DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Elmhurst Chief of Police Michael McLean announced that the Court has granted the State’s motion to detain four Italian nationals accused of operating an electronics counterfeit ring worth more than $570,000. Salvatore Derosa, age 50, Simone Signorelli, age 23, Vincenzo Demartino, age 49, and Luca Demartino, 25 — all from Naples, Italy — each appeared in First Appearance Court charged with Possession of Counterfeit Items with Intent to Sell – Value Exceeding $500,000), a Class 1 Felony. Derosa’s court appearance was on May 10, Signorelli’s court appearance was on May 12, Luca Demartino’s and Vincenzo Demartino’s court appearance was yesterday afternoon.
Elmhurst police officers were dispatched about 11:27 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, 2025 to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the block of 400 North Oak Street. Following an investigation, police learned that a white Kia sport-utility vehicle, later determined to be driven by Signorelli, was pulled up to an individual who was in his driveway. Allegedly he was offered a cell phone for sale. After the individual refused the offer, Signorelli left in his vehicle northbound on Oak Street. An officer with the Elmhurst Police Department observed the Kia exiting the residential area and surveilled the Kia to a residence located in the 2N300 block of Diane Avenue in Glen Ellyn, where Signorelli allegedly exited the vehicle and entered the residence.
An investigation determined that the four defendants were all residents of the Diane Avenue residence. While surveilling the residence on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at approximately 9:35 a.m., Vincenzo Demartino exited the residence, entered a Jeep Compass and drove away. Vincenzo Demartino drove to Forest Avenue in Roselle and made contact with landscape workers where he offered to sell the workers AirPods for $50-$60. It is alleged that when the workers declined Vincenzo Demartino’s offer, he left the scene and traveled to Ardmore Avenue in Roselle where he stopped near a parked landscape truck where he again attempted to sell AirPods to a landscape worker for $60. He was again declined.
A short time later near Roselle Road and Main Street, an Elmhurst police officer conducted an investigative stop on the Jeep. After obtaining permission to inspect the Jeep, the officer allegedly found numerous counterfeit items including five Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, nineteen Apple AirPod Pros, three Apple battery packs, one Apple iPad, two Apple AirPod Max devices, three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Cell Phones, and one Dyson hair dryer.
Vincenzo Demartino was taken into custody at this time. At approximately 9:59 a.m., the same day, officers observed Signorelli exit the Diane Avenue residence carrying a large black duffel bag. Signorelli entered the same Kia sport-utility vehicle allegedly involved in the May 7, 2025 incident, and drove to a residence in Hanover Park, where he made a brief stop and then proceeded to drive back to Diane Street. As Signorelli was allegedly involved in the May 7, 2025 incident, an Elmhurst police officer conducted an investigative stop on Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights. After receiving consent to view the items in Signorelli’s vehicle, officers allegedly found numerous counterfeit items including two Apple AirPod Max devices, five Apple iPhones, one Apple iPad, sixteen Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple Watches and two Samsung Galaxy S25s.
Signorelli was immediately taken into custody. At approximately 10:39 a.m. the same day, Salvatore Derosa exited the front door of the Diane Avenue residence carrying several bags, which he loaded into a Hyundai Tucson. An Elmhurst police officer made contact with Derosa and allegedly observed bags full of what were purported to be Apple brand products in plain view in the back seat. Derosa was asked to step out of the vehicle and he complied at which time he was placed under arrest. When searching the Hyundai, officers found more than $45,000 in cash and numerous counterfeit items including twenty-one Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, one Apple AirPod Max, one Apple iPad and three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultras.
Later that day, Luca Demartino left the residence alone in a Nissan Rogue. Officers conducted a traffic stop on Luca Demartino during which he gave officers consent to search his car. When searching the vehicle, officers allegedly found more than $90,000 in cash. Luca Demartino was immediately taken into custody. In addition to the cash and merchandise found in the defendants’ vehicles, authorities recovered 767 counterfeit items in the Diane Avenue residence with an approximate value of $519,433. Total value of the counterfeit merchandise is estimated to be approximately $573,237.
“Counterfeiting is a serious offense which can have devastating effects on our local economy and leaves us all to bear the cost. Shoppers end up paying for inferior products, employers and businesses lose sales which can translate to lost wages and lost jobs which in turn can result in reduced economic investment in our communities. I would urge everyone, if you are going to be making any major purchases, particularly electronics, which can be small, but pricy items, please do so from a reputable merchant and not from someone who approaches you on the street. I thank the Elmhurst Police Department for their truly outstanding work on this case. The extremely quick identification and apprehension of the defendants in this case is a testament to their professionalism and dedication to keeping our neighborhoods safe. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Ken Tatarelis, Michael Pingaj, Michael McBride, Sean Kinsella and Anna Derkacz for their work in securing charges against these four defendants.”
— — DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin
“The public needs to know there are criminals out working full-time each day to scam the innocent out of their hard-earned money. If a deal seems too good to be true, it almost always is. The public should know the Elmhurst Police Department is also working around the clock to catch these offenders in the act. I am proud of the sharp patrol officer that identified the suspect’s vehicle and the Elmhurst Police Investigations Division for their ability to locate the suspects and their base of operations, confiscate hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of counterfeit products and conduct arrests within a 24-hour period. I thank these officers, detectives, and State’s Attorney Bob Berlin for their work bringing this criminal enterprise to an end.”
— Elmhurst Chief of Police Michael McLean
The next court date for Derosa and Signorelli is scheduled for June 2, 2025. The next court date for Vincenzo and Luca Demartino is scheduled for June 17, 2025. All four defendants will appear in front of Judge Mia McPherson.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendants’ guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
— DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office
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