STATEN ISLAND — The "Ninja Burglar" will spend 22 years behind bars for his decade-long $4 million break-in spree, prosecutors said.
Robert Costanzo, 46, dubbed the "Ninja Burglar" (despite not knowing karate,) was sentenced to prison Friday more than a year after he was arrested for targeting more than 200 homes in Staten Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York and Connecticut, District Attorney Michael McMahon announced.
"The substantial prison sentence handed down today finally puts an end to a terrifying chapter for the residents of Grymes Hill, Emerson Hill, Todt Hill, Lighthouse Hill, Castleton Corners, Silver Lake, West Brighton and Grasmere," McMahon said in a statement. "Now, they can rest assured knowing that Mr. Costanzo is securely behind bars."
Costanzo, a convicted rapist, avoided capture for 10 years but was finally arrested in April 2016.
He admitted to more than 100 burglaries in Staten Island alone, but prosecutors could only charge him for three between 2011 and 2015 because the statue of limitations had run out for the earlier crimes, officials said.
Costanzo pleaded guilty to the three charges on April, 21 2016 and agreed to spend 25 years in prison.
However, Judge Stephen Rooney sentenced him to 22 years with seven and a half-years supervision after his release.
Costanzo's spree started after he lost his job as an elevator technician in 2004 because of his previously burglary and rap conviction, his lawyer, John Stawicki, previously said.
He returned to crime to support his five children as well as his gambling addiction, investigators said. Costanzo lost more than $45,000 at one Atlantic City casino during the spree.
From 2005 to 2015, Costanzo broke into homes around the tri-state area, usually while their owners were inside, wearing all black with his face covered, resembling a ninja.
The "Ninja Burglar" nickname stemmed from a 2007 burglary where a Dongan Hills resident said he came face to mask with a nunchuck-wielding burglar, but Costanzo was never tied to that crime.
In a taped confession, Costanzo said he was aware of the name but never used it himself nor was he actually trained in martial arts.
Throughout his spree, Costanzo typically targeted homes in wealthier neighborhoods and swiped more than $4 million in cash, jewelry, watches and designer handbags, McMahon said.
He often got in through a second- or third-floor balcony of the homes by taking a ladder from a neighboring house, then returning it when he was done.
Eventually, law enforcement in six counties linked Costanzo to the 10-year string but had trouble pinning him to the crimes because he only left a trace of DNA in one of the homes.
They got a break when they searched his New Brighton home and found a watch that had been reported stolen, detectives said at a meeting for victims of the spree in June.
Investigators said Costanzo was immediately cooperative after his arrest and spent two days going over his crimes with them.
