A younger man who had been living with an older woman in The Villages has been sentenced for pawning her jewelry.
Garry Restifo, 59, who has a long history of theft convictions, reportedly flattered the 74-year-old Village of Alhambra woman and told her she “looked good for her age.” Restifo, who had been living with his parents in the Village of Virginia Trace, moved in with the woman.
The woman contacted the sheriff’s office on Feb. 22 to report that jewelry had been stolen from her home while she was out of town around Christmas. She initially chose not to report the missing rings – a 14k yellow gold cocktail ring with 4 carats of diamonds; a 14k yellow gold ring with multiple rows of diamonds inlaid in it; and a 14k yellow gold solitaire engagement ring with a 1 carat round gold cut diamond. The rings had a combined total value of $8,000. She said on Feb. 22 she went to put on the wedding ring given to her by her late husband, but when she found it was also missing, she finally called law enforcement. A detective discovered the rings had been pawned Dec. 27 at Neighborhood Pawn Shop in Belleview. The detective showed the woman a photo of the rings and she identified the rings with “100 percent certainty.”
Last month in Marion County Court, Restifo was placed on four years probation on charges of dealing in stolen property and giving false information to a pawn broker. He also has been ordered to perform 80 hours of community service with Marion County solid waste littler control.
The probation sentence includes another charge of theft from when he was working at Sonic in Summerfield. In that case he was charged with having sticky fingers and taking $50 from a cash box.
The Cleveland native was convicted of theft 13 times in Ohio before moving to The Villages.
