WILLIAMSBURG — The infamous Graham Avenue antique store owner who has allegedly threatened neighbors with a power saw, sexist slurs and a baseball bat was charged with sexual assault Tuesday night, officials said.
Joseph Loiacono, 54, was arrested for the "forcible touching" of a woman at his address, 373 Graham Ave., the 94th Precinct's Deputy Inspector Terence Hurson said. The incident occurred Monday at 11:30 p.m., Hurson said.
The woman told police that Loiacono "touched her breasts and buttocks, and while she was sleeping, he removed her pants and touched her genitals," Hurson said.
The woman — who said she was Loiacono's friend — also "has advised [him] multiple times to stop touching her and that she did not want an intimate relationship," Hurson wrote in an email.
Loiacono, who turned himself into authorities late Tuesday night, also faces charges of criminal contempt, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal mischief, for which he is due in Brooklyn Supreme Court Oct. 23, officials said.
As DNAinfo.com previously reported, Loiacono — whose notoriety has inspired an anonymous blog called "Scam Avenue" — allegedly threatened his next-door neighbor "while brandishing a power saw" and calling her a "c--t" in February, court papers said.
Earlier this year, Loiacono allegedly violated a restraining order taken out against him by the woman, Lucille Bergamo, who had already claimed that he "repeatedly threw garbage" on her lawn and shook her fence until it broke.
"I'm going to get you," Loiacono shouted at Bergamo, according to the complaint.
Loiacono also allegedly threatened Bergamo's husband, Cono Dellio, with a knife outside Bergamo's building in February, telling Dellio "your time is coming soon."
But Loiacono's attorney, Michael Marley, insisted that his client was innocent.
"Mr. Loiacono will be found not guilty of everything," Marley asserted, calling Loiacono "a loud, colorful character" who "can be profane."
"Sometimes he doesn't speak like a Sunday school teacher, but he hasn't committed a crime against anybody," Marley said. "This case is not what it seems on the surface ... you can't go to jail for bad language."
