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It’s something thousands of Long Islanders do every week: Drop off bags of clothing at a neighborhood donation bin.
It comes with a small sense of doing good, a way to help, quietly and without fanfare.
Little did they know, two organized theft rings have been quietly raiding those bins across Suffolk County, prosecutors said Wednesday, stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations intended for charity and reselling them for profit.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced that 16 people — including several juveniles — have been arrested and charged with nearly 100 felony counts in connection with a theft operation targeting clothing donation bins. The scheme, investigators said, stretched from November 2024 to September 2025, netting thieves more than half a million pounds of stolen clothing valued at nearly $200,000.
Two groups were allegedly behind the operation — one led by Alfredo Perez, 67, of Copiague, and another by Manuel Cabrera, 62, of Lindenhurst, Tierney said. Working independently but using similar methods, crews drove around Suffolk County overnight in Ford Econoline vans, sending accomplices inside donation bins through the small “donation ports” to grab bags of clothing and hand them off to others waiting outside.
98 felony charges
Prosecutors explained that Perez’s crew sold more than 285,000 pounds of stolen clothing to a used clothing exporter in Nassau County, receiving more than $100,000 in return. Cabrera’s crew allegedly sold another 280,000 pounds, collecting over $90,000.
Authorities seized 14 vehicles tied to the thefts and recovered roughly 25,000 pounds of stolen donations.
“Since November 2024, the charged defendants collectively stole over half a million pounds of donated clothing from donation bins meant for the poor and homeless,” Tierney said. “These charges demonstrate that you cannot steal donations meant for charity in Suffolk County and repurpose them for your own personal gain.”
Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. said the thieves “stole from vulnerable residents and from the organizations that work tirelessly to support them.”
The defendants face grand larceny, burglary and conspiracy charges. Several were arraigned in late September and early October. Some were held on bail, while others were released under current New York state bail laws.
Top photos: provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
