Social Media Mayhem: YouTuber Influencer 'Squeeze.benz' Accused of String of Burglaries in New Jersey

A popular YouTuber and social media influencer who films himself engaging in reckless, high-speed driving in New York City has been charged in New Jersey in connection with a string of robberies, police said.

Antonio Ginestri, a 19-year-old known online as "Squeeze.benz," was charged recently along with a 16-year-old who was not named due to being a juvenile, the Fairfield Police Department said.

According to police, a grey BMW X7 bearing a stolen New Jersey registration was linked to the perpetrators of a burglary at a Speedway Gas Station in Fairfield on Feb. 6.

The same vehicle was linked to burglaries in Roseland, Seacaucus and Hasbrouck Heights after leaving Fairfield that morning.

Detectives learned the same BMW and its occupants were wanted for crimes in other New Jersey towns as well as New York and Connecticut.

Ginestri was arrested in New York City in May in an unrelated incident in which he allegedly punched a man in a deli, according to police. That investigation revealed his identity as Squeeze.benz, who had been baiting police into chases across the tri-state area for some time, but always wore a full-face helmet in his videos, officials said.

"Ginestri is a well-known social media influencer," Fairfield Police Public Information Officer Stacy Chiarolanza said in a statement. "The basis of his channel is to film himself driving hi-end cars in a reckless manner to entice a police response while wearing a full-face helmet to hide his identity."

Police said there were three occupants in the BMW during the Fairfield burglaries, but only two have been identified and charged.

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Ginestri was charged with burglary, employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime, theft, and two counts of conspiracy in connection with the crimes committed in Fairfield. He was being held in New Jersey's Bergen County Jail on unrelated charges, police said.

The juvenile was also charged with burglary, theft, and two counts of conspiracy.

TMX contributed to this report.