Targets of beer theft ring included Rockland distributor, railyard: US Attorney

A Bronx-based theft ring schemed to swipe hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of beer from rail cars and distributors across the Northeast, including from a Suffern-area company called Manhattan Beer Distributors, according to a recently unsealed indictment in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York.

The alleged ringleader is accused of recruiting for his "Beer Theft Enterprise" with an Instagram post saying workers were needed to participate in the "BEER TRAIN METHOD" with moneybag emoji. The post had railroad tracks in the background.

Manhattan Beer Distributors Vice President Alex Bergson said the arrests were a long time coming. "It's been a problem for years," he said of raids on inventory, usually on rail cars heading to their distribution centers.

The company's Suffern, Bronx and Queens facilities, all located aside rail freight lines, had been hit in recent years, Bergson said.

A Suffern heist in November alone netted $14,000 worth of beer, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. Bergson said he couldn't yet estimate the total losses to his company when the other heists were added in. "It's a significant amount of money, for sure."

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York and FBI, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police and CSX announced the indictment Wednesday.

'Dangerous and disruptive conduct'

The "Beer Theft Enterprise" team's target of choice: Mexican brands Modelo and Corona. The indictment put the total value of their haul during the two-year operation at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Accused ringleader Jose Cesari, 27, also known as Cry, remained at large. He and seven co-defendants are charged with theft from interstate foreign shipments and other theft-related charged. Cesari is accused of Hobbs Act robbery, charged when interstate or foreign commerce is impacted, and could face up to life in prison.

Seven co-defendants, named by the U.S. Attorney, are: Miguel Cintron; Luis Izquierdo, also known as Luis Zapata; Wakiem Johnson, also known as Waka; Kemar Bonitto; Deylin Martinez-Guerrero; Antonio Gonzalez; and Justin Bruno.

All were from the Bronx, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York.

"For years, the Beer Theft Enterprise has operated brazenly, allegedly breaking into railyards and beverage distribution facilities throughout the Northeast and filling U-Haul box trucks to the brim with cases of beer," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "That dangerous and disruptive conduct — sometimes allegedly accompanies by the threat of violence — has left several beverage companies and railroad companies ailing."

Where were the Rockland targets?

The indictment describes two heists at 20 Dunnigan Drive in Suffern, one at Manhattan Beer Distributors and one from a rail car on train tracks adjacent to the company.

Manhattan Beer Distributors was founded about four decades ago by CEO Simon Bergson with one truck; the company now has a fleet of more than 350 trucks and more than 1 million square feet of warehouse space. Beyond the Suffern location, the company has facilities on Long Island and in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

Bergson said Manhattan Beer Distributors receives about half its inventory via rail at all its facilities. In recent years, all but their Long Island site have been hit by thefts of beer shipments via rail.

"These crimes were happening mostly, but not exclusively, before it got to us," Bergson said. He said that they had long believed their facilities were targeted by an organized crew. "We're glad there's arrests."

Their location is outside the jurisdiction of Suffern, technically in Airmont, said Suffern Mayor Michael Curley. But as a restaurant/bar purveyor — he's owned Curley's Corner in Suffern for 35 years — Curley doubted any Rockland establishment would buy any swiped beer, which could risk one's liquor license and could engender heavy tax evasion fines.

According to the indictment, Cesari, Bonitto and Gonzalez went to Manhattan Beer Distributors in Suffern in November 2023 and took $14,000 worth of Corona beer.

Then in December 2023, according to the indictment, Bruno and Cesari went back to Suffern and took $2,900 worth of Modelo from a railroad car there, an act the U.S. Attorney's Office described as interstate shipment theft.

Cesari is also accused of an April 2023 gunpoint robbery of a railcar in Fresh Pond Yard in Queens, an incident related to the charge under the Hobbs Act.

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Email her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on Twitter (X), Instagram and Threads at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Beer theft ring targeted Rockland NY distributor, railyard