Six plead guilty to charges in ongoing theft ring

By Ed Runyan

Much of the merchandise was being sold at a fraction of the retail price.

YOUNGSTOWN — Several of the people charged in a burglary ring that involved about $400,000 in stolen motorcycles, ATVs, frozen goods and other items have pleaded guilty to various charges and have been sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

But many of the others are still completing their court cases. So far, none have been sent to prison.

Brian Bleggi, 41, of Black Oak Lane, Austintown, founder of several pizza restaurants in the Youngstown area, pleaded guilty to a variety of charges in the court Wednesday.

Visiting Judge Thomas Patrick Curran of Cuyahoga County, who is handling all of the burglary-ring cases, will sentence Bleggi at 9:15 a.m. Nov. 24. He is expected to go to prison for about four years.

Bobby J. Mock, 39, of Canfield Road, Austintown, has pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and is expected to receive a 10-year prison sentence when Judge Curran sentences him later. He was already sentenced to 41‚Ñ2 years in prison by Mahoning and Trumbull County judges for a standoff that took place in 2007 at the former Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty Township.

Brian Simione, 34, of 3006 Southern Blvd., Youngstown, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and theft and was sentenced to probation.

Thomas N. Turney, 53, of 3448 Shelby Road, Youngstown, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and was sentenced to probation.

Michael Cummings, 41, of 147 Harrow Lane in Youngstown, pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and was sentenced to probation.

Gennaro Bellard, 42, of 2962 Roosevelt Drive, Youngstown, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and will be sentenced later.

Nine others charged in the case are still awaiting court dates to complete their criminal cases.

Jeff Hoolihan, a Warren police detective, participated in a regional task force that investigated the theft ring for nearly two years before indictments were handed up against the 15. Hoolihan said three people were charged in the ring — Albert Alli of Austintown, Mark Wells of North Jackson, and Timothy Marino of Cortland — for facilitating the thefts. They were working at GM Lordstown at the time, and about 10 other GM employees at the time were implicated for buying the goods.

The workers who bought the goods are not facing charges, however, Hoolihan said, because they agreed to give back the items they bought from Alli, Wells and Marino. They lose the money they paid for the stolen items, Hoolihan said.

In many cases, the employees ordered items such as motorcycles, ATVs and lawn mowers that cost $5,000 to $8,000 and paid $1,500 to $2,000 for them, Hoolihan said.

In many other cases, the thieves took frozen food and sold it, primarily to a West Side Youngstown bar.

The thieves were responsible for as many as 125 thefts dating from January 2004 through May 2007, officials say.

Alli, Wells and Marino took orders from the GM workers and passed those requests on to others, Hoolihan said.

Alli is the son of Al Alli, the late former president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the Lordstown complex.

Alli, 33, and his wife, Laura Alli, 37, both of 5134 Nashua Drive in Youngstown, are scheduled for pretrial hearings Oct. 31 before Judge Curran. So is Wells, 42, of 9933 Gladstone Road in North Jackson.

Set for hearings Thursday are Marino, 42, of 2860 Ridge Road in Cortland; Anthony Petrello, 41, of 3019 Canfield Road, Youngstown; Danyelle Stanley, 33, of 2981 Louise Rita Court, Youngstown; and Richard Schaeffer, 50, of 610 Salt Springs Road.

Joseph DeMichael, 40, of 3364 Sandlewood Lane, Austintown, has a hearing Nov. 6; and David Thistlewaite, 35, of 9600 Arthur Street, Canfield, has a jury trial set for Nov. 24.

Casey Shidel, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, is handling the prosecutions. He said most of the stolen items have been returned to their owners.

Most of the break-ins occurred at night or when nobody was around, Shidel said. Some of the burglaries also occurred in Western Pennsylvania and are being handle by authorities there.

runyan@vindy.com