Man convicted of stealing $500,000 in cigarettes from warehouse

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A New Jersey man has been convicted in federal court of breaking into a Connecticut warehouse and stealing more than 8,000 cartons of cigarettes worth about $500,000.

Andrew Oreckinto, of Matawan, N.J., was convicted Monday of theft from an interstate shipment. He faces up to a decade in prison.

Prosecutors say surveillance cameras recorded the 52-year-old Oreckinto breaking into New Britain Candy in Wethersfield, Conn., in March 2011. A glue-like substance was used to disable door locks. Wires to an outside surveillance camera and a phone line were also cut.

Authorities linked Oreckinto to the theft by analyzing his call history.

Oreckinto is currently serving a five-year prison term in New Jersey for stealing $100,000 worth of copper cable and selling it for scrap.

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