By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A reputed mafia associate charged with robbing a bachelor who was trying to hawk a $30,000 engagement ring on Craigslist was convicted on Friday.
Gerald DeGeralomo, 66, was found guilty of second-degree robbery and will be sentenced on Feb. 8.
He sprayed mace in the face of David Cushman, 31, grabbed the ring and tried to flee on Dec. 26, 2009. Cushman, however, fought back and badly injured the older man, who could not get up until police came and arrested him.
Prosecutors said DeGeralomo "capitalized on the disorientation he caused" when he sprayed the chemical in Cushman's face. He tried to "forcibly snatch" the Tiffany replica from Cushman's hand when they met to discuss the deal in the lobby of his Christopher Street apartment building.
They argued DeGeralomo had no intention of actually buying the ring.
Cushman testified he was trying to sell the ring on Craigslist after a heartbreaking split with his fiancee. He testified that he opted for selling on Craigslist because jewelers he'd brought the ring to had tried to "lowball" him on the price.
DeGerolomo has another open case for a similar alleged Craigslist plot on Oct. 22 in which he's alleged to have taken about $90,000 worth of jewelry from a victim in the same neighborhood.
He faces up to 15 years in prison for Friday's conviction.
