It’s one thing to commit burglary against homeowners, white-collar fraud against a company, or run a criminal organization proliferating contraband.
But it’s another to steal from a charity.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) on Wednesday afternoon announced the end of an investigation that produced sixteen arrests relating to the theft of donated clothing worth nearly $200,000.
Alfredo Perez, 67, of Copiague, allegedly spearheaded one criminal operation, with Manuel Cabrera, 62, of Lindenhurst, allegedly heading the other. Investigators seized fourteen vehicles which were allegedly used to move the clothing. Investigators also recovered an estimated 25,000 pounds of stolen clothing.
Investigators allege that seventy incidents occurred across eight Suffolk donation sites, the first being one twenty-six burglaries starting November 25, 2024, at Our Lady of Perpetual Hope in Lindenhurst. The church continued to be ransacked until August 18, 2025.
Thirty-two burglaries are alleged at Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Deer Park from November 30, 2024, until August 30 of this year. One burglary is alleged at St. Philip and St. James Church in St. James, occurring on June 30, 2025, six burglaries at St. Margaret’s of Scotland in Selden between June and September of this year, and two burglaries at St. Lawrence the Martyr church in Sayville on September 11 and 26.
One burglary is alleged to each of the following locations, St. John Nepomucene in Bohemia – September 27 – Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church in Bellport – September 11 – and St. Jude Church in Mastic Beach – September 11.
Investigators showed video evidence of the alleged defendants climbing into donation bins, removing the bagged clothing, and loading it into cars and vans before driving off.
Perez’s vans allegedly traveled to a used clothing export business in Nassau County. Investigators say that more than 285,000 pounds of stolen clothing were sold to that exporter and that Perez received payments exceeding $100,000. Cabrera is also alleged to have owned multiple Ford Econoline vans which transported another 280,000-plus pounds of stolen clothing for payments in excess of $90,000.
In total, the defendants are alleged to have shipped and sold over half-a-million pounds of donated clothing in exchange for close to $200,000.
Perez is charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, ten counts of Burglary in the Third Degree, Class D felonies, and one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony. District Court Judge John Zollo (R-Smithtown) held Perez on a $10,000 cash bond – $30,000 bond or $100,000 partially secured – and is due back in court on October 9.
Cabrera was charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, three counts of Burglary in the Third Degree, Class D felonies, and one count of Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a Class E felony. Judge Zollo placed Cabrera on supervised release with GPS monitoring due to his charges being considered non-bail-eligible under New York State law. Prosecutors cannot request bail and Judge Zollo cannot set bail in that case.
Fourteen co-conspirators, including two juveniles , – both 17, one of Wyandanch, the other of Brentwood – have also been charged. Tierney said that there is no evidence the juveniles were coerced into participating.
The targeted donation bins were operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island, a Catholic organization founded in 1845 that is one of the oldest charities still operating in the U.S.
“This is one of the charity’s largest sources of revenue for the poor, and this is hundreds of thousands of pounds of clothing representing hundreds of thousands of dollars that were unable to go those who needed it most,” said Tierney, joined by representatives of Sheriff Errol Toulon (D), Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, St. Vincent de Paul Long Island Executive Director Tom Abbate, and a team of investigators and analysts. U.S. Secret Service also aided the investigation.
Tierney added that some thefts are alleged to have happened at night, but some during the day, even while church services were being held. A storage unit was also allegedly purchased as a holding site between drop-offs to the exporter. One of the vans was involved in a hit-and-run, while another was stopped in Huntington Station for a suspended registration. The latter van produced a loaded handgun and cocaine.
“You thought you’ve seen everything. Could you believe people would steal from a clothing bin?” said Executive Romaine. “We are determined to keep Suffolk safe. With crimes like this, we will find them, prosecute them, and jail them. There should be consequences when you steal from the most needy.”
Commissioner Catalina found the acts “truly unconscionable.”
“It’s up there with stealing from the elderly and children,” said Catalina. “It’s beyond comprehension.” He acknowledged patrol officers who made the stops and identified the individuals that helped the investigation take the suspects into custody.
Suffolk County Undersheriff John Becker called the acts “not just theft”, but “exploitation.”
“They didn’t just steal bags of clothing. They stole the generosity of Suffolk County residents,” said Becker. “Turning kindness and charity into personal profit is absolutely shameful.” Becker said that the Suffolk Undersheriffs were an “integral” part of the investigation.
Tierney said that no gang affiliations have been established, and that the two rings appear to have acted independently from each other.
Though the juveniles are not assumed to have been coerced or manipulated, Tierney said it spawns a larger conversation on Raise the Age, a set of State laws that increased criminal liability for non-violent crimes from 16 to 18 years of age.
“It incentivizes a criminal organization using children or juveniles to commit crimes because the penalties faced are much less,” said Tierney, adding that while he thinks the Raise the Age law was “well-intentioned”, it warrants further scrutiny.
A seventeenth defendant is also in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Prosecutors have submitted a writ to have the defendant tried in Suffolk County.
