6
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, AUGUST 18, 2019
‘We shouldn’t have to live in fear’
DA powerless to stop notorious Dyker Heights package thief, residents claim
BY ROSE ADAMS
An infamous Dyker Heights
package thief has plagued her
neighbors for nearly 20 years,
according to victims, who claim
that no matter how many times
police cuff the serial larcenist,
packages continue to vanish.
“I am trying to be extra careful
now with my deliveries and
my neighbors are as well, but
it’s so sad that we have to live
like this,” said Alyse Taddeo
DeAngelis, whose package was
stolen from her stoop by 78th
Street and 11th Avenue on July
27. “She seems to always come
back.”
The courier crook, who
served two brief prison stints in
2016 and 2017 for stealing packages,
was arrested five times
for petty larceny and trespassing
charges in Dyker Heights
and Bensonhurst in 2019 alone,
and her only penalty this year
was five days of community
service, according to a spokesman
for District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez.
Her other 2019 arrests ended
in either a conditional discharge,
or adjournment in contemplation
of dismissal, although
a judge has issued a
bench warrant for her arrest after
she failed to show at a court
hearing last month following an
alleged parcel heist on July 16.
And this year was no fl uke —
the package thief’s rapsheet extends
back to the turn of the century
— and locals doubt that the
serial package pilferer will ever
face any serious punishment.
“She was arrested, and they
issued a restraining order. But
she still does it,” said Daniela
DiLeo Romano, whose surveillance
cameras caught the thief
taking packages off her porch
two years ago. “She stole from
all of my neighbors, too.”
And many residents recognize
the packet purloiner
as longtime local, who once
PACKAGE PILFERER: Security footage shows a serial package thief taking an item from inside Alyssa Bello’s house in Bensonhurst on Dec. 10, 2018. Alyssa Bello
worked at an Italian restaurant
on 72nd Street and 18th Avenue.
DeAngelis says she used to be
friendly with the neighborhood
thief, and would often greet her
in passing.
“It’s like she lives this secret
life of stealing packages on
people’s doorsteps,” DeAngelis
speculated. “It’s so sad what’s
become of her.”
Romano says her family is on
friendly terms with the crook’s
clan, who are embarrassed to be
associated with the serial parcel
perp.
“My husband knew her sister,
who is mortifi ed that her sister
does this,” Romano said.
Many locals want the looter
to face a harsher punishment
than a few months in prison, and
blame Gonzalez for not pressing
charges sooner. One resident,
Alyssa Bello, who saw the box
bandit steal her package in December
2018, says she tried to
pressure the District Attorney’s
offi ce to act, but claims prosecutors
dropped the ball.
“I did the paperwork for the
DA so she could be sent to court
and I got an order of protection,
but apparently it didn’t do much.
She was arrested and released
even after repeatedly stealing,”
Bello said. “She’s out and about
doing it all over again, thanks to
the DA.”
But prosecutors say their
hands are tied. Petty theft is a
Class A misdemeanor, meaning
that if convicted, the thief could
face a maximum sentence of
one year in prison, and the law
forbids judges from considering
multiple petty theft charges
when sentencing.
One peeved resident claimed
the thief steals packages to fuel
her drug addiction, and advocated
counseling over jail time.
“She’s doing it for money for
drugs,” Romano said. ”They
should mandate her to go to a
drug rehab.”
Meanwhile, Bensonhurst
and Dyker Heights residents
have banded together out of a
shared interest of actually getting
their mail, and lookout for
their neighbor’s packages — lest
the package thief get them fi rst.
“My neighbors and I try to
take in packages for each other
so as to not have her come stealing,
but it’s hard sometimes,”
DeAngelo said. “We shouldn’t
have to live in fear.”
Messages left for the Dyker
Heights package thief and with
her attorney were not returned.
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 by Brooklyn Courier
Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in
whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address
changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.