Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that two defendants in a catalytic converter theft ring have been sentenced to prison, with two defendants awaiting sentencing. Oliver Morocho, 22, of Corona, Queens, Albert Espinal, 24, also of Queens, and Jose Deleon, 38, of Brooklyn, have each received or are expected to receive, sentences of 1 to 3 years in prison, while Geovanny Ortiz 37, of Brooklyn is expected to receive a sentence of 6 months in October. The four defendants worked together to steal catalytic converters from personal vehicles parked in front of their owners’ homes throughout Suffolk County in 2024.
“The convictions of all the four perpetrators of these quality-of-life crimes demonstrates our continued commitment to investigating catalytic converter thefts and prosecuting those who steal,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Stealing catalytic converters on Long Island is rightfully treated as a serious felony. I want to thank our law enforcement partners in the Suffolk County Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Nassau County Police Department and the New York City Police Department who collaborated in this investigation.”
According to court documents and the defendants’ admissions during their guilty plea allocutions, during the early morning hours of September 3, 2024, September 25, 2024, and October 2, 2024, Morocho, Espinal, Deleon and Ortiz drove across county lines to steal catalytic converters from vehicles parked in the driveways of 13 separate homes in Suffolk County…