NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A man from Romania pleaded guilty Tuesday to his involvement in a Connecticut home invasion in 2007, according to U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.
Stefan Barabas, 38, of Romania, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, Avery said. Under a binding plea agreement, if accepted by court, he faces between 6 to 7 years in prison.
Citing court documents and statements made in court, Avery said that Barabas, along with Emmanuel Nicolescu and Alexandru Nicolescu went into a home in South Kent shortly after midnight on April 15, 2007. The three were wearing masks and equipped with knives and objects resembling guns.
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Two adults inside the home were blindfolded and bounded before being ordered to pay $8.5 million, Avery said. They were also injected with an unknown substance and told that if they did not pay the amount, they would die of a "deadly virus."
According to Avery, the two residents were unable to meet the demands of Barabas and the others and were drugged with a sleeping aid. She said that the intruders then stole the homeowner's Jeep Cherokee and took off from the scene.
On April 21, 2007, evidence was found within an accordion case washed ashore in Jamaica Bay, including a "stun gun, a 12-inch knife, a black plastic Airsoft gun, a crowbar, syringes, sleeping pills, latex gloves and a laminated telephone card with the South Kent address of the victims," Avery said.
Investigators later determined in 2010 that a man, identified as Michael Kennedy, had driven Barabas, Emanuel Nicolescu and Alexandru Nicolescu on the night of the home invasion to a spot near the South Kent home and picked them up in New Rochelle, N.Y., where the stolen Jeep had been found abandoned, Avery said.
They also learned that Kennedy's father was a professional accordion player and identified the knife found within the case as a gift given to Emanuel Nicolescue by his father-in-law, according to Avery.
The four suspects in the home invasion left the U.S. while the investigation was ongoing and were charged by indictment between 2011 to 2012, Avery said.
Barabas was arrested as a fugitive in Hungary on Aug. 16, 2022 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11, Avery said. He has been detained since his arrest.
Emanuel Nicolescu returned to the U.S. and was arrested in Illinois in January 2011. He was sentenced on Aug. 17, 2012 to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Alexandru Nicolescu was arrested in the United Kingdom on Nov. 14, 2013, and was sentenced on May 15, 2019 to 10 years and one month in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion.
Kennedy, a dual citizen of Romania and the U.S., returned to the U.S. voluntarily and was sentenced to 4 years in prison on May 4, 2016 after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut State Police and New York City Police Department were involved in the investigation, Avery said.
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