Ninja Burglar Linked to 200 Crimes Gets 25 Years

'His reign of terror is officially over'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 21, 2016 5:30 PM CDT
Ninja Burglar Linked to 200 Crimes Gets 25 Years
Robert Costanzo   (Richmond County District Attorney)

A man nicknamed the Ninja Burglar who confessed to committing more than 100 break-ins over a decade accepted a plea deal with authorities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut on Thursday, the AP reports. Robert Costanzo pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, according to Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon. The statute of limitations had expired on many of the other cases. He is set to receive 25 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision. Costanzo, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, stole more than $4 million in cash and valuables like jewelry and designer handbags, often brazenly entering houses in wealthy areas at night while the residents were home, authorities said.

Costanzo admitted to more than 100 break-ins on Staten Island. Prosecutors said he had been linked to 160 in that borough and was responsible for upward of 200 overall in the three states. The burglaries, which occurred between 2005 and 2015, caused some neighborhoods to supplement police patrols with private security. The case took a major turn during an October 2014 law enforcement meeting when a detective from Saratoga Springs, in upstate New York, told New York City officers that her department was investigating a residential burglary pattern and that Costanzo was the main suspect. That led to surveillance and his eventual arrest. "His reign of terror is officially over," McMahon said.. (More burglary stories.)

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