ALBANY — After several delays and postponements, jeweler Peter Spinelli, 50, was sentenced in Albany County Court yesterday for selling fake diamonds and for swiping his customers’ gems and replacing them with fakes.

As Spinelli is heading off to jail, calls complaining about more thefts are still coming in, said Heather Orth, spokeswoman for the county’s district attorney.
"I believe police are still getting calls about other possible fakes coming in," Orth told The Enterprise. "We’ll have to see when the complainants come in whether there will be more charges."

Spinelli pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree grand larceny earlier this year.

Judge Thomas Breslin sentenced Spinelli three to nine years in prison, the maximum, and ordered him to pay full restitution to his victims in the amount of $391,117.56. Spinelli will have to sell his New Scotland home, 2.7 acres on Krumkill Road, which is assessed by the town for $775,000, to help pay for the restitution, according to the district attorney’s office.

He was originally arrested in May of 2006 when a customer at Spinelli Jewelers, located at 1315 Central Ave. in Colonie, noticed that the stone in her ring looked different after dropping it off at his store for repair; another jeweler determined the stone was a high-quality fake, according to the office of District Attorney David Soares.

One of the defendants alleged that Spinelli replaced a 73-year-old family stone with moissanite when it was given to him for resetting, according to Orth.

Spinelli’s attorney, William Gray, did not return a call to The Enterprise.

Soares indicated in a release that he hopes the sentencing will help restore people’s faith in their jewelers and other jewelers get a clear message not to commit similar crimes.
"We’re very happy with the outcome," said Orth. "He’s going to pay full restitution and he’s going to serve jail time."

Chris Baynes, from Soares financial crimes unit, handled the prosecution of Spinelli yesterday.