A Long Island man caught on security video making off with a replica pistol from a museum exhibit was arrested Wednesday as he tried to return it.
Gerard Asaro, 71, of Mastic, N.Y., was charged with petit larceny and third-degree criminal mischief, according to Nassau County police. He was released pending a June 24 court date.
Last Friday, on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, Asaro had been seen slipping the World War II-era replica out of a mannequin’s holster at the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage and dropping it into his shorts pocket. Then he left and “fled in an unknown direction,” the Nassau County Police Department said in a news release.
Asaro repented after “media exposure caused him to go back to the museum in an attempt to return the replica pistol,” police said. He called ahead to say he was coming, expecting not to be charged, museum vice president Gary Lewi told Newsday. Plainclothes cops were waiting to both arrest Asaro and impound his car, the outlet reported.
The nonfunctioning Colt 1911A1 replica was similar to weapons Black soldiers were given in WWII — different than what their white counterparts carried, museum officials told Newsday.
“The fact that the theft occurred on the anniversary of D-Day reveals a special contempt for our nation’s military heritage and only serves to redouble our efforts to recover the replica and press charges,” Lewi told Newsday before Asaro’s arrest, noting that allowing up-close scrutiny of exhibits “reflects a trust between museum staff and visitor.”
Temporary wire barriers have since been installed to keep people at bay while museum officials ponder a more permanent solution that still allows for close contact.
“We’ve prided ourselves on being accessible — an intimate approach to history — and that kind of steals that away,” museum volunteer Kevin Carroll told News12 Long Island.
Asaro damaged the replica’s trigger mechanism and magazine release in trying to make the pistol functional, Lewi and police said. It’s being repaired but may need to be replaced entirely.
“There’s no scenario where by which you could make this gun functional,” Lewi told Newsday. “I have no idea what he was thinking.”
