One of the ring leaders of a brazen gang of thieves that made off with at least $4 million in high-end automobiles, cellphones and cash-stuffed ATM machines in more than 180 break-ins along the shoreline was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison Tuesday

FBI agents said Josepher Cartagena, with his brother Alexander Santiago, 27, both of the Bronx, terrorized car dealerships and high end electronics stores along the shore while leading police on dozens of high speed pursuits for much of 2020 before their arrests the following January.

In the hours leading to his arrest, federal prosecutors said Cartagena led police on a chase across Manhattan, racing along sidewalks and repeatedly crashing into police vehicles. When they searched his apartment afterward, FBI agents described it as a cross between a “criminal Best Buy and a bank.”

FBI agents said Cartagena kept most of the stolen merchandise and money in his apartment: stacks of electronic devices, more than 30 key fobs associated with stolen cars, various license plates, 9mm ammunition, and about $87,000 in cash.

Federal prosecutors said they have tied Cartagena to more than 180 burglaries in Connecticut and New York. Most of the businesses he and his crew admitted hitting were car dealerships and cellphone stores, although the group also stole from check cashing businesses, video game retailers, and, at least once, from the driveway of a private home where they spotted a new car.

Cartagena and his crew typically hit several businesses in one night, forcing entry by breaking down a door or through a window. They hauled away ATM machines, loaded up cellphones or other merchandise and, in the case of car dealerships, key fobs which they used to take vehicles.

Federal prosecutors said Cartagena distributed price lists for the stolen goods to potential buyers, offering top-of-the-line, boxed and unopened iphones for a bargain basement $500.

“The burglary and loss totals, while staggering, are conservative amounts as they only account for incidents for which there is sufficient proof tying the theft to the conspiracy,” federal prosecutors said in a memo filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

“Mr. Cartagena and his co-conspirators continued unabated for so long because they were initially difficult to identify and difficult to apprehend,” according to the memo.

“They would conceal their identities with sunglasses, hats, hoods, and masks. They would also affix misused license plates to their vehicles which further frustrated identification efforts,” it said. “And when police encountered the defendants during their burglary sprees, the defendants, including Mr. Cartagena personally, would engage the police in high-speed chases. These dangerous chases were integral to the longevity of the conspiracy.”

Cartagana was captured repeatedly on surveillance, including when he stole the car from the private home and later the same night when “he would show the same practiced confidence when ripping off a Guilford AT&T store,” according to the memo.

Prosecutors said Cartagena and his brother led the ring, planned and organized the thefts, recruited others to help, inventoried the stolen goods and split the proceeds.

Cartagena’s lawyer argued in court that he was not a leader.

“Everyone here was an independent contractor,” Attorney Jon M. Silveri wrote in a filing with the court. “He had no control.”

“He believes he has learned his lesson from this case,” Silveri said. “His being involved in this case was due to poor judgment, lack of education and desire to obtain money.”

Federal authorities charged five men in the burglary conspiracy. Santiago was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison in May.