for a “reign of terror over those communities” they targeted.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Westchester County Violent Crimes Task Force; the FBI; the Bedford, New York, Police Department; the Greenwich, Connecticut, Police Department; the Harrison, New York, Police Department; the New Canaan, Connecticut, Police Department; the New York State Police; the North Castle, New York, Police Department; the Westchester County, New York, Police Department; and the Ridgefield, Connecticut, Police Department. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by the White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Allee and Ilan Graff are in charge of the prosecution.

Updated May 14, 2015

Press Release Number: 15-055