Eight Bronx men have been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of beer, primarily Modelo and Corona, over the past two years in numerous thefts across the Northeast. The indictment accuses Jose Cesari of being the mastermind of the “Beer Theft Enterprise” and recruiting participants through Instagram posts offering lucrative opportunities. Seven other defendants face the same conspiracy charge, and some also face additional charges related to the thefts.
The group typically operated at night, meeting in the Bronx before traveling to targeted rail yards or warehouses. They would drive a vehicle, often a U-Haul box truck, to the facility to be filled with stolen beer. The members would break into the premises, sometimes by cutting through fencing, and steal cases of beer, primarily Corona and Modelo, from railroad cars or distribution warehouses. The stolen beer would then be taken back to the Bronx and sold to unidentified buyers, with participants being paid hundreds of dollars for their efforts.
The indictment lists various locations targeted by the group, including rail yards in Queens and Brooklyn, as well as a beverage distribution warehouse in Suffern, NY. Most of the thefts involved breaking into rail cars containing sealed pallets of beer and loading the stolen goods onto trucks. The group promised substantial profits to those involved, with Instagram posts advertising the opportunity to make over $100k in a month by following the “beer train method” orchestrated by Cesari.
The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams, emphasized that the thefts carried out by the Beer Theft Enterprise would not be tolerated. The defendants face charges related to conspiracy to steal from interstate or foreign shipments by carrier, along with other crimes. Cesari, who is considered the ringleader, remains at large, while his co-defendants, Bonitto, Bruno, Cintron, Gonzalez, Izquierdo, Johnson, and Martinez-Guerrero have appeared in court or are in custody.
Several of the defendants were scheduled to make initial appearances in federal court in Manhattan, with lawyers representing some declining to comment or not responding to requests for statements. The group’s criminal activities involved breaking into rail yards and warehouses, stealing large quantities of beer, and transporting the stolen goods to be sold in the Bronx. The thefts took place over the past two years and involved multiple members recruited by Cesari through social media posts.
