Our Views: Slap on the wrist

The Island Now

To say the least we are stunned that two Romanian nationals will serve only one year in prison for a scheme designed to steal bank account information from thousands of Long Island Railroad riders in Nassau County and Queens. 

In this case the punishment does not fit the crime, not even close.

We assume that the pair will be on the first flight to their homeland when they get out of prison and will be banned from ever returning to the United States. 

What concerns us is the message sent to other international criminals looking to steal from people who use credit and debit cards on a daily basis. 

We are not opposed to plea bargains. These deals play an important role in the modern criminal justice system. But the bargains should not enable defendants to make a mockery of the justice system.

Ironically Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice made it clear how serious this crime was. 

“These defendants took a source of convenience for thousands of commuters and turned it into their own personal piggy bank,” she said. Her office estimates approximately $70,000 has been lost as a result of the scheme.

When investigators searched they found skimmer molds and pinhole cameras similar to ones found on the vending machines, as well as lists of thousands of skimmed debit and credit card numbers and $52,000 in cash that prosecutors said was obtained using the stolen information.

The $70,000 number put out by Rice’s office is hard to believe.

The Romanian nationals allegedly mounted hidden cameras on Long Island Railroad ticket machines at the Bayside, Great Neck, Port Washington, Merillon Avenue, Greenvale and Sea Cliff stations. One co-conspirator is awaiting trial and two others have fled to the United Kingdom.

These are 21st century bank robbers. This kind of white-collar crime represents a real threat to millions of Americans. A sentence of one year in prison for this offense is a joke.

There remains the possibility that after sentencing in the state court, the two defendants can be tried for what must also be a federal offense since they came to the United States from Romania to commit bank fraud. If we are correct, we urge Loretta Lynch, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District, to hit this pair with a legal two-by-four.

There is precedent for this happening without the risk of double jeopardy. If convicted in federal court, the defendants could face up to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

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