Antonio Ginestri of Queens, New York, known by his thousands of online followers as "Squeeze.benz," was charged Tuesday in a string of robberies that took place around North Jersey earlier this year.
At around 1:56 a.m. on Feb. 6, Fairfield police officers were dispatched for a burglary to the Speedway Gas Station on Route 46 east. The alarm monitoring station was able to provide live-time dispatch stating a gray SUV with three occupants was seen leaving the property, according to the Fairfield Police Department. Officers confirmed a burglary upon arrival but did not find any suspects.
The vehicle was later identified as a gray BMW X7 with a stolen registration.
The same vehicle and occupants were also reported to have allegedly committed multiple other burglaries that morning in Roseland, Secaucus and Hasbrouck Heights.
In addition, they were determined to be wanted for crimes in other New Jersey towns as well as in New York and Connecticut.
Two suspects were later identified as a 16-year-old whose name has not been released, and 19-year-old Ginestri.
Ginestri was arrested on May 16 by officers of the New York Police Department's 114th Precinct. As reported by the New York Post, he was located by police after punching a man inside of a deli in Astoria.
He has been charged with burglary, employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime, theft, and two counts of conspiracy. He is currently being held in the Bergen County Jail on unrelated charges.
"Ginestri is a well-known social media influencer who goes by the handle 'Squeeze.Benz," said Public Information Officer Stacy Chiarolanza of the Fairfield Police Department. "The basis of his channel is to film himself driving high-end cars in a reckless manner to entice a police response while wearing a full-face helmet to hide his identity. We thank all of the agencies who assisted in putting this case together in order to make an arrest."
The Squeeze.benz accounts have over a million followers combined with 845,000 followers on Instagram, over 193,000 on TikTok and 422,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In an effort to conceal his identity in his videos, Ginestri blurs out his face or wears a helmet. He also modifies his voice.
In addition to the charges he is facing for the robberies, Ginestri is also facing a charge of eluding in Newark among other pending charges from several law enforcement agencies, according to a May 21 press release from the Department of Public Safety for the City of Newark.
The eluding charge stems from April 11.
At approximately 1:16 a.m. that morning, police patrolling the area of Broad Street and Market Street observed a black BMW with no front or back license plates speed around their police vehicle.
The driver made an illegal turn from Market Street onto Broad Street and proceeded to speed away from the police, who were attempting to stop him, according to the Newark press release.
During the investigation, police found several videos of Ginestri committing a variety of traffic violations and antagonizing police throughout the tri-state area, including video of the April 11 incident.
Newark detectives worked with the NYPD Auto Crimes Manhattan Unit to locate Ginestri.
"We trust that this arrest sends a strong message that Newark is not a playground for daredevil drivers seeking social media likes," said Newark Chief of Police Emanuel Miranda. "We will not tolerate senseless, reckless driving on Newark Streets."
Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations referred to Ginestri as "one of the most prolific street racers in NYC," in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Squeeze.benz' is in custody, thanks to NY's finest. One of the most prolific street racers in NYC can no longer treat the Big Apple like the Indy 500," said the post on May 21. "To anyone thinking about putting themselves and others in danger, recklessly zooming through the streets of NYC, think again! You will be arrested and your car will be seized. You will face justice."
In addition, as reported by the New York Post, Ginestri pleaded guilty back in March and was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution after being found in possession of a stolen motorcycle.
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