4 Members Of International Burglary Crew Arrested And Charged In Manhattan Federal Court

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging four defendants with participating in a criminal organization that committed a series of burglaries and engaged in the interstate transportation of stolen goods between 2006 and 2017.  DAMIR PEJCINOVIC, a/k/a “Damian,” a/k/a “CoCo,” GZIMI BOJKOVIC, a/k/a Jimmy,” ADRIAN FISEKU, and ELVIS CIRIKOVIC, a/k/a “Gorilla,” were arrested this morning and will be presented today before Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged in the indictment, the defendants were part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise that carried out burglaries on both sides of the Atlantic, to the tune of more than $10 million.  Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our partners at the FBI and the NYPD, the defendants now face significant federal charges.”

FBI Special Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Today’s charges bring to an end an alleged criminal enterprise whose activity spanned more than a decade and included more than a dozen individual incidents that occurred across the United States and around the world.  This investigation demonstrates the FBI/NYPD Joint Violent Crimes Task Force’s unwavering commitment to bringing justice to these groups, in spite of the challenges created by time or distance.  I would like to thank all of our national and international partners for their contributions to this investigation.  Our success in bringing this case to prosecution would not have been possible without them.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

Between 2006 and April 2017, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, FISEKU, and CIRIKOVIC participated in a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in, among other things, the commission of burglaries and interstate transportation and sale of stolen goods.  The criminal organization operated principally in New York City, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, and Europe.  Members and associates of the organization committed, conspired to commit, and attempted to commit numerous burglaries of jewelry stores and banks, as well as the interstate transportation and sale of stolen property from the burglaries.  PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, FISEKU, CIRIKOVIC, and other members and associates of the criminal organization committed the following burglaries and attempted burglaries, among others:

• Between February 2006 and March 2006, PEJCINOVIC and two others participated in a burglary of a restaurant and an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Portland, Oregon.
• On March 29, 2008, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, CIRIKOVIC, and one other participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan, which resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at more than $2.5 million.
• On October 11, 2008, PEJCINOVIC and CIRIKOVIC participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Germany, attempting to steal gold valued at more than €10 million.
• On July 26, 2009, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, and two others participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan, which resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at more than $850,000.
• On August 25, 2010, PEJCINOVIC and one other participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan.
• On August 28, 2010, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, and two others participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Beverly Hills, which resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at more than $70,000.
• On September 5, 2010, PEJCINOVIC and two others participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Kansas City, Kansas, which resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at more than $1 million.
• On February 19, 2011, PEJCINOVIC, CIRIKOVIC, FISEKU, and two others participated in a jewelry store in Los Angeles, which resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at more than $3 million.
• In the summer of 2011, PEJCINOVIC and one other participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Brooklyn, New York.
• On September 16, 2011, PEJCINOVIC, CIRIKOVIC, and three others participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Los Angeles, which resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at more than $150,000.
• In the fall of 2012, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, and two others participated in an attempted burglary of a bank in Philadelphia.
• On June 30, 2012, PEJCINOVIC, CIRIKOVIC, and two others participated in an attempted burglary of a bank in Scarsdale, New York.
• On July 22, 2012, PEJCINOVIC and two others participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan.
• In the fall of 2013, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, CIRIKOVIC, and one other participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in New Jersey.
• On December 31, 2016, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, FISEKU, and one other participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan, which resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at more than $3 million.
• On March 20, 2017, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, FISEKU, and one other participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in Los Angeles, which resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at more than $2 million.              

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PEJCINOVIC, 44, of New York, New York, BOJKOVIC, 36, of Staten Island, New York, FISEKU, 35, of Staten Island, New York, and CIRIKOVIC, 35 of Woodhaven, New York, are each charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and bank burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  In addition, PEJCINOVIC, BOJKOVIC, and FISEKU are charged with one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD.  Mr. Berman also thanked the Los Angeles Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, Kansas City Police Department, Portland Police Department, German authorities, Interpol, Europol, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.  He added that the investigation is continuing.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent & Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew K. Chan and Margaret Graham are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.