NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A Bridgeport man was sentenced to 21 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for participating in armed robberies of four jewelry stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Charles Kertesz, 37, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release by a judge in U.S. District Court in New Haven.
Prosecutors say that between July 2005 and September 2006, the 37-year-old Kertesz planned and took part in armed robberies of Hannoush Jewelry in Natick, Mass., Lux Bond and Green Jewelry in South Windsor, Conn., Betteridge Jewelers in Greenwich, Conn., and Lux Bond and Green Jewelry in Glastonbury, Conn.
Prosecutors said Kertesz robbed the Natick and South Windsor stores while wearing women's clothing and a wig. They said he robbed the Greenwich store after accomplices set fire to a sport utility vehicle to create a diversion. He took more than $4 million in jewels, but dropped them while escaping on a stolen motorcycle, prosecutors said.
Kertesz, who pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery in February, is required to pay $551,072 in restitution to the jewelry stores and their insurer.
Three accomplices already pleaded guilty for their roles in the robberies. Authorities say Anthony Curral was a getaway driver for the Natick and South Windsor robberies, and brothers Eric Ortiz and Ernesto Ortiz set the SUV on fire to help Kertesz rob the Greenwich store. Curral has been sentenced to 70 months in prison, while Eric Ortiz and Ernesto Ortiz are awaiting sentencing.
