Baldwin Man Sentenced For Leading Home Depot Theft Ring: DA

BALDWIN, NY. — A Baldwin man was sentenced to up to four years in jail Monday after pleading guilty to a third-degree grand larceny charge, prosecutors said.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said 54-year-old Manooj Heeralall could serve between one-and-a-third and four years in prison after leading a retail theft ring that employed people to steal from Home Depot locations in Brooklyn, Nassau, Queens and Suffolk. Among the Nassau locations, prosecutors said, were stores in Freeport, Levittown, Syosset and Westbury.

“Retail theft rings like the one run by this defendant strike at the heart of our local economy, targeting both large corporations and small businesses. This defendant orchestrated a criminal operation that sent crews into dozens of The Home Depot locations to steal a variety of construction and electrical materials, then stockpiled and shipped the stolen goods overseas for profit,” Donnelly said. “Thanks to the work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, his illegal enterprise was upended, and he is headed behind bars. We will continue to work with all our partners, in law enforcement and retail, to pursue organized theft rings that undermine honest businesses.”

Donnelly’s office said an investigation between March and December of 2023 revealed the ring, which included Heeralall meeting individuals who had stolen circuit breakers, light switches and other electronic equipment from the stores to swap cash for the household goods. Heeralall then stored the goods in his home and shipped them to Guyana for resale, prosecutors said.

Police executed a search warrant on Dec. 7, 2023 and seized merchandise worth $37,151, prosecutors said. During the search of Heeralall’s home, police found almost 1,000 circuit breakers worth $15,025, along with hundreds of pieces of merchandise including saw blades and outlets, prosecutors said. In the garage, police found four bins full of acrylic roof coating, rock spotlights, oscillating blades for grout and light switch wall plates, worth $9,576, prosecutors said.

Heeralall was arrested that day, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to a third-degree grand larceny charge Aug. 8; in addition to his sentencing he also forfeited a 2004 Nissan and $2,640 in cash as a result of the search warrant at his home, prosecutors said.