NEW ROCHELLE, NY (November 23, 2025) — The presenting sponsor of the 61st Annual New Rochelle Thanksgiving Day Parade, held yesterday, was previously arrested in Eastchester on charges related to impersonating an assistant district attorney.
Rob Rubicco, co-owner of Anna & Jack’s Treehouse, an early childhood education and play center with locations across Westchester County, served as the name sponsor for the event organized by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.
As a Platinum Parade Sponsor ($10,000) Rubicco received “Presented By” recognition and “prominent logo placement on event marketing materials: logo & sponsor name on all posters, parade banners, outdoor kiosk & banner advertisement, emails, electronic boards at the train station, 20+ digital community calendars, opening & closing credits of the NRTV multiple re-broadcasts of the parade on Thanksgiving Weekend and social media from the City & NR Chamber. Participation in the official Parade Kick-Off Photos. Sponsor marches in VIP/Dignitaries Section leading the Parade. Sponsor recognition repeated throughout NRTV Broadcast. Sponsor will be interviewed for NRTV Broadcast.”
This case underscores the importance of vetting sponsors for public events, especially those involving children and families.
Local media outlets, including Talk of the Sound, have highlighted Rubicco’s criminal history, with many questioning the suitability of his sponsorship for a family-oriented event like the Thanksgiving parade. As of now, neither the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce nor city officials have commented on the revelations.
Rubicco’s criminal past includes a 2010 arrest for posing as a member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in an attempt to tamper with a witness in his brother Spencer’s credit card theft case.
Spencer Rubicco Arrest
Spencer Rubicco, then 23, was arrested on Aug. 5, 2010, and faced charges of grand larceny and forgery after stealing a neighbor’s credit cards and using them to buy groceries.
According to a felony complaint, Spencer Rubicco committed grand larceny in the fourth degree when he knowingly stole property that consisted of a Chase Mastercard debit/credit card belonging to Michelle M—.
He used the card to purchase a carton of cigarettes, a 12 pack of beer, and a half gallon of orange juice at the Gulf Mart located at 381 White Plains Road in Eastchester.
In a separate felony complaint, Spencer Rubicco committed two counts of forgery in the second degree.
Count one stated that he used a stolen Chase debit card belonging to Michelle M— to purchase $29.23 worth of merchandise and signed the credit receipt with a signature purported to be Michelle M— but which in fact was a forgery.
Count two stated that he used a stolen Chase debit card belonging to Michelle M— to purchase $99.86 worth of merchandise and signed the credit receipt with a signature purported to be Michelle M— but which in fact was a forgery.
According to an arrest report, Spencer Rubicco was arrested at 69 Glen Road in Eastchester at 00:25 on Aug. 5, 2010.
A blotter report stated that Michelle M— reported her wallet was stolen while she was at Martinis & Chocolates at 425 White Plains Road in Eastchester.
She last saw her wallet at approximately 2045 hours on Aug. 4, 2010, and noticed it missing at approximately 2215 hours.
The wallet contained approximately $100 cash, a personal Chase Debit card, a business Chase debit card for Precision Mortgage Processors, her NYS Drivers License, and approximately $100 in gift cards.
Her personal Chase debit card had been used for a purchase in the amount of $98.00 at Exxon/Mobil, and her business Chase debit card had been used for a purchase in the amount of $19.97 at Exxon/Mobil.
A detective’s supplemental report stated that video from the Gulf Mart showed Spencer Rubicco, along with his brother Anthony Rubicco and girlfriend Joelle Bonci, in the store at 23:41 on Aug. 4, 2010.
Spencer Rubicco made a purchase of a 12 pack of Budweiser beer, cigarettes and some other items at 23:41 in the amount of $29.23, and a purchase of a carton of Marlboro Light cigarettes at 23:41 in the amount of $99.86.
Michelle M— confirmed that the signatures on both receipts were not hers and signed affidavits of forgery.
Spencer Rubicco was arraigned in Bronxville Village Court, where bail was set at $5,000.00 cash or bond, with a return date of Aug. 11, 2010.
Judge Mayer issued a temporary order of protection forbidding Spencer Rubicco to have any contact with Michelle M—.
Shortly after Spencer Rubicco’s arrest, incidents of vandalism occurred involving the victim’s car and food.
According to a vandalism report dated Aug. 5, 2010, Michelle M— reported that she last saw her vehicle, a 1997 Green Chevrolet Cavalier, parked in front of —- Hillside Place on Aug. 4, 2010, at approximately 2230 hours, with no damage.
On Aug. 5, 2010, at 0748 hours, she found gouges to all four doors, the hood, front and rear fenders on both sides, and the trunk. There was also a gash approximately 3 inches in length in the passenger side rear tire, resulting in a flat tire, a gash in the drivers side front tire that did not result in a flat tire, and the drivers side windshield wiper was broken off at the base of the wiper.
Michelle M— stated that she believed this incident was related to an earlier incident involving Spencer Rubicco.
No one was charged for the vandalism, which remained under investigation.
In a separate food tampering report dated Aug. 5, 2010, Michelle M— reported that she returned home between 0230-0300 hours and brought her blue Zone diet cooler filled with three meals and two snacks inside, which had been delivered to her front stoop between 0030-0100 hours.
She contacted the Zone diet company and was advised that the normal delivery was made.
At 1200 hours, she opened the bag and noticed it had been filled with grass, dirt and hair.
Rob Rubicco Arrest
Rob Rubicco posed as an assistant district attorney and got his entire immediate family involved in a scheme to convince the victim to drop the charges against Spencer Rubicco.
According to police reports, Rob Rubicco contacted Michelle M— multiple times, offering to repair her vandalized car in exchange for dropping the charges.
Posing as an assistant DA named “Paul Palidari”, Rob Rubicco promised to “fix” the damage if the victim withdrew her complaint.
Rob Rubicco (aka, Paul Palidari), then 27, was arrested on Aug. 11, 2010, at 20 Mill Road in Eastchester, on initial charges of bribing a witness, a Class D felony.
The charges were later reduced to fourth-degree witness tampering as part of a plea deal with the Westchester County District Attorney.
Rob Rubicco pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Court documents revealed that a town justice issued orders of protection barring both brothers from any contact with Michelle M—.
When reached for comment shortly after his arrest, Rob Rubicco described the situation as “very prickly” and insisted that “the true facts will come out in court.”
A detective’s supplemental report dated Aug. 6, 2010, stated that an anonymous source advised that Rob Rubicco had contacted Michelle M— and presented himself as a District Attorney.
The information indicated that he was trying to “Broker” a deal so that Michelle M— would drop the charges against Spencer Rubicco in exchange for her car being fixed.
Michelle M— stated that an individual using the name Paul Palidari told her he was with the DA’s Office and was handling the case.
He advised that he was contacting her to set up a deal where her car would be fixed and the charges against Spencer Rubicco would be dismissed.
He stated that he was calling in as a favor to Bonci with the Eastchester PD.
He told Michelle M— to deal directly with Spencer Rubicco’s father in working out the deal.
He gave her a phone number, which was the same number that Rob Rubicco gave to police as his personal cell number.
It was also the same number left with the Bronxville Village Court Clerk by an individual who stated he was Spencer Rubicco’s brother, Rob, and that he was with the DA’s office.
An additional detective’s supplemental report dated Aug. 8, 2010, stated that Michelle M— reported receiving phone calls from Robert Rubicco Sr. and text messages from Anthony Rubicco regarding her vehicle. She also received calls from a gentleman identifying himself as Paul from a private phone number, whom she believed to be Robert Rubicco Jr.
While at headquarters, Michelle M— received another call from “Paul” and had a recorded conversation with him (embedded below).
During the conversation, “Paul” stated: “I was under the impression, when this all goes away, including the incident with Joelle”; “when your car is fixed, everyone will be happy and we can move on”; “we need to come to an agreement on the car”; “you and I had an agreement that this was all gonna go away”; “now you are getting other people involved, which is going to make it more complicated”; “Eastchester Police knows the vehicle is being fixed and the incident on friday never happened”; “you and Joelle were just upset at each other”; “I thought I could assist and working this out, you get your car fixed and everything goes away”; “I wouldn’t say anything in court on Wednesday trying to work out an agreement with the Rubicco’s”; “If you can leave me out of this from this day forward, I would appreciate it.”
“Paul” referred to “an agreement” on several occasions in the recording.
A request for phone records dated Aug. 9, 2010, sought records for a Cingular cell phone number for subscriber information and call details from Aug. 5, 2010, to Aug. 9, 2010.
The request noted that shortly after Spencer Rubicco’s arrest, person(s) unknown damaged Michelle M—’s vehicle by scratching it in numerous places and flattening one of its tires, believed to be in retaliation. It detailed the call to the Bronxville Village Court Clerk from a man claiming to be a DA in the Manhattan DA’s office and Spencer Rubicco’s brother.
It also detailed conversations where Rob Rubicco asked how the complainant could drop the charges and stated his family was trying to work out a deal with Michelle M— to have her car fixed if she dropped the charges.
On Aug. 9, 2010, a male identifying himself as Spencer Rubicco’s brother and as an attorney called Eastchester Town Court and advised that the complainant was planning on dropping the charges.
A criminal history check by Eastchester PD on Robert Rubicco showed a number of misdemeanor arrests and no indication that he was ever fingerprinted for the NYS bar.
In a supporting deposition dated Aug. 6, 2010, Michelle M— detailed phone calls from “Paul Palidari” on Aug. 5, 2010, who introduced himself as from the DA’s office.
He explained the charges against Spencer Rubicco as three counts of felony, one for stolen card and two for signature fraud, and that Spencer could be looking at a minimum of one year in prison for each.
He asked her to reconsider her actions if there was something else that could be done to reconcile the situation.
He stated he was calling in a favor for Bonci with the Eastchester PD.
She explained the damages to her car and stated that if those were fixed, she might consider dropping the charges.
He said to speak to Mr. Rubicco (Rob Rubicco’s father) directly and not to let anyone know of their conversation.
He gave her Mr. Rubicco’s phone number.
She called Mr. Rubicco and explained she wanted to work something out, didn’t want to see Spencer go to jail, and felt sorry for him with the loss of his mother, but he needed rehabilitation, as did Anthony.
Mr. Rubicco agreed and said he would see if he could come up with the money to post bail for Spencer.
During this time, she received text messages from Anthony Rubicco: “Michelle, I hate swearing on my mother, but in this case, I sware on her grave i did not lay a finger on ur car nor messed with ur food. I kno u were upset las nite and u did what anyl else would of done. But im not a scumbag i wudnt do that 2 u. i hope u believe me. Maybe it was someone else who u got in a fight with? anyl come to mind.”
She texted back: “Joelle is the only person that comes to mind. Did she do it?”
He replied: “Michelle i dnt wana start any problems… but if i didnt do it.. theres only one other person that cud of done it. im not saying i saw her do it but she was mad pissed about ur guys fight. pls dnt say anything. this whole thing is such a mess. iv been getting yelled at all day from every family member. eveerytime spence. fuks up, i get blamed its so unfair.”
She said: “whoever did the damage to my car and my food is paying for it! Idc what u work out with joelle… otherwise ur brother is going to do the time for all of you.”
He stated: “I have no idea what happend to ur car… i didn’t see jelle do anything. im’ jus sayin u guys were in a fight: it may of been the punk kids chillin by the tann salon. cuz i saw them kick someones side mirror off”.
She said: “Bullshit!!! my car needs to be repaired and my food paid for”.
“Paul” called back and steered her on what to say in court: “something to the affect of the rubbico family and I have been friends for a while, I know that he made a mistake, but I’m willing to overlook it as long as he goes into rehab.”
He offered: “if you ever need anything, getting out of a ticket, maybe you’re drunk driving one night and need some help squashing (sic) the charges, I can help you and your boyfriend whatever you need, but just keep this conversation to us because like I stated, I’m not really supposed to be talking to you.”
He stated he probably wouldn’t be in court but one of his associates would.
Later, he asked if she wanted to press charges against Anthony Rubicco for contacting her, in violation of the order of protection.
The next day, Mr. Rubicco (senior) met her with an estimate and stated: “joelle admitted to doing the damages. she texted Rob and Anthony right after she did them.”
He said they would speak to her and her father about paying.
“Paul” called to say he was happy things were going smoothly and the next step would be to hear from Mr. Rubicco’s attorney to draw up the document.
Mr. Rubicco gave her his attorney’s phone number and name, Andrew Borsen.
In an additional supporting deposition dated Aug. 8, 2010, Michelle M— detailed text messages from Anthony Rubicco on Aug. 7, 2010: “Hey.. My father left u a voicemail about ur car.. Will your car be here at 1lam 2morrow?”
Mr. Rubicco called to arrange for his car repair guy to view the damages.
She met Mr. Rubicco (senior) and a gentleman who claimed to own Fashion Auto in the Bronx. Mr. Rubicco said his guy would do the work, but she insisted on money up front to get repairs at her convenience.
He said: “well, that’s not going to happen.”
She said: “well then your son is going to jail, I’ll see you in court. I don’t know why you’re treating me like I’m the accused, when I am the victim!”
She saw Mr. Rubicco (senior), the auto guy, Anthony Rubicco and Rob Rubicco standing in a parking lot.
“Paul” called multiple times, and a recorded conversation occurred in front of Sgt. Mignone.
Supporting depositions from Annmarie Rella and Carnelina Chiavetta dated Aug. 9, 2010, detailed calls from a male stating he was Spencer Rubicco’s brother and an attorney, inquiring about the case and stating the complaining witness wanted to drop the charges.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office released a copy of the recording made on August 9, by Michelle M —— , a 14-minute recorded conversation of Rob Rubicco (aka “Paul Palidari), which occurred in front of Sgt. Mignone.
As of the article’s date, neither the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce nor city officials have commented on the revelations.
Despite these incidents, Rubicco has built a seemingly successful business focused on childcare and community engagement, earning accolades like “Best Childcare” from Westchester Magazine. His social media presence emphasizes leadership and entrepreneurship, with no direct responses to the controversies.
Rubicco’s impersonation of a DA not only undermined the justice system but also raised ethical concerns that persist over a decade later.
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
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