Man Charged With Fencing Over $1 Million Worth of Stolen Equipment from Multiple Construction Sites in North Jersey

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of NICHOLAS T. DEMAIO (DOB: 5/31/1988; single; unemployed) of 80 Mill Road, Wharton, New Jersey on charges of Receiving Stolen Property; Fencing; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; Possession of High Capacity Magazines; Possession of Hollow Point Ammunition and Possession of Prohibited Weapons and Devices, Silencers. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti.

During a six-month investigation into burglaries and thefts from multiple construction sites in the northern New Jersey area, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office (“BCPO”) Special Investigations Squad identified NICHOLAS T. DEMAIO as a person of interest.

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad, Ridgefield Police Department, and New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant on a property that DEMAIO rented on George Hill Road in Branchville, New Jersey. The search revealed multiple pieces of stolen, heavy construction equipment valued at over $1,000,000, as well as several illegal firearms, high capacity magazines, silencers and hollow point ammunition.

DEMAIO was charged with one count of Receiving Stolen Property, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7(a), a 2nd degree crime; one count of Unlawful Possession Of A Weapon (specifically a handgun), in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b), a 2nd degree crime; two counts of Unlawful Possession Of A Weapon (specifically two assault firearms), in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(f), a 2nd degree crime; one count of Fencing, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7.1(b)(1), a 2nd degree crime; one count of Possession of High Capacity Magazines (specifically eight high capacity magazines), in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-

3(j), a 4th degree crime; one count of Possession of Hollow Nose Bullets, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(f), a 4th degree crime; and one count of Prohibited Weapons And Devices (specifically four silencers), in violation of N.J.S.A 2C:39-3(c), a 4th degree crime.

Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would like to thank the Ridgefield Police Department, the Clifton Police Department, the Wharton Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police Sussex Station for their assistance in this investigation.