A Long Island City man has been arrested in connection with the robbery of legendary St. John’s University basketball coach Rick Pitino’s office.
According to the NYPD, Emanuel Yakubov was arrested by the 107th Precinct at 9 p.m. on Friday.
Yakubov, 25, was charged with third-degree burglary, petty theft, third-degree trespassing and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
The stolen memorabilia included a signed basketball, a megaphone and a ceremonial dagger.
It was not immediately clear when Yakubov would appear in court on the charges.
“St. John’s University is grateful for the NYPD’s quick response and recovery of the stolen property,” St. John’s spokesman Brian Browne said in response to the arrest.
“The safety of our campus community is critical and our cooperative work with law enforcement helps ensure that.”
Two crooks were caught on video breaking into Carnesecca Arena, where Pitino’s office is located above the basketball court, on Tuesday night.
In footage of the robbery obtained by The Post, two men can be seen walking through the arena’s hallways, one of the men talking on the phone while holding a small megaphone – an item sources say was stolen from Pitino’s office.
Other items stolen from the coach’s office included a mask and bottles of alcohol, according to sources.
Pitino joked about the robbery online, saying he was angry that the thieves stole a bottle of fine wine worth $1,500 or more.
“Really upset!” he wrote. “Taking my memorabilia is one thing, but the 1985 6-litre Petrus Pomerol makes me mad!!!”
“I would never keep that on my desk!” he later clarified. “I’ll keep it in a wine cellar to open when the Johnnys get to the final four!”
The suspects fled the scene on a moped.
