BROOKLYN, NY—Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced today that 55-year-old John Catullo of Bensonhurst has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a series of burglaries spanning from August 2022 to January 2023. The sentence was handed down by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun following Catullo’s guilty pleas on various charges linked to the burglaries of both homes and local businesses in the Bensonhurst area.
Catullo, who was involved in seven burglaries, initially pleaded guilty on November 16, 2023, to one count of second-degree burglary, covering all charges related to the string of crimes. However, while out on bail, he committed another burglary on December 1, 2023, stealing a diamond ring and $3,000 cash from a private home on 72nd Street. For this incident, he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary on May 14, 2024.
Sam Kravchenko, 36, from Coney Island and a co-defendant in the initial burglaries, was sentenced on April 24, 2024, to two to six years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree burglary, criminal possession of a firearm, and second-degree criminal trespass on April 10, 2024.
The burglaries committed by Catullo and Kravchenko included high-value thefts from private residences and local stores, with stolen items ranging from luxury watches and jewelry to significant amounts of cash from safes and cash registers. Notably, one of the incidents involved the theft of $38,211 worth of merchandise from a vape shop.
The case was meticulously investigated by the 62nd Precinct, including Detective Anthony Brucato, Sergeant Nicholas Occhipinti, and Sergeant James Sinnott. District Attorney Gonzalez credited Intelligence Analyst Fatima Shaik and Unit Chief Jingu Chong of the District Attorney’s Digital Evidence Lab, as well as Jannette Lukowsky, Deputy Chief of the Law Enforcement Assistance Unit, for their roles in securing the convictions.