A crooked NYPD detective disgraced his badge, acting as a lookout for a prolific crew of robbers who stole more than $10 million in cash and valuables during a stunning three-year thieving spree across Long Island, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Now ex-cop Rafael Astacio and cohorts Victor Arias, 37, of Copiague, Michael Figueroa, 52, of Mount Vernon, Nikitas Margiellos 40, of West Babylon, and Leonard Ripka 50, of Lindenhurst were all smacked with federal raps for dozens of heists at homes and businesses, papers state.
The gang landed several major scores — including $2 million in cash from the office of a Nassau County plastic surgeon and 45,000 pairs of pricey Under Armour and Hobie sunglasses worth $3 million from a warehouse, officials said.
The crew hauled their mountain of shades across state lines to Pennsylvania and Florida and peddled them over the Internet, prosecutors said.
Astacio, 41, also of Copiague, allegedly served as a lookout during the jobs and monitored police scanners. He is already facing state charges after he was caught allegedly breaking into a Lindenhurst home in 2012.
“The defendant Astacio’s actions make clear that he was a cop in name only, having sold his badge and his honor in exchange for his share of their ill-gotten gains,” said Eastern District US Attorney Loretta Lynch.
The brazen crew used blowtorches, crowbars, wire cutters and sledgehammers to bust into homes and businesses on Long Island, according to court papers. The group also used cellphone jammers and police scanners in committing their crimes, prosecutors said.
The gang focused on thoroughly casing their marks to determine ideal moments to strike — and even slapped a GPS tracker on the car of one victim to keep tabs on his whereabouts, prosecutors said.
Astacio also used his law-enforcement status to access protected FBI databases to perform crime-related research, authorities said.
He has been stripped of his badge.
Astacio faces 17 years in prison if convicted, while his criminal colleagues face 15 years each.