Precious stolen Torah scrolls recovered

The eight precious Torah scrolls stolen from the Ark in the Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills have been recovered by police and two men accused of stealing them have been remanded to a different kind of ark - the Department of Corrections prison barge.
On Thursday, September 4, Eric Geraldo, 23, a live-in custodian for the temple at 71-25 Main Street in Flushing, and his pal Alan Lozano, 28, of Fresh Meadows, were arraigned on charges including grand larceny and remanded to the Vernon Bain Center, a floating jail in the Bronx.
Judge Ira Margulis set bail for Geraldo at $25,000; Lozano’s bail was set at $10,000. Thus far, both remain in jail.
A conviction on the charges could land them in prison for 15 years.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Geraldo allegedly removed the Torahs from their sanctuary in the synagogue on Thursday, August 14 and his friend Lozano agreed to store them in a closet, until Gerald could sell them for cash.
From the moment the curtain was pulled back during a religious service on Saturday, August 16, revealing the theft, members of the congregation suspected “an inside job.”
Geraldo had been a custodian at the Jewish Center for about three years, according to Marilyn Bagley, a worker at the center. “I’ve worked there for seven years, and to think that anyone that I might know did it is very disheartening,” she said, in a published report.
Staffers reportedly called Giraldo “a sweet person,” and said he coolly continued to come to work, even after the theft.
He was intimately familiar with the security system and where the keys were kept, according to Alan Gerard, the building manager and former president of the congregation.
After questioning Geraldo, detectives from the 107th Precinct allegedly found the eight stolen torahs and silver items used in the Jewish religious service, in a closet in Lozano’s apartment, at 165-09 Union Turnpike.
Lozano was home at the time. He allegedly admitted to his role in receiving the stolen property and holding it until his friend could sell the precious objects, according to the detective who questioned them.
The Kew Gardens congregation includes many members who are survivors of the Holocaust, and the dramatic revelation of their loss came as a heavy blow, according to members. The recovery of the parchments has gone a long way to repairing their spirits according to reports.
“The main thing is that we’re really grateful to have our items back,” Gerard said.
Brown assured the congregation “that, consistent with our need to have the Torahs available for the prosecution of this case, I will make every effort to have the Torahs returned to his synagogue in time for the High Holy Days later this month.”
Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year of 5769, begins on the evening of Monday, September 29.
Geraldo and Lozano have a date in court, on Thursday, September 18.