NYPD has fantastic security

Car 'thief' hits NYPD
By LARRY CELONA and CHUCK BENNETT

It was like stealing candy from a baby.

A car thief brazenly swiped three vehicles from the NYPD's own Queens Narcotics impound by simply towing them off the lot, authorities said. The thief then allegedly sold them for scrap.

Carmine Antonelle, 61, of Selden, LI, allegedly drove his tow truck into Queens Narcotics' headquarters at the Creedmoor State Institution, a former psychiatric facility, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

Antonelle removed a 1991 Volvo and 1995 Dodge Caravan -- cars seized in drug busts -- from the lot, officials said.

He then allegedly forged Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork, including the signature of the security guard overseeing the yard, and sold the vehicles for scrap at a Brooklyn junkyard Nov. 7.

Antonelle then sold a stolen 1994 Honda Accord to the same scrap yard Nov. 16, according to court documents.

Antonelle was arrested Dec. 9 and charged with making false statements and criminal possession of forged instruments.

He pleaded not guilty. He could not be reached for comment.