New Yorker Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison For His Role in Multi-state Auto Theft Network

August 10, 2007 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a New Yorker was sentenced to prison today for his role in an auto theft ring responsible for thefts of more than $3 million worth of vehicles.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Waldemar Kondzielewski, 29, of Staten Island, N.Y., was sentenced to 10 years in state prison by Superior Court Judge James C. Heimlich in Union County. Kondzielewski was sentenced pursuant to his March 29 guilty plea to an accusation which charged him with second-degree conspiracy to commit racketeering and second-degree racketeering.

At the plea hearing, Kondzielewski admitted that he was a member of an organized enterprise that used fraudulently obtained key codes to steal cars programmed with an electronic code for unlocking and starting. The stolen cars were re-tagged and sold, frequently on eBay. A re-tagged or re-plated vehicle is a vehicle which has had its original vehicle identification number plate removed and replaced with a VIN from another vehicle, usually one that has been damaged in an accident and is a salvage vehicle. It is believed that more than 150 stolen vehicles worth more than $3 million were stolen, re-tagged, and sold by this ring.

“Since March, four members of this major auto theft ring have received lengthy prison sentences as a result of our joint investigation with authorities in Pennsylvania and New York,” said Attorney General Milgram. “Criminal activity does not halt at state borders, and neither do our investigations, thanks to the law enforcement partnerships we have forged.”

On March 23, Superior Court Judge Scott J. Moynihan in Union County sentenced the leader of the ring, Dariusz Grabowski, 37, of Lake Ariel, Pa., to 20 years in state prison, with eight years parole ineligibility, on charges of leading organized crime, conspiracy and racketeering. His brother Krzysztof Grabowski, 26, of Lake Ariel, was sentenced on the same day to 15 years in prison, with seven years parole ineligibility, on charges of conspiracy, racketeering and altering a vehicle identification number. Both men pleaded guilty on Feb. 8.

A third man, Patrick Gutorski, 32, of Lake Ariel, pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 to conspiracy and racketeering and was sentenced on April 5 to 10 years in prison, with three years parole ineligibility.

The Division of Criminal Justice - Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor participated in this multi-jurisdictional investigation with the New Jersey State Police, the Pennsylvania State Police and the New York Attorney General’s Office.

State Investigators Jarek Pyrzanowski, Jeffrey Lorman, Joseph Luccarelli, and Kelly Howard, Civil Investigator Gary Miller, Analysts Paula Carter and Barbara Ziolkowski, and Deputy Attorneys General Philip J. Mogavero and Jacqueline Smith coordinated the investigation. Smith represented the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing. New Jersey State Police Detective Joseph Salokas and National Insurance Crime Bureau Agent Donald Cavallo also assisted in the investigation.

“Frequently insurance fraud investigations lead to evidence of stolen automobiles and alteration of vehicle identification numbers,” said Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown. “This particular investigation uncovered a multi-million dollar auto theft ring.”

Prosecutor Brown noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll-free hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web site www.NJInsuranceFraud.org. State regulations permit an award to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.

The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was established by the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is the centralized state agency that investigates and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.

Source: New Jersey Attorney General

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