By Ivan Pereira
Richard Lombardo, 51, of 97 St. Regis Drive in Long Island, and Steve Tsihlas, 39, of 24-45 26th St. in Astoria, were arraigned Sunday morning in Queens Criminal Court for allegedly trying to steal diamonds and jewelry that were being shipped from Zurich to Rio de Janeiro, Brown said. Both men were charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.”The defendants are accused of engaging in serious offenses and betraying the trust placed in them by American Airlines by using their positions at the airport for their own personal gain,” Brown said in a statement.The case began on Jan. 9 when a shipping container containing diamonds, watches and other high end jewelry was discovered missing, according to the DA. When it was found inside a locker in the American Airlines terminal, airport officials discovered that three seals were broken and three boxes containing the jewelry had been removed.An investigation led Port Authority police to Lombardo and Tsihlas, Brown said. Tsihlas allegedly told authorities he broke the seals in the containers to look inside and view the contents and then gave the three boxes to Lombardo, who hid them in his jacket and placed them in the locker, according to the criminal complaint.Both men were being held in jail with bail set at $5,000 for each defendant, the DA said. Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Leibowitz ordered Lombardo and Tsihlas to return to court on Jan. 28.Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
