In a recent turn of events, Stefano Mazzocchi, a Romanian national, has been charged with orchestrating an ATM theft scam that spread across New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The scam known as "jackpotting," involved draining cash from ATMs using a counterfeit bank card. After a collaboration between law enforcement departments, Mazzocchi was apprehended and is now facing serious felony theft charges.
During the month of February, several stores became the target of these sophisticated thefts. One of the impacted businesses, Bell Brothers in Pittsfield, saw more than $6,000 taken from their ATM—a significant hit to the locally-owned store. As reported by WCVB, store owner Joel Chagnon conveyed his dismay, stating, "It hurts because, you know, we're just a single store here. We're not a big chain like a lot of places. We put everything we have into this place and we take pride in it." This sentiment underscores the profound impact such crimes can have on small businesses.
Furthermore, according to details from the Concord Monitor, Mazzocchi entered the country illegally around 2023 and has been implicated in a variety of financial crimes since. His arrest on Long Island in May facilitated his extradition to New Hampshire, where he was held at the Merrimack County Jail awaiting his arraignment in the 6th Circuit Concord District Court.
The cross-departmental efforts, as mentioned in statements obtained by the Concord Monitor, helped trace Mazzocchi's activities along the Eastern Seaboard, linking him to numerous identical offenses. Sgt. Devon Rego of the Pittsfield Police Department highlighted the collaborative work that led to the suspect's arrest, saying, "We were able to track him kind of up and down the East Coast and connect him to a number of similar crimes and skimmer type incidents." In light of stopping this crime spree, Joel Chagnon reflected on the good day it was catching Mazzocchi, hoping it would prevent further thefts from "another mom and pop place or any, any place in general," according to an interview with WCVB.
