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Man gets over 4 years for role in northeast Ohio theft ring
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man prosecutors say was one of the leaders of a theft ring based in the city that operated across Northeast Ohio was sentenced to 41/2 years in prison Thursday when he appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Alvin Tucker, 28, was sentenced by Judge Maureen Sweeney after he pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and 12 counts of theft, as well as an additional count of breaking and entering on an unrelated case but while he was on bond for the previous case.
The sentence was agreed upon by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Tucker and 11 others were indicted in April for their role in the ring. Police said they stole classic automobiles and landscaping equipment from homes and businesses in Cuyahoga, Trumbull, Stark, Summit and Portage counties.
According to investigators from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the stolen goods were then taken back to Tucker’s home on LaClede Avenue on the South Side.
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Yacovone said prison is necessary for Tucker because his crimes disrupted the lives of countless individuals.
“This obviously affected a lot of people and produced a great deal of hardship for a lot of businesses and individuals,” Yacovone said.
Yacovone said because the sentence is agreed upon, it cannot be appealed by Tucker.
In October, Tucker and another man were arrested after they were caught breaking into Allied Erecting and Dismantling on Poland Avenue. John Raymond, who is with the business, said he thinks Tucker should get more time in prison.
For the breaking-and- entering charge involving Raymond’s business, Tucker was given a six-month sentence that will run concurrent to the sentence he is receiving on the other charges.
Raymond said his business was broken into seven times between July and October, and he believes Tucker was the one responsible. He said he and his employees had to set up their own sting operation to try to catch Tucker.
“The impact of this guy on our business is devastating,” Raymond said. “If we had to deal with this all the time, we wouldn’t be in business.”
“It doesn’t make a good community,” Raymond added. “This little bit he’s getting for what he did to us, he could do a lot more.”
Lou DeFabio, one of Tucker’s lawyers, asked Judge Sweeney to stick to the agreement.
DeFabio said his client cooperated with police when he was under investigation and because of his cooperation, investigators were able to catch the other people who were involved in the ring.