YOUNGSTOWN — A man accused of being the leader of a sophisticated theft ring stretching from Cleveland to western Pennsylvania in the Rust Belt region pleaded guilty and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Bobby Mock, 39, of Youngstown, helped lead a ring that burglarized businesses and homes throughout the region and resold stolen goods, including big-screen TVs, riding mowers and motorcycles, prosecutors said.

Investigators say so-called customers placed orders for items to be stolen in some cases. Some orders were taken in a corner of the vast parking lot of the General Motors Corp. Lordstown plant, where several suspects worked and allegedly reached out to buddies as fencing prospects, authorities said.

Mock agreed to a plea deal Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court over charges in a 44-count indictment, including breaking and entering, theft and receiving stolen property.

“We thought this was the best course of action at this time,” Mock’s lawyer, John Jeffrey Limbian said. The deal requires Mock to cooperate with authorities investigating the case.

Fourteen others were accused of participating in the theft ring. One of them, Gennaro Bellard, 42, previously pleaded guilty for his role in breaking into a motorcycle shop. He’s been in the county jail on an unrelated drug charge since February.

In all, about $400,000 worth of stolen goods have been recovered. Police said they have no estimate on the overall take from more than 125 burglaries. 

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