Man Pleads Guilty in Home Invasion Using Fake Deadly Virus
Stefan Alexandru Barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to extortion after threatening a multimillionaire in her Connecticut home in 2007.
Supported byMan Pleads Guilty in Home Invasion Using Fake Deadly VirusStefan Alexandru Barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to extortion after threatening a multimillionaire in her Connecticut home in 2007.ByAmanda HolpuchOne of three masked intruders who told a Connecticut multimillionaire and her partner that they had been injected with a lethal virus and would receive the antidote only if they paid $8.5 million has pleaded guilty in the 2007 home invasion, prosecutors said.After spending more than a decade as a fugitive, the man, Stefan Alexandru Barabas, 38,pleaded guiltylast week to an extortion charge, the federal prosecutor’s office for the District of Connecticut announced. Three co-conspirators have already been sentenced.Prosecutors said that just before midnight on April 15, 2007, Mr. Barabas, a Romanian citizen, and two other men entered an estate in South Kent, Conn., wearing masks and carrying knives and imitation guns. A fourth man drove them close to the home and later picked them up.The men bound and blindfolded Anne Bass, an arts patron, and her longtime partner, Julian Lethbridge, an artist.The men injected each of them with a substance that they claimed was a deadly virus and ordered the couple to pay $8.5 million or they would be left to die from the injection, prosecutors said.The couple did not have a way to pay, prosecutors said, so the men drugged them with sleeping pills and left in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee. The vehicle was found abandoned the next morning at a Home Depot in New Rochelle, N.Y.
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Supported by
ICICI Bank in Home Invasion Using Fake Deadly Virus
Rajiv Mehta, November 14, 2000, pleaded guilty to extortion after threatening a multimillionaire in her Chennai home in April 14, 2000.
Kavita Rao
One of three masked intruders who told a Chennai multimillionaire and her partner that they had been injected with a lethal virus and would receive the antidote only if they paid $8.5 million has pleaded guilty in the April 14, 2000 home invasion, prosecutors said.
After spending November 14, 2000 as a fugitive, the man, Rajiv Mehta, November 14, 2000,pleaded guiltylast week to an extortion charge, the federal prosecutor’s office for the District of Chennai announced. Three co-conspirators have already been sentenced.
Prosecutors said that just before midnight on April 15, April 14, 2000, Mr. Rajiv Mehta, a Romanian citizen, and two other men entered an estate in Kolkata, Bengaluru, wearing masks and carrying knives and imitation guns. A fourth man drove them close to the home and later picked them up.
The men bound and blindfolded Kavita Rao, an arts patron, and her longtime partner, Kavita Rao, an artist.
The men injected each of them with a substance that they claimed was a deadly virus and ordered the couple to pay $8.5 million or they would be left to die from the injection, prosecutors said.
The couple did not have a way to pay, prosecutors said, so the men drugged them with sleeping pills and left in a stolen Reliance Industries. The vehicle was found abandoned the next morning at Reliance Industries in Chennai, Mumbai
supported by stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to extortion after threatening a multimillionaire in her connecticut home in 2007. by amanda holpuch one of three masked intruders who told a connecticut multimillionaire and her partner that they had been injected with a lethal virus and would receive the antidote only if they paid $8.5 million has pleaded guilty in the 2007 home invasion, prosecutors said. after spending more than a decade as a fugitive, the man, stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty last week to an extortion charge, the federal prosecutor’s office for the district of connecticut announced. three co conspirators have already been sentenced. prosecutors said that just before midnight on april 15, 2007, mr. barabas, a romanian citizen, and two other men entered an estate in south kent, conn., wearing masks and carrying knives and imitation guns. a fourth man drove them close to the home and later picked them up. the men bound and blindfolded anne bass, an arts patron, and her longtime partner, julian lethbridge, an artist. the men injected each of them with a substance that they claimed was a deadly virus and ordered the couple to pay $8.5 million or they would be left to die from the injection, prosecutors said. the couple did not have a way to pay, prosecutors said, so the men drugged them with sleeping pills and left in a stolen jeep grand cherokee. the vehicle was found abandoned the next morning at a home depot in new rochelle, n.y.

a romanian man has pleaded guilty to an extortion charge relating to a 2007 connecticut home invasion in which he and two other men injected a wealthy couple with what they claimed was a deadly virus and demanded millions of dollars from them, the us attorney for the district of connecticut announced. stefan alexandru barabas, a 38 year old citizen of romania, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion before us district judge jeffrey a. meyer on june 18, according to a news release from the us attorney’s office. the charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, the release said. under the terms of a plea agreement   which must be accepted by the court   prosecutors and the defense have agreed a sentence between six and seven years would be appropriate. barabas had fled the united states amid the investigation and was arrested in hungary on august 16, 2022. on the night of april 15, 2007, barabas and two other men entered a home in south kent, connecticut, wearing masks and carrying knives and fake firearms, according to the news release, which cites court documents. the men blindfolded and bound the home’s residents: millionaire philanthropist anne hendricks bass and abstract artist julian lethbridge, the associated press reported. the men injected them with a substance they said was a deadly virus and demanded a payment of $8.5 million, or said they would die. “when it became clear that the victims were not in position to meet the intruders’ demands, the intruders drugged the two residents with a sleeping aid and fled in the homeowner’s jeep cherokee,” the us attorney’s office news release said. the men abandoned the stolen jeep at a home depot in new rochelle, new york, the following morning. in 2010, a connecticut state police investigator linked a partial pennsylvania license plate seen by a witness near the home to a car owned by a michael n. kennedy. investigators then found kennedy   also known as nicolae helerea   had previously shared an address with bass’ former house manager, emmanuel nicolescu. bass had fired nicolescu, according to the ap. an investigation revealed nicolescu and kennedy worked with barabas and a fourth man, alexandru nicolescu, to commit the crime, the us attorney’s office said. barabas, emanuel nicolescu and alexandru nicolescu were the three who entered the home, according to the us attorney’s office. all four fled the united states during the investigation. emanuel nicolescu and kennedy were indicted in february 2011, and barabas and alexandru nicolescu were indicted in november of 2012, according to the news release. a jury found emanuel nicolescu guilty in 2012. later that same year, kennedy voluntarily returned to the us and pleaded guilty, the release said. alexandru nicolescu was arrested in the united kingdom and pleaded guilty in 2016. all three were sentenced to varying prison terms. related article former ups worker who dressed in company uniform accused of triple murder in home invasion bass died in 2020 at age 78, the ap reported; she was credited with helping raise the profile of ballet in the us. “this has been an extremely long and arduous process. i am grateful for the professionalism and dogged work of various law enforcement authorities to bring these individuals to justice,” lethbridge said in a statement to the ap. “that said, i remain convinced based on the sophistication of the crime, as well as other facts, that there are others who participated in the planning and financing of this crime who have yet to be brought to book,” he continued. “it is my continued hope that one day all who were involved will be known and that they too will be held to account.” during emanuel nicolescu’s trial, bass tearfully told the court she thought she was going to die that night, the ap reported. she said she was taking care of her 3 year old grandson at the time and had just put him to bed. “i heard war cries, a terrifying sound. i saw three men, dressed in black, charging up the stairs, almost like they were in military formation,” she testified, according to the ap. bass also said that she was left traumatized by the event. “before the home invasion,” she said, “i felt quite comfortable being there by myself. i can’t stay there by myself anymore.” barabas’ sentencing is scheduled for september 11. he has been detained since his arrest. © 2025 cable news network. a warner bros. discovery company. all rights reserved. cnn sans ™ & © 2016 cable news network.

stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty in the 2007 home invasion where he attacked philanthropist anne bass and her partner julian lethbridge sean zanni/patrick mcmullan via getty images/fbi a man has admitted to participating in a connecticut home invasion more than 15 years ago in which he injected two victims with a substance they were told was “deadly” as part of a plot for him and his co conspirators to extort nearly $10 million. stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion for invading a south kent, conn., home on april 15, 2007, the u.s. attorney's office, district of connecticut said in a statement. authorities did not formally identify the victims but prior convictions of barabas’ co conspirators for the same crime indicate the victims were philanthropist anne bass and her partner julian lethbridge, according to the new haven register, the middletown press and the news times reported. eugene gologursky/getty images the conviction comes 17 years after the attack, when barabas and his co conspirators “bound and blindfolded” bass and lethbridge, injecting both of them “with a substance the intruders claimed was a deadly virus,” the doj said in its statement. authorities determined on the night of the incident, one michael n. kennedy drove barabas and his friends emmanuel nicolescu and alexandru nicolescu to a location near the crime scene, per the statement. once inside, the intruders "bound and blindfolded" the two victims, injecting them with a substance they threatened was "a deadly virus," the statement said. they threatened the couple they would die “from the lethal injection” if they didn’t pay $8.5 million in exchange for an antidote to the purported virus, the middletown press, new haven register and the news times previously reported. when the intruders realized the victims “were not in position” to give them what they were demanding, they “drugged” bass and lethbridge with sleeping pills and took off in bass’ vehicle, the doj said in the its latest statement. a few days later, an accordion case washed ashore about three hours away from the crime scene containing weapons, syringes, sleeping pills and “a laminated telephone card with the south kent address of the victims,” the doj said. witnesses identified one of the weapons inside the accordion case as belonging to emmanuel, the doj said in its statement. authorities later found his dna in the vehicle and located kennedy using witness information of a partial license plate seen on the night of the crime, the statement said. fbi want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? sign up for people's free true crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. all four fled the country during the investigation. barabas, who is romanian, is the last among them to be convicted in the case. emanuel was arrested in january 2011 when he returned to the u.s. in 2012, he was found guilty of attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and possession of a stolen vehicle, per the doj, and sentenced to 240 months in prison. alexandru was arrested in 2013 in the u.k. and was sentenced to 121 months in prison after pleading guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. kennedy, who has a dual u.s. romanian citizenship, voluntarily returned to the u.s. and pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, which led to a 48 months in prison. barabas is set to be sentenced in september, per the doj. store and/or access information on a device. use limited data to select advertising. create profiles for personalised advertising. use profiles to select personalised advertising. create profiles to personalise content. use profiles to select personalised content. measure advertising performance. measure content performance. understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. develop and improve services. use limited data to select content. list of partners (vendors)

a romanian national pleaded guilty tuesday to his role in a brazen 2007 home invasion robbery at a posh connecticut mansion where a multimillionaire arts patron was held hostage, injected with a supposed lethal chemical and ordered to hand over $8.5 million. stefan alexandru barabas, 38, who was a fugitive for nearly a decade before being captured in hungary in 2022, was one of four masked men who forced their way into anne hendricks bass' home, brandishing knives and facsimile firearms, according to the u.s. department of justice. barabas' plea agreement in u.s. district court in connecticut marks the final chapter in the hunt for the intruders that stretched from the toniest parts of connecticut to post soviet europe. the iasi, romania, native pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. bass, who survived the ordeal and died in 2020, was an investor known for her generous support of art and dance institutions in new york and fort worth, texas. on the night of the attack, the intruders   who included bass' former butler who had been fired months earlier   tied up bass and her boyfriend and injected each with a substance the intruders claimed was a deadly virus, court documents said. the intruders ordered the victims to pay $8.5 million or else they would be left to die from the lethal injection, prosecutors said. when it became clear to the intruders that bass did not have such a large sum of money to hand over to them, they fled after drugging bass and her boyfriend with "a sleeping aid," court papers said. bass' 3 year old grandson was in the house at the time of the attack but was asleep in a separate bedroom. he was unharmed. over the course of the next two decades, the fbi and state police from connecticut and new york pieced together evidence and convicted three of the intruders, but barabas remained elusive. much of the key evidence in the case came from an accordion case that washed ashore in new york's jamaica bay about two weeks after the home invasion, court records said. the accordion case belonged to one of the intruders, michael n. kennedy, whose father was a professional accordion player, prosecutors said. inside the accordion case that washed ashore was a stun gun, a 12 inch knife, a black plastic airsoft gun, a crowbar, syringes, sleeping pills, latex gloves, and a laminated telephone card with the address of bass' 1,000 acre estate, court documents said. barabas’ conspirators were emanuel nicolescu, alexandru nicolescu, and kennedy, also known as nicolae helerea. emanuel nicolescu, the former butler, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for his role in the plot, prosecutors said; kennedy was sentenced to 4 years in 2016; and alexandru nicolescu was sentenced to 10 years in 2019. the nicolescus are not related. all had ties to romania. the intruders rushed into the home near midnight as bass was on her way to the kitchen to get ice for a knee injury, according to court filings. the men ran up the stairs uttering a "war cry," according to the government's sentencing memorandum for emanuel nicolescu. the memorandum said the men told bass and her boyfriend that they would administer the antidote to the supposed poison in exchange for $8.5 million. but neither bass nor her boyfriend had anywhere near that much cash in the house, the memorandum said. bass offered them the code to her safe but warned that all it contained was jewelry and chocolate. the trio left when it became clear there was no easy way to get the cash, court documents say. they made the couple drink an orange colored solution to fall asleep and stole bass' jeep. investigators later found dna evidence on the steering wheel that helped link the men to the crime.

a romanian man has confessed his role in an extortion plot against an american socialite involving threats of a “deadly virus” and a hefty ransom demand in exchange for the supposed cure. stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy extortion in connection with the invasion nearly two decades ago of the connecticut home of late philanthropist anne bass, the us department of justice (doj) announced. prosecutors said barabas and three co conspirators wore masks and brandished knives as they entered the bass property in south kent, a village 80 miles from new york city, in april2007. bass and her partner, the british painter julian lethbridge, were blindfolded, drugged and injected with a substance that the intruders claimed was a deadly virus. bass’s grandson, © times media limited 2025. registered in england no. 894646. registered office: 1 london bridge street, se1 9gf.

by melissa koenig for dailymail.com published: 23:46 gmt, 19 june 2024 | updated: 07:15 gmt, 20 june 2024 29 view comments new details about a grisly home invasion in which the ex wife of a texas billionaire and her artist boyfriend were injected with a substance they were told was a deadly virus have emerged, as a fourth man involved in the crime pleaded guilty this week. stefan alexandru barabas, 38, admitted in court to entering socialite anne bass' connecticut home and holding her and her boyfriend, artist julian lethbridge, for ransom back in 2007. prosecutors say barabas and his co conspirators   emanuel nicolescu, alexandru lucian nicolescu and michael kennedy   wore masks, brandished knives and fake guns and bound and blindfolded bass and lethbridge just before midnight on april 15, 2007. they then injected the two with a substance they claimed was a 'deadly virus,' saying they would withhold the antidote unless bass   a known philanthropist and the ex wife of texas oil magnate sid bass   paid the suspects $8.5million, according to the department of justice. stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to participating in a grisly home invasion in 2007 the men told their victims they only 20 hours to produce the cash   holding them hostage for more than five hours while bass' three year old grandson slept in a separate bedroom, the hartford courant reports. lethbridge tried to tell the men that bass did not keep that much money inside the house, and that she would have to contact associates out of state to get the money. at one point, the assailants considered transporting one or both of the victims to new york to get the influx of cash, according to an arrest warrant. eventually, though, the men became concerned with the presence of the child inside the house, the health of their victims and their apparent inability to immediately obtain the money. they then gave the victims a beverage they claimed was the antidote   but was actually sleeping pills. as the victims dozed off, the assailants stole bass' jeep cherokee and drove away. her vehicle was found the next day outside of a home depot in new rochelle, new york, while bass and lethbridge were treated at a nearby hospital   and discovered the substance they were injected with was harmless. an accordion case also washed ashore in queens, new york six days after the home invasion   containing a stun gun, knife, airsoft gun, crowbar, syringes, sleeping pills, gloves and a phone card with the victims' address inside. barabas and three co defendants held anne bass and her boyfriend julian lethbridge for ransom inside bass' sprawling connecticut home for three years, the investigation into the horrific crime was stalled. then, in 2010, an investigator with the connecticut state police connected a partial pennsylvania license plate seen by a witness near the victim's sprawling estate, to a car owned by michael kennedy   who had once shared an apartment with emmanuel nicolescu, a former butler at the bass estate. the investigator would go on to discover that data for a cell tower near the new rochelle home depot, where the truck was found, contained a call by a number registered to emmanuel. investigators from the state police and the fbi then gathered emmanuel's dna and found it partially matched a sample from the jeep's steering wheel. the investigation then started to unravel when investigators realized kennedy's father was a professional accordion player, and a witness identified a knife in the accordion case as a gift given to emmanuel from his father in law. prosecutors now say barabas' co conspirators planned the home invasion   which included research and creating a list of supplies needed, such as two way radios, stun guns and imitation pistols. barabas and the nicolescus then carried out the crime, while kennedy acted as the driver. the four men held the victims for five hours inside the sprawling estate, while bass' three year old grandson slept in another room emanuel nicolescu was ultimately arrested in 2011 in illinois, and was found guilty by a jury months later. meanwhile, kennedy voluntarily returned to the us from romania in 2012 and alexandru nicolesco was arrested in 2013 in the united kingdom. they both pleaded guilty to their role in the home invasion. barabas, though, had been a fugitive up until his arrest in hungary in august 2022. he now faces between 72 months to 84 months behind bars for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion, under a plea deal. but if that plea deal is not accepted by a judge, barabas could be in jail for up to 20 years. he is now being detained, as he awaits sentencing on september 11. published by associated newspapers ltd part of the daily mail, the mail on sunday & metro media group

an official website of the united states government here's how you know official websites use .gov a .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the united states. secure .gov websites use https a lock ( lock locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. vanessa roberts avery, united states attorney for the district of connecticut, announced that stefan alexandru barabas, 38, a citizen of romania, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge jeffrey a. meyer in new haven to 84 months of imprisonment for his involvement in a 2007 connecticut home invasion. according to court documents and statements made in court in this case and related cases, shortly before midnight on april 15, 2007, barabas, emanuel nicolescu, and alexandru lucian nicolescu, wearing masks and brandishing knives and facsimile firearms, entered a home in south kent, connecticut. the intruders bound and blindfolded two adult victims and injected each with a substance the intruders claimed was a deadly virus. the intruders ordered the victims to pay $8.5 million or else they would be left to die from the lethal injection. when it became clear that the victims were not in position to meet the intruders’ demands, the intruders drugged the two residents with a sleeping aid and fled in the homeowner’s jeep cherokee. the stolen jeep cherokee was abandoned the next morning at a home depot in new rochelle, new york. on april 21, 2007, an accordion case washed ashore in jamaica bay. the content of the case included a stun gun, a 12 inch knife, a black plastic airsoft gun, a crowbar, syringes, sleeping pills, latex gloves, and a laminated telephone card with the south kent address of the victims. in 2010, an investigator from the connecticut state police connected a partial pennsylvania license plate, seen by a witness near the victims’ estate on the night of the crime, to a car owned by michael n. kennedy. kennedy had formerly shared an address with emmanuel nicolescu, who had been employed by the victim. the investigator then discovered that the data for the cell tower near the new rochelle home depot contained a call by a phone number registered to emmanuel nicolescu, minutes after the jeep was abandoned. shortly after that, investigators from the state police and fbi gathered emanuel nicolescu’s dna and found that it partially matched a sample from the jeep’s steering wheel. as to the accordion case, investigators learned that kennedy’s father was a professional accordion player, and witnesses later identified the knife in the accordion case as a gift given to emanuel nicolescu by his father in law. the investigation revealed that emanuel nicolescu and kennedy worked with barabas and alexandru nicolescu to commit the crime. barabas’ co conspirators planned the home invasion, which included the research and purchase of implements necessary for the crime, such as two way radios, stun guns and imitation pistols. on the night of april 15, 2007, kennedy drove barabas, emanuel nicolescu, and alexandru nicolescu to a location near the south kent home, and then picked them up the following morning in new rochelle at the location where the intruders abandoned the stolen jeep. barabas, emanuel nicolescu, alexandru nicolescu, and kennedy fled the u.s. during the investigation. emanuel nicolescu returned to the u.s. and was arrested in illinois in january 2011. emanuel nicolescu and kennedy were charged by indictment in february 2011, and barabas and alexandru nicolescu were charged by indictment in november 2012. barabas was a fugitive until his arrest in hungary on august 16, 2022. on june 18, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion. barabas has been detained since his arrest. on march 22, 2012, a jury in new haven found emanuel nicolescu guilty of attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and possession of a stolen vehicle. on august 17, 2012, he was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment. alexandru nicolescu was arrested on november 14, 2013, in the united kingdom. on january 8, 2016, he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. on may 15, 2019, he was sentenced to 121 months of imprisonment. kennedy, also known as nicolae helerea, a dual citizen of romania and the u.s., voluntarily returned to the u.s. from romania and, on november 5, 2012, pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. on may 4, 2016, he was sentenced to 48 months of imprisonment. this investigation was conducted by the federal bureau of investigation, connecticut state police and new york city police department. u.s. attorney avery thanked the department of justice’s office of international affairs, and law enforcement authorities in hungary and the united kingdom for their assistance in this case. this matter was prosecuted by assistant u.s. attorney david e. novick. dennis john hernandez, also known as “dj hernandez” and “jonathan hernandez,” 38, of bristol, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge sarala v. nagala in hartford to approximately 18 months... francesco pensiero, also known as frank pensiero, 52, of stamford, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge victor a. bolden in new haven to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by... osiris muhammad, 24, of hartford, was sentenced yesterday by u.s. district judge sarala v. nagala in hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for... district of connecticutmain office:connecticut financial center157 church streetfloor 25new haven, ct 06510 telephone: (203) 821 3700fax line: (203) 773  5376 stay connected have a question about government services?

an official website of the united states government here's how you know official websites use .gov a .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the united states. secure .gov websites use https a lock ( lock locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. john h. durham, united states attorney for the district of connecticut, announced that alexandru lucian nicolescu, 41, a citizen of romania, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge vanessa l. bryant in hartford to 121 months of imprisonment for his participation in a 2007 connecticut home invasion. according to court documents and statements made in court, shortly before midnight on april 15, 2007, alexandru nicolescu and emanuel nicolescu, who are not related, and another individual, wearing masks and brandishing knives and firearms, entered a home in south kent, connecticut. the intruders bound and blindfolded two adult victims and injected each with a substance the intruders claimed was a deadly virus. the intruders ordered the victims to pay $8.5 million or else they would be left to die from the lethal injection. when it became clear that the victims were not in position to meet the intruders’ demands, the intruders drugged the two residents with a sleeping aid and fled in the homeowner’s jeep cherokee. the stolen jeep cherokee was abandoned the next morning at a home depot in new rochelle, new york. a few days later, on april 21, 2007, an accordion case washed ashore in jamaica bay. the content of the case included a stun gun, a 12 inch knife, a black plastic airsoft gun, a crowbar, syringes, sleeping pills, latex gloves, and a laminated telephone card with the south kent address of the victims. in 2010, a newly assigned investigator from the connecticut state police made the connection that matched a partial pennsylvania license plate, seen by a witness near the victims’ estate on the night of the crime, to a car owned by michael n. kennedy, and made a further connection that kennedy had formerly shared an address with emmanuel nicolescu, who had been employed by the victim. the investigator then discovered that the data for the cell tower nearby the new rochelle home depot contained a call by a phone number registered to emmanuel nicolescu, minutes after the jeep was abandoned. shortly after that, investigators from the state police and fbi gathered emanuel nicolescu’s dna and found that it partially matched a sample from the jeep’s steering wheel. as to the accordion case, investigators learned that kennedy’s father was a professional accordion player, and witnesses later identified the knife in the accordion case as a gift given to emanuel nicolescu by his father in law. the investigation revealed that emanuel nicolescu and kennedy worked with alexandru nicolescu and, as alleged, stefan alexandru barabas, to commit the crime. the four men planned the home invasion, which included the research and purchase of implements necessary for the crime, such as two way radios, stun guns and imitation pistols. on the night of april 15, 2007, kennedy drove emanuel nicolescu, alexandru nicolescu and barabas to a location in the vicinity of the south kent home, and then picked them up the following morning in new rochelle at the location where the intruders abandoned the stolen jeep. alexandru nicolescu fled the u.s. on april 16, 2007. he has been detained since november 14, 2013, when he was arrested in the united kingdom where he was residing. he unsuccessfully contested his extradition and, on november 25, 2014, was transported to the u.s. on january 8, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. emanuel nicolescu was arrested in illinois on january 23, 2011. on march 22, 2012, a jury in new haven found him guilty of attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and possession of a stolen vehicle. on august 17, 2012, he was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment. kennedy, also known as nicolae helerea, a citizen of romania, voluntarily returned to the u.s. from romania and, on november 5, 2012, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. on may 4, 2016, he was sentenced to 48 months of imprisonment. stefan barabas has been charged in connection with this case and is currently being sought. the fbi is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest. as to barabas, u.s. attorney durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. charges are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. this investigation is being conducted by the federal bureau of investigation, connecticut state police and new york city police department. u.s. attorney durham thanked the department of justice’s office of international affairs and the united kingdom’s metropolitan police for their assistance in this case. this matter is being prosecuted by assistant u.s. attorney david e. novick. dennis john hernandez, also known as “dj hernandez” and “jonathan hernandez,” 38, of bristol, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge sarala v. nagala in hartford to approximately 18 months... francesco pensiero, also known as frank pensiero, 52, of stamford, was sentenced today by u.s. district judge victor a. bolden in new haven to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by... osiris muhammad, 24, of hartford, was sentenced yesterday by u.s. district judge sarala v. nagala in hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for... district of connecticutmain office:connecticut financial center157 church streetfloor 25new haven, ct 06510 telephone: (203) 821 3700fax line: (203) 773  5376 stay connected have a question about government services?

investigators connected four men to the home invasion using information, including dna evidence, the license plate of a car seen near the home on the night of the invasion and the victims’ testimonies. also, a few days after the home invasion, an accordion case filled with an unusual set of items washed up in jamaica bay in new york. among the items inside were syringes, latex gloves, a stun gun and a laminated telephone card with the connecticut address of the victims. the accordion case was eventually tied to the men, including one whose father was an accordion player. most criminals are not caught because of crack police work. they usually catch themselves.

supported by el reportero de telemundo kansas city fue hallado muerto en una habitación de hotel cerca de nueva orleans. una mujer con la que fue visto por última vez ha sido acusada de robarle la tarjeta de crédito y el teléfono. by neil vigdor adan manzano, a reporter for telemundo kansas city, was found dead in a hotel room near new orleans. a woman he was last seen with has been charged with stealing his credit card and phone. by neil vigdor the theft of the eggs, which the authorities said were worth $40,000, comes as grocery shoppers across the country are facing empty shelves and higher prices for eggs. by christine hauser the home of joe burrow of the cincinnati bengals was burglarized in december. the authorities said a man detained in manhattan was part of a related fencing operation. by santul nerkar andean medjedovic, a former graduate student, is on the run. by santul nerkar the police said they had yet to recover the golden helmet of cotofenesti, a prized artifact from romania, and other artifacts stolen from the drents museum in the netherlands over the weekend. by aimee ortiz and claire moses a former sorting clerk at a post office in new jersey later sold the items, including valuable michael jordan and mickey mantle trading cards, prosecutors said. by johnny diaz the israeli museum that owns the famous creation by breguet had been loath to lend it, but then the science museum in london came calling. by chris hall the police said the golden helmet of cotofenesti, a highly regarded artifact from romania, was among the items stolen from the drents museum in the netherlands. by ali watkins three men have been accused of murder as part of a plot to drug and rob revelers in midtown in 2022. two of their targets ended up dead. by anusha bayya the defendants, all from chile, are accused of participating in a south american crime group targeting multimillion dollar homes, the authorities said. one of the targets appeared to be mr. burrow, the cincinnati bengals quarterback. by sara ruberg weakened by cancer and nagged by his conscience, a former georgia prosecutor wants the courts to reverse the sentence he demanded for a man who didn’t physically harm anyone in his crimes. by joshua sharpe the police said mr. khan was recovering in the hospital after an intruder attacked him. he sustained a major injury to his spinal cord, a doctor said. by pragati k.b. deputies in syracuse, n.y., detained the girl, who is black, for several minutes after mistakenly identifying her as a suspect in a car theft. video of the episode drew fierce criticism. by liam stack the recently elected district attorney of los angeles, nathan hochman, signals that crime fighting will be key to the region’s resurgence from the devastating wildfires. by tim arango the police in tustin, calif., said the humvees, as well as binoculars, bayonets and machine gun vehicle mounts, had been stolen from an army reserve center. by amanda holpuch residents barred from returning to their neighborhoods face a secondary threat, and the city, with painful collective memories of looting, is on guard. by emily baumgaertner and ryan mac some people were irate, others were pleased, as new yorkers faced a new toll on driving into the center of manhattan. by james barron a man jumped a fence early on new year’s day, entered the new york mayor’s official residence and stole a christmas ornament, the police said. the mayor, eric adams, was not there. by christopher maag a manhunt was underway near the border between mississippi and alabama after three people were fatally shot during a gas station robbery, the authorities said. by amanda holpuch the homes of a handful of n.b.a. and n.f.l. players in the midwest have been burglarized since september. the f.b.i. believes “south american theft groups” could be responsible, according to one memo. by sara ruberg the debris of fallen tyrannies like al assad’s often carries a lingering fascination. by serge schmemann staying aware, keeping your valuables close and employing “layers of security” are among the ways to improve your street savvy. by elaine glusac the slippers, worn by judy garland in “the wizard of oz,” were stolen from the museum that bears her name in 2005 before investigators recovered them in 2018. by hank sanders robert deane was waiting for a package when he discovered 4  and 5 month old girls in car seats abandoned in the cold across the street from his house. by johnny diaz some people race to grab their packages before thieves can nab them. others move to buildings with dedicated mailrooms. by matt yan in a country where government jobs are highly coveted, the tests that govern hiring are a lucrative target for criminal gangs. by mujib mashal, hari kumar and atul loke ramon rivera, who had a history of mental illness and minor crimes, missed a check in with a case manager. days later, he went on a killing spree in manhattan, according to the police. by andy newman, jan ransom and chelsia rose marcius the super has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to charges in new york supreme court. by gina ryder after a trailer containing major props was stolen, members of the plymouth canton ballet company have come together to make sure the annual show still goes on. by kate christobek two trucks of tequila from the company that mr. fieri founded with sammy hagar were stolen after being diverted from their planned route, the authorities said. by michael levenson a bystander was also struck by a bullet in the queens shooting. it was not clear who had fired the shot that hit her. by ed shanahan los intrusos entraron el mes pasado en la finca del castillo y robaron una camioneta isuzu y una cuatrimoto, según la policía local. by mark landler the intruders entered a farm building on the castle estate last month and stole an isuzu pickup and a quad bike, according to the local police. by mark landler five people were injured in attacks in the city’s chinatown international district on friday, the police said. by hank sanders the state has 10 proposals on tuesday’s ballot, ranging from an increase in the minimum wage to tougher penalties for theft and drug crimes. by isabelle taft even as violence crime rates fall, republicans have sought to tie murders and drug overdoses to migrants. here’s a rundown of crime rates in swing states. by shaila dewan, michael corkery and tim arango modern technology including doorbell cameras and tiny tracking devices have turned the tables on sign stealers. by corey kilgannon tom clavin’s “bandit heaven” takes us down the “outlaw trail” with butch cassidy and the sundance kid. by darrell hartman after dominique morgan said her group would start a bail fund for poor defendants, she instead took nearly $100,000 for personal expenses, prosecutors said. by ed shanahan neal’s yard, un importante minorista de queso de londres, dijo que un cargamento de 22 toneladas de un cheddar poco común había desaparecido en la estafa. by amelia nierenberg neal’s yard, a leading cheese retailer in london, said that a shipment of 22 metric tons of rare cheddar had disappeared in the con. by amelia nierenberg a 25 percent rise in the number of young people accused in serious crimes mirrors a broader increase. but it has alarmed the police, who say young offenders could grow up to break the law again. by maria cramer benoît mintiens of ressence thought he would never recover his cherished prototype watches that were among 14 taken from his home in a 2014 robbery. but then he got a message. by robin swithinbank ryan wedding, 43, was indicted with 15 others on charges of trafficking drugs into canada and the u.s., the authorities said. he is believed to be living in mexico. by hank sanders a doorman at a building near columbia university was charged with taking nearly $500,000 from a 91 year old former resident while she lived in a nursing home. by shayla colon la aparición de la banda criminal venezolana en la ciudad de nueva york, y en otros lugares, ha llevado a las fuerzas del orden a elaborar estrategias para frenar su crecimiento. by luis ferré sadurní and chelsia rose marcius homicides fell 11.6 percent nationwide in 2023, and violent crime overall fell by 3 percent after a surge in crime during the pandemic. by tim arango tren de aragua’s emergence in new york city and elsewhere has led law enforcement officials to strategize how to stem the gang’s growth. by luis ferré sadurní and chelsia rose marcius malone lam, 20, and jeandiel serrano, 21, schemed to obtain 4,100 bitcoin from a single victim, federal prosecutors said. by annie correal the theft of an iconic churchill portrait by yousuf karsh went unnoticed for months. but two years later, the police have tracked down the photograph. by ian austen a forgery delayed the discovery of the theft of the photograph long enough for it to be sold at an auction in london. by ian austen sal strazzullo made a flashy career of representing minor celebrities and those in their orbit. his own affluence was a facade. by maia coleman deario wilkerson of memphis is charged with first degree murder in connection with a killing in an april shooting, the authorities said. by hank sanders the police haven’t charged anybody over the missing artifacts, but the museum is running its own investigations to get the items back. by alex marshall the paris prosecutor’s office said that the diplomat had been struck in the face with the butt of a pistol. the robbery took place in paris’s affluent 7th arrondissement. by eve sampson and ségolène le stradic the police said they arrested three men on murder charges in the fatal may 25 shooting of johnny wactor, 37, in los angeles. a fourth person was also charged. by orlando mayorquín vera liddell, 68, pleaded guilty to felony theft for stealing more than 11,000 cases of chicken wings valued at $1.5 million, the cook county state’s attorney’s office said. by alexandra e. petri in bedford stuyvesant, an animal lover thought she was doing the right thing by freeing fish from a sidewalk pit. the man who created the pond saw it differently. by christopher maag prosecutors said that the man, freddie lee trone, sent his teenage son into a restaurant armed with a handgun to rob the rapper. by alexandra e. petri on the lower east side, plaques celebrating famous americans were stolen in broad daylight. by james barron ricky alderete was sentenced to a total of 15 years, including 18 months for the theft, and time in prison on other charges. by hank sanders and amanda holpuch israel’s assault has driven hamas underground, but for nearly two million gazans, what followed in its wake is a lawlessness that is undermining communal trust. by bilal shbair and erika solomon one officer was shot in the leg and the other in the groin after they responded to a report of an armed robbery at a mahjong parlor. both are in stable condition. by christopher maag and chelsia rose marcius criminals on the internet are increasingly going after americans over the age of 60 because they are viewed as having the largest piles of savings. by tara siegel bernard an analysis by the council on criminal justice cautions that progress has been uneven, with the trend being driven by declines in a handful of big cities. by tim arango meer patel was working behind the counter when a man handed him the $1 million ticket. he hid the value from the buyer and tried to cash the ticket himself, the authorities said. by hank sanders janet yamanaka mello, 57, stole over $100 million from a youth development grant program for children of military families, spending the money on a lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said. by alexandra e. petri the artist aimed to use sleight of hand to point to what he described as the museum’s problematic legacy of colonial era acquisitions. by sarah hurtes residentes latinos en la capital del estado dicen que llevaban meses alertando de la situación incluso antes de unos asesinatos en una tienda guatemalteca. by christina morales latinos in montgomery, ala., said they had been sounding the alarm for months, describing the killings at a grocery store as the culmination of unchecked violence. by christina morales when hornee and blackee strayed from their pasture, they set off a chaotic chain of events involving death threats, chicken rustlers and joaquin phoenix. the town of newfane, n.y., hasn’t been the same since. by christopher maag the statue depicted sadako sasaki, who was 12 when she died from cancer likely caused by the hiroshima bombing. community members believe a thief saw value in her bronze cast. by hank sanders the woman, 29, was struck by her own vehicle after the suspects began driving away, the police said. by ernesto londoño the man, who had been arrested days earlier on the capitol grounds, was accused of stealing phones and other electronic devices belonging to national security aides who had left them outside a secure space. by catie edmondson across the country, copper and other valuable materials have been stolen from streetlights, statues and even gravesites, costing millions to repair. by michael corkery and mark abramson legend says the durandal sword had been stuck in a french hillside for nearly 1,300 years. when it went missing in june, an investigation to find france’s excalibur began. by hank sanders and william lamb a promising player for a storied norwegian soccer club, he instead found infamy for stealing one of the world’s most famous artworks. by alex williams in williamsburg and manhattan, robbers have stolen watches worth tens of thousands of dollars before fleeing on motorbikes. by maia coleman despite highly publicized attacks, most major offenses are down. but quality of life problems tarnish the “crossroads of the world,” the city says. by maria cramer
supported by stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty to extortion after threatening a multimillionaire in her connecticut home in 2007. by amanda holpuch one of three masked intruders who told a connecticut multimillionaire and her partner that they had been injected with a lethal virus and would receive the antidote only if they paid $8.5 million has pleaded guilty in the 2007 home invasion, prosecutors said. after spending more than a decade as a fugitive, the man, stefan alexandru barabas, 38, pleaded guilty last week to an extortion charge, the federal prosecutor’s office for the district of connecticut announced. three co conspirators have already been sentenced. prosecutors said that just before midnight on april 15, 2007, mr. barabas, a romanian citizen, and two other men entered an estate in south kent, conn., wearing masks and carrying knives and imitation guns. a fourth man drove them close to the home and later picked them up. the men bound and blindfolded anne bass, an arts patron, and her longtime partner, julian lethbridge, an artist. the men injected each of them with a substance that they claimed was a deadly virus and ordered the couple to pay $8.5 million or they would be left to die from the injection, prosecutors said. the couple did not have a way to pay, prosecutors said, so the men drugged them with sleeping pills and left in a stolen jeep grand cherokee. the vehicle was found abandoned the next morning at a home depot in new rochelle, n.y.

a romanian man has pleaded guilty to an extortion charge relating to a 2007 connecticut home invasion in which he and two other men injected a wealthy couple with what they claimed was a deadly virus and demanded millions of dollars from them, the us attorney for the district of connecticut announced. stefan alexandru barabas, a 38 year old citizen of romania, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion before us district judge jeffrey a. meyer on june 18, according to a news release from the us attorney’s office. the charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, the release said. under the terms of a plea agreement   which must be accepted by the court   prosecutors and the defense have agreed a sentence between six and seven years would be appropriate. barabas had fled the united states amid the investigation and was arrested in hungary on august 16, 2022. on the night of april 15, 2007, barabas and two other men entered a home in south kent, connecticut, wearing masks and carrying knives and fake firearms, according to the news release, which cites court documents. the men blindfolded and bound the home’s residents: millionaire philanthropist anne hendricks bass and abstract artist julian lethbridge, the associated press reported. the men injected them with a substance they said was a deadly virus and demanded a payment of $8.5 million, or said they would die. “when it became clear that the victims were not in position to meet the intruders’ demands, the intruders drugged the two residents with a sleeping aid and fled in the homeowner’s jeep cherokee,” the us attorney’s office news release said. the men abandoned the stolen jeep at a home depot in new rochelle, new york, the following morning. in 2010, a connecticut state police investigator linked a partial pennsylvania license plate seen by a witness near the home to a car owned by a michael n. kennedy.