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The theft happened in Yorktown on Tuesday, Oct. 1, when a wallet was stolen from Club Fit at 600 Bank Rd., Yorktown Police said on Friday, Oct. 4.
Investigators quickly realized that the victim's credit card had recently been used in Putnam County, and when they obtained surveillance video from this location, they were able to identify the suspect's car, police said.
Authorities also were able to confirm the suspect was at Club Fit when the wallet was stolen, according to the department.
Days later, on Thursday, Oct. 3 at around 2:30 p.m., the suspect's car was found on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Manor and pulled over by Westchester County Police. After a brief investigation at the scene, the driver,
Suffolk County resident Mark Ripolone of East Hampton, was arrested and taken back to Yorktown.
After his arrest, Ripolone was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was then remanded to Westchester County Jail.
This is not the first time Ripolone has run into trouble with the law, as in October 2023, he admitted to stealing approximately $223,000 from customers of his business, "123 Delivery," after getting their bank account information.
He then used that information to make Automated Clearing House (ACH) withdrawals from their accounts and spent the money on personal expenses like mortgage payments and Verizon phone bills, according to prosecutors.
He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of grand larceny in Suffolk County Court on Oct. 24, 2023, and was ordered to pay $143,379 in restitution to his victims.
For his latest alleged crime, Ripolone will next appear in court on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
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