Hudson Valley Teen Painted Swastikas at Jewish Cemetery

A Hudson Valley teen admitted he spray-painted swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols at a local Jewish cemetery.

On Wednesday in Orange County Court, Eric Carbonaro, 18, of Warwick pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy as a hate crime, both felonies.

The charges stem from an investigation into the spray-painting of swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols at the Beth Shalom Cemetery in the Town of Warwick on October 9, 2016.

Police began investigating after images of swastikas, the words “Heil Hitler” and Nazi “SS” symbols were found spray-painted on the walls and headstones in the cemetery.

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Carbonaro confessed he took part in a conspiracy to damage property at the cemetery by spray-painting the anti-Semitic symbols and messages and acted with others to destroy evidence from the crime by deleting images and other information in regards to the graffiti at the cemetery.

The indictment alleged that one of the co-conspirators deleted a meme that read “secretly spray paints Jewish cemetery and gets away with it” while at Carbonaro's home.

Carbonaro also admitted he committed the crimes because of his belief or perception regarding the ancestry and religion of people buried in the cemetery.

“This is a case that has to be taken extremely seriously, to send a clear message that there is absolutely no room for the hateful desecration of religious property here in Orange County,” District Attorney David Hoovler said. “Given the seriousness of these crimes, we will be recommending a sentence that includes incarceration.”