By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A jewelry thief convicted of swiping a $30,000 engagement ring in the lobby of a Greenwich Village apartment building was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on Tuesday.
A jury found Gerald DeGeralomo, 66, guilty of the heist, during which the victim, David Cushman, fought DeGeralomo to the ground until police arrived.
The convicted ring thief attacked Cushman in the face with pepper spray and then snatched the ring, a Tiffany replica, that Cushman had been trying to sell "to get rid of my broken engagement, that had broken my heart," he testified.
DeGeralomo argued at trial that he was in fact the victim, that he was legitimately interested in buying the ring and that Cushman attacked him first.
"I never hurt anybody. I still, to this day, can't believe that I've been convicted. That's all I've got to say," DeGeralomo said when offered the chance to speak at the sentencing.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Thomas Farber said DeGeralomo's story was "preposterous," adding the proof of DeGeralomo's guilt was "frankly overwhelming."
DeGeralomo has another open case for a similar Craigslist plot on Oct. 22 in which he allegedly stole about $90,000 worth of jewelry.
