Record Shop Owner Guilty In Addict-Fueled Shoplifting Ring
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The owner of a since-shuttered Pittsburgh record store has pleaded guilty to using heroin addicts to shoplift books, videos, and other products that he then resold online.
Fifty-one-year-old Anthony Cicero pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of organized retail theft in return for state prosecutors dropping more serious charges, including running a corrupt organization, also known as racketeering.
State prosecutors alleged Cicero sold more than $2 million worth of stolen items online since 2008.
Some of the stolen items were stored at his Slipped Disc record store in Oakland, a trendy Pittsburgh neighborhood home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
As part of a plea deal, Cicero will pay $175,000 restitution and spend six months on house arrest and 10 years on probation.
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