West Babylon man pleads guilty to involvement in high-tech burglary crew, prosecutors say

A West Babylon man pleaded guilty to all charges he faced for playing a leading role in a high-tech burglary crew that stole $10 million in cash and goods from Long Island homes and businesses, prosecutors said Monday.

Nikitas Margiellos, 41, pleaded guilty Monday in a Nassau County Court to second-degree burglary and second-degree grand larceny in connection with a residential burglary in August 2009, according to a news release from the Nassau District Attorney's office.

Margiellos also pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree burglary and two counts of possession of burglar's tools in connection with two commercial burglaries in May and June 2012, the release said.

Margiellos is due back in court to be sentenced on Dec. 1, and is expected to get 5 years in prison for the 2009 burglary and 21/3 to 7 years in prison for the 2012 burglaries.

"Mr. Margiellos may have used sophisticated tools to burglarize homes and businesses, but he made a rookie mistake by underestimating the tenacity and skill of law enforcement," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in the release.

Investigators found that Margiellos was linked to a crew stealing cash and property from 51 residences and commercial establishments between 2009 and 2011, including 21 in Nassau, 28 in Suffolk, one in Queens and one in Westchester.

Margiellos, along with two co-defendants, Gerald Camarano, 55, of Valley Stream, and Trung Lu, 33, of Ridgewood, was arrested in January by the Nassau County Police District Attorney Squad in connection with a May 2012 burglary at DSW Shoe Warehouse in Carle Place and a June 2012 burglary at Scents Forever in Hicksville.

The cases against Camarano and Lu, as well as two other members of the burglary ring, are pending.