A highly coordinated group from Queens pulled off a major heist against Home Depot stores in nine states, totaling $2.2 million in stolen inventory, which they then passed to “fences” who sold the merchandise on the black market, officials said.
The crew, which faced a 780‑count indictment, operated for a decade‑long stretch of 13 months. Their operation was so methodical that they held daily early‑morning strategy sessions and kept detailed checklists of the items they targeted, the Queens District Attorney’s Office revealed on Thursday.
“By all accounts, this was a full‑time job for these defendants,” Queens DA Melinda Katz told reporters. “They took lunch, they took nap breaks, they took shifts. They picked a particular store, took a full inventory of the products. They showed up that day. After the products were stolen, the theft crew needed to get rid of them as a way to feed the theft crews’ salaries.”
Investigators explained that the crew’s routine involved regular morning meetings and even lunch breaks taken away from their “shifts.”
The stolen goods ranged from air conditioners to hand tools and were then sold to five middlemen who resold them on the black market to unsuspecting shoppers in Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx.
“It was not just a local operation,” Katz said. “They stole from Home Depots in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware and Maryland. They often parked close to the store exits, presumably to make a quick getaway with the merchandise.”
Thirteen members of the crew were named in the indictment, including alleged ringleader Armando Diaz, 52, who allegedly held 5:30 a.m. planning meetings almost every day in East Elmhurst to map out the next job.
Once a plan was approved, the group would drive a van to the selected Home Depot, send a few members inside to locate the target items while Diaz stayed in contact via earbuds, according to the indictment.
Crew member Joana Carolina “La Mona” Fermin, 38, ostensibly stayed in the van to watch the retailer’s layout and keep an eye on any approaching officers, officials said.
Prosecutors said a single raid could net up to $35,000 worth of goods.
Between August 2024 and September, the gang reportedly carried out 319 thefts. The DA’s office and state police, with assistance from Home Depot, reviewed security video that helped pin down the criminal activity.
The investigation culminated in executing search warrants at three residences, 14 storage facilities and eight vehicles, and seized a stash of stolen property that included lithium‑ion batteries, power tools, copper wire, generators, Bluetooth speakers and protective roof coatings.
“It takes a whole effort,” Gov. Kathy Hochul told the press about the collaborative pursuit. “But the bottom line is, there are people spending every waking hour trying to figure out how to rip off other people, and the result is your prices are higher than they ever should have been.”
“That’s a fact,” she continued. “Stores have to absorb these costs. Billions of dollars are lost each year to retail theft across the country. Here in New York, we take this very seriously. That’s why when we saw a spike in theft, we moved fast.”
Diaz, Fermin and ten other alleged crew members are currently awaiting arraignment on charges that include conspiracy, grand larceny and possession of stolen property. All are being held without bail, with court dates pending next month. One defendant is held in an unrelated case and has yet to be arraigned.
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