Alex Ani Exec Pleads No Contest to Jetski Theft

Ryan Bonifacino will pay $15,000 in restitution to the owners of a Jet Ski he took without permission and was damaged during a party in Jamestown earlier this month.

Bonafacino, 31, of New York, pleaded no contest to the charge of misappropriation of a boat in Newport District Court on Friday; a charge of breaking and entering was dismissed.

Bonifacino was arrested on Aug. 2 by Jamestown Police after authorities responded to the house on East Shore Road for a report of missing boaters.

Police said they arrived at the house and learned that there was a party going on inside. People at the house said that Bonifacino, along with three other people, left on a pair of jet skis and never came back.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the the jet skis were involved in a crash against a rock in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, causing serious injuries to at least two people.

All four came back to the house on one jet ski and two women who have not been identified were transported to the hospital.

Police said the investigation concluded that Bonifacino broke into the house and threw the party. Food and alcohol inside the house were served.

But Bonafacino’s lawyer told the court that Bonafacino knew the homeowner and did not break into the house The Jet Skis apparently belonged to a different resident, though the keys were in the ignition.

Bonifacino is Alex and Ani’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president of digital.

He joined the company in 2010.