Courage On Display As Officers Honored For Car Theft Arrests

It's a situation almost every beat cop in the city dreads: patrolling a dark, empty street at night, then running into two unidentified suspects caught in the act of committing a crime.

That's exactly what happened to 111th Precinct officers Brian Corso and Billy Tsiovas in the early hours of Nov. 12 on the 57-00 block of 256th Street in Little Neck.

On Tuesday, Corso and Tsiovas received recognition for their quick-thinking, tenacity and courage on that dark November morning which led to the arrest of two suspects in a rash of car break-ins from Bayside to Suffolk County on Long Island.

"Due to their quick action, keen observation in spotting the suspicious activity, use of proper tactics and department training ... two predators were removed from the streets," said 111th Precinct Capt. Ron Leyson. 

At approximatly 2:15 a.m. Nov. 12, the two officers observed suspicious activity in the vicinity of a parked car on 256th Street near Horace Harding Expressway, according to Leyson. 

As Corso and Tsiovas approached, the suspects took off in opposite directions, police said. Police soon captured one man and began an aerial and canine search for the second suspect, eventually found hiding underneath another parked car.

After a follow-up investigation, items belonging to car owners from northeastern Queens to eastern Long Island were found in the suspects' possession, police said.

The Queens County district attorney's office charged both suspects with felony criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief in connection with the car break-ins.

Leyson hailed the actions of Corso and Tsiovas as emblematic of a precinct-wide crackdown on car thefts, which have skyrocketed in the neighborhoods of Little Neck, Douglaston and Bayside in recent months. 

"Maybe you wouldn't notice something suspicious going on, but these officers know what they're looking for," he said.

Leyson named Corso and Tsiovas "Cops Of the Month" for November at Tuesday's community council meeting at the Precinct House in Bayside.