Habitual East Rutherford Criminal Gets 364 Days, Drug Rehab for Series of Burglaries
By Mary K. Miraglia
HACKENSACK, N.J. (March 17, 2017) — An East Rutherford man who specializes in church collection boxes was sentenced for a series of petty burglary thefts Friday, March 17 and received a term of 364 days in the Bergen County Jail.
In fact, although expressing astonishment at the plea agreement, Judge Christopher Kazlau told Michael Gardi, 34, that he will release him from jail early if he completes the Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC) inmate program at the jail.
“What’s most striking about this is I have no idea how Ms. (Jillian) Elko was able to negotiate such an extraordinary plea agreement,” Kazlau said. “I am going to defer to her and the prosecutor and uphold the plea.” Gardi had previously pleaded guilty before Judge Margaret M. Foti, and will also have to pay restitution of at least
Kazlau, however, had some pointed questions.
“Is there anything you want to tell me you haven’t told any of the multitude of judges you’ve been before?” he demanded of Gardi.
“I have a problem,” Gardi muttered defensively.
“I know you have a problem, but why is this time going to be different from all the other times?” the judge asked.
“I don’t want to keep going back to all the things I keep going back to,” Gardi replied.
“That’s up to you,” Kazlau told him. “Stop committing crimes.”
Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Magee said Gardi be sentenced to 364 days in the Bergen County Jail as a condition of five years probation.
“I also recommend he could be released from jail early if he completes the DRC program,” Magee said.
Gardi also has to pay at least $6,653.47 in restitution to his victims. He burglarized three churches and several commercial businesses, including St. Michael’s Church in Lyndhurst, M&M Auto in Rutherford, Hy Test Realty Co. in Rutherford, First Presbyterian Church in North Arlington, and an individual in East Rutherford, all in December 2016 and January of this year.
Kazlau called his record “an extraordinary criminal case history at a very young age.” The judge said Gardi has at least seven prior convictions, a juvenile history of arson, and convictions for receipt of stolen property, burglary, theft, robbery, narcotics, escape, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Gardi pleaded guilty to counts one, two, three and four of a five count indictment. He has criminal complaints in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Sussex and Warren counties, going back to when he was a teenager. Gardi’s defense attorney is Jillian Elko of the Bergen County Public Defender.
