Guilty pleas entered in multistate art, artifacts burglary ring

Jun. 30—SCRANTON — A burglary ring investigators said pilfered museums for valuable loot saw its first guilty pleas Friday in federal court.

Ralph Parry, 45, and Francesco "Frank" Tassiello, 50, pleaded guilty Friday to a count of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property.

Daryl Rinker, 50, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit concealment and disposal of major artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property.

U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion accepted their pleas following three hearings, a portion of which were held under seal and away from public view. Asked later, attorneys declined to say why part of the hearing was secret.

The U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania earlier in June accused a group of nine Lackawanna County residents for roles in 18 heists across six states between 1999 and 2019. Those break-ins include thefts of Christy Mathewson memorabilia from Keystone College in 1999, artwork by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock from the Everhart Museum in 2005 and Art Wall Jr. trophies from the Country Club of Scranton in 2011.

Five have agreed to plead guilty.

Parry, Tassiello and Rinker kept their voices subdued. Their responses to Mannion's questions were monosyllabic, save for the judge's inquiry regarding their plea.

"Guilty," each said.

Two more — siblings Thomas Trotta, 48, of Moscow, and Dawn Trotta, 51, of Covington Twp. — are scheduled to enter pleas Wednesday.

Four others are under indictment. One — 53-year-old Nicholas Dombek, of Thornhurst Twp. — is a fugitive.

Attorney Ernie Preate, a former state attorney general, is Dombek's lawyer. Attempts to reach Preate were unsuccessful Friday. Dombek's whereabouts are unknown more than two weeks after the indictment was unsealed in federal court.

Three others await trial scheduled later this year: Damien Boland, 47, of Moscow; and brothers Alfred Atsus, 47, of Covington Twp.; and Joseph Atsus, 48, of Roaring Brook Twp. They have pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Pre-trial motions for those defendants are due in September.

In court Friday:

Rinker, of Thornhurst Twp., admitted he bought stolen goods like coins and drew a map of the interior of Cade's Coins and Gold Buyer in Exeter prior to a burglary in March 2018, according to a criminal information.

He also purchased a W.F. Mills & Son Model 1860 7-barrel percussion rifle, colloquially known as the "Tiger Gun," which was stolen from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey. The weapon, worth $250,000, and an 1857 Colt Walker .44-caliber 6-shot percussion revolver were seized by police during the investigation and remain in FBI custody, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Buchanan said.

Rinker's attorney, Chris Caputo, stressed his client was not part of the actual thefts.

"He's very sorry he was involved at all," Caputo said.

Parry, of Covington Twp., acknowledged guilt for driving a rental vehicle to a Washington, D.C., museum and back so another conspirator could break in. The burglary was aborted.

Attempts to reach Parry's federal public defender, Leo Latella, were unsuccessful.

Tassiello, of Scranton, took responsibility for driving another conspirator to Space Farms: Zoo and Museum in Wantage, New Jersey, and Basic Irish Luxury in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2018 to commit burglaries. He also made a disguise and costumed a conspirator for another burglary.

He was given several rings as payment for being a driver.

Tassiello is currently serving weekends in a New Jersey jail on a sentence imposed for taking part in the Space Farms burglary, said his attorney, Christopher Opiel. Mannion asked Buchanan whether bringing federal charges raised a double-jeopardy issue, which is when a government prosecutes a person twice for the same crime.

Double jeopardy is not a concern, Buchanan said, because the federal case centers on the conspiracy, not the "substantive" criminal acts.

Opiel declined to comment.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.