BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - The leader of a burglary ring blamed for the death of a 78-year-old western New York comic book collector has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Rico Vendetti,45, pleaded guilty to racketeering in December 2014, more than four years after the heart attack death of Homer Marciniak.
Authorities say the elderly man died in July of 2010, shortly after members of Vendetti's group broke into Marciniak's Medina home to steal his comic books, striking him in the face and tying him up in the process.
Officials say Vendetti hired people to go to Marciniak's home to steal his valuable comic book collection.
After being tied up and attacked, Marciniak was able to free himself and was taken to Medina Memorial Hospital for treatment. After he was treated for facial injuries, he suffered a heart attack and died shortly after.
Medical experts say when he was struck, and the emotional trauma caused by the burglary directly contributed to Marciniak's cardiac arrest and resulted in his death.
He told the court he was ashamed and sorry as he was sentenced in federal court in Buffalo Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Vendetti is a former pawn shop owner who for years paid shoplifters to steal merchandise from retailers so that he could sell it in his shop. Among some of the items stolen were breast pumps, crest whitestrips, cross stitch and needlepoint kits, electric toothbrushes and replacement heads, computer memory sticks and flash drives, pet supplements, razors, razor blades, tools, vacuums and more.
In total, Vendetti obtained and sold over $700,000 in merchandise.
Other gang members who participated in the robbery were convicted as well.
Officials says 28-year-old Donald Griffin was also convicted of committing murder in aid of racketeering. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Arlene Combs was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Albert Parsons was convicted of a violent crime in aid of racketeering and assault resulting in bodily injury. He will be sentenced in June.
Juan Javier, who was 17 at the time of the burglary, was prosecuted as an adult in Orleans county, and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Terry Stewart was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced to 55 months in prison. Dayon Shaver was convicted of conspiring to traffic stolen goods across state lines and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Brandon Meade was convicted of conspiring to traffic in stolen goods across state lines and is currently serving a nine month sentence in prison.
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