Add it to the gems of jewelry robberies:
"A Pittsfield jeweler who defrauded his customers out of $350,000 to fuel his gambling and drug addictions has been sentenced to up to five years in prison. The Berkshire Eagle reported that Mark Yannone, 32, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to 16 charges, including 14 counts of larceny. Authorities said Yannone, while operating M. Joseph Jewelers, at times accepted money for purchases, only to ship customers empty boxes or nothing at all; took customers’ jewelry on consignment and failed to pay them a share of any sale; and in one case sent worthless metal painted gold to a customer who had paid for $25,000 for gold bars."
He could have gotten away with that had he been the Federal Reserve.
UPDATES:
"Two men have been sentenced to a year and a half in jail for their involvement in a drive-by shooting in Pittsfield two years ago. The Berkshire Eagle reported that Shaun Silverio of Pittsfield and Terry Martizna of Lanesborough, both 25, said they were in a silver BMW when they opened fire on a parked car in December 2013 and drove off. Police said they found a spent shell casing in the back seat of the car that matched casings found at the scene. Both men pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to illegal possession of a firearm, armed assault with intent to kill, and other offenses (AP)."
"Police arrested an 18-year-old Pittsfield man in Utica, N.Y., on Sunday in connection with a fatal shooting in Pittsfield. Thomas Lee Newton Jr. will be charged in a Utica court on Monday with being a fugitive from justice, then transported to Pittsfield to face charges of murder and armed assault with attempt to murder, according to the Berkshire district attorney’s office. Newton was arrested by local and federal police on a warrant after allegedly shooting 18-year-old Keenan S. Pellot Jr. and a 17-year-old man multiple times Friday at around 1 p.m. Pellot died from his injuries; the teen underwent surgery at Berkshire Medical Center, where he remains in guarded condition and is expected to survive."
