A Villager with a long criminal history in Ohio was jailed after allegedly pawning an older lady friend’s diamond rings.
The 74-year-old woman said she originally had a conversation with 59-year-old Garry Eugene Joseph Restifo of the Village of Alhambra who told her she “looked good for her age,” according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman contacted the sheriff’s office on Feb. 22 to report that jewelry had been stolen from her home while she was out of town around Christmas. She initially chose not to report the missing rings – a 14k yellow gold cocktail ring with 4 carats of diamonds; a 14k yellow gold ring with multiple rows of diamonds inlaid in it; and a 14k yellow gold solitaire engagement ring with a 1 carat round gold cut diamond. The rings have a combined total value of $8,000. She said on Feb. 22 she went to put on the wedding ring given to her by her late husband, but when she found it was also missing, she finally called law enforcement.
A detective discovered the rings had been pawned Dec. 27 at Neighborhood Pawn Shop in Belleview. The detective showed the woman a photo of the rings on Tuesday and she identified the rings with “100 percent certainty.”
A criminal history check showed Restifo, a native of Cleveland, has 13 theft convictions in Ohio.
He was arrested at about 9 p.m. Wednesday at his home at 2708 Benavides Drive on a charge of larceny and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. Bond was set at $2,000.
Restifo could also face a charge in Marion County of defrauding a pawn broker.
