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Two men accused of posing as New York City detectives to rob a Fair Lawn resident at gunpoint during a home invasion last fall have been brought to Bergen County after being arrested out of state.
Whether local or federal authorities will be prosecuting them and four alleged accomplices -- three of whom have already been released -- remains an open question, at least publicly.
All seven were arrested in New York State last month and charged in a Nov. 17, 2022 home invasion in which residents were zip-tied and an undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry was stolen.
The two main defendants, Michael D’Angelo, a 50-year-old construction worker, and the unemployed Daniel Ruggiero, 62, both of the Bronx, have remained held in the Bergen County Jail since being extradited there last week from New York City.
The FBI has placed a detainer on D’Angelo, suggesting the likelihood of federal charges.
Also being held in the county lockup is Dominick Phillip Memoli, a 57-year-old construction worker who was brought to the jail from the Bronx the following day.
A fourth defendant, Bruno Simonetti, 42, had been brought to Bergen from the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, NY, the week before. A judge in Hackensack ordered him released the very next day.
Three others -- Erion Behsiri, 35, of the Bronx, Sian Stafford, 28, of the Fort George section of Manhattan and Jesus Quezada, for whom information wasn't immediately available -- have remained free as the case progresses.
It was shortly before 10 a.m. when D'Angelo and Ruggiero, flashing NYPD-styled detective badges, showed up at the 28th Street Fair Lawn home, investigators said.
At least one of them was carrying a handgun, according to a criminal complaint.
“After being invited into the residence, they tied up the homeowner and stole cash and jewelry before fleeing the scene,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said last month.
The resident was treated for an injured finger after being zip-tied, investigators said.
Meanwhile, detectives and uniformed officers combed the area looking for home security video and additional witnesses after someone reported seeing the robbers get into a white SUV that headed east on Route 4.
Thus began an investigation and multi-state manhunt that culminated in the arrests last month during raids in the Bronx and Mount Vernon and on Long Island.
"Based on a review of surveillance video, law enforcement reports, victim and witness statements, analysis of open-source data, physical surveillance, and historical phone records with cell site location data, it was determined that [the seven defendants] were involved in the planning, commission and aftermath of the armed home invasion," a complaint on file in Superior Court in Hackensack says.
D’Angelo and Ruggiero are each charged with first-degree kidnapping and robbery, as well as armed burglary, aggravated assault, impersonating a law enforcement officer and weapons offenses, among other counts.
Memoli, meanwhile, is charged with robbery and conspiracy to do so. The others are charged with conspiracy.
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