Robbed at knifepoint A group of about six robbers, one wielding a knife, made off with 11 pairs of Guess jeans, seven T-shirts and a jacket from the Guess store at 23 Fulton St. at 4:45 p.m. Fri., April 4, police said. The knife-wielding robber, described only as a black man, grabbed a woman employee, 19, by the hair and menaced a male employee while his accomplices took the merchandise from a display shelf, police said.
Thief poses as police A man pulling out of a parking space in front of 54 Warren St. between W. Broadway and Church St. at 12:30 a.m. Thurs., April 3 was stopped by man who got out of another car, angrily identified himself as “Detective Poole,” grabbed the victim around the neck and began to search him, police said. The robber asked the victim if he had any guns, then searched the car, took the victim’s cell phone and bank cards and drove off, police said.
Bank robber A man walked into the Wachovia branch at 463 Broadway at Grand St. shortly after noon Sat., April 5, passed a note to a teller and then reached into the teller’s drawer, grabbed $1,040 and fled, police said. The note said, “Do not try any tricks. I have a gun, stay calm. No alarms. I’m watching you.” Police were notified, canvassed the neighborhood and stopped one potential suspect, but there were no arrests.
Arrest in ATM robbery A 16-year-old Bronx teen was about to cross Broadway at the northwest corner of Bowling Green at 2:40 p.m. Tues., April 8 when a stranger at his side said, “I got a gun. If you scream or run, I’ll shoot,” police said.
The robber forced the boy to a nearby Chipotle restaurant, took five dollars from his wallet, then forced him to a Starbucks in search of an ATM. Finding none, the robber steered the victim to a Duane Reade, forced him to withdraw $20 from an ATM and then fled, police said.
The suspect, Chris Nervil, 25, was arrested later at the Whitehall St. subway station and was identified by the victim, police said. Nervil had a knife and marijuana in addition to $20 in his pockets when he was arrested, police said.
Cars stolen A man who parked his car on Pearl St. at the corner of Dover St. at 10:30 p.m. Sun., April 6 returned an hour later and found it stolen, police said. A woman who parked her car at the corner of Grand and Wooster Sts. at 11 p.m. Sat., April 5 returned at 11 a.m. Sunday and found it was missing, police said. The space had a “No Standing 11 p.m.- 6 a.m.” sign, but police determined the car had not been towed.
Rap rough stuff An associate of HipHopMovie.com was sitting in the company office at 40 Exchange Pl. at 1:30 p.m. Wed., March 26 when a business acquaintance came up to him, ordered him to get out of his chair, then flicked a cigarette at him, threw him off the chair, kneed him in the face several times and left the office, police said. The victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital with a broken jaw.
Bar brawl Police arrested Anthony Lattanzi, 27, at about 3:30 a.m. Sun., April 6 in The Patriot Saloon, 110 Chambers St. and charged him with assault for punching the faces of two other patrons, a 22-year-old man from Alexandria, Va., and a 23-year-old New Jersey man.
Pizza parlor break-in Burglars broke the front window of Delizio Pizza Uno, 26 Murray St., and entered sometime between 9 p.m. Sun., April 6 and 9 a.m. the next morning, police said. The thieves then broke open two cash registers and a drawer and made off with $6,515, police said.
Bag gone A woman shopping for shoes at Aldo, 579 Broadway between Prince and W. Houston Sts. on Saturday afternoon April 5 discovered at 2:35 p.m. that her bag, which she placed on the chair next to her, was stolen, police said.
NYMEX traders plead A former member of the New York Mercantile Exchange’s board of directors pleaded guilty in State Supreme Court on April 8 to illegally trading ahead of customers’ orders on the floor of the exchange along with three other defendants.
Steven J. Karvellas, 48, owner of two brokerage companies with offices at the NYMEX building in Battery Park City, admitted before Justice Daniel Fitzgerald that he delayed executing customers’ orders to buy or sell natural gas contracts in order to see which way the market was moving. If the price moved in a way profitable for the customer, Karvellas would assign the trade to himself and execute the customer’s order later at a less favorable price or not at all, according to the office of District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
When Karvellas became aware of a trading practices investigation, he ordered a subordinate to destroy evidence of his illegal trading between September 2002 and May 2003, according to the charges. Karvellas was on the NYMEX board of directors from 1996 to 2006 and from 2000 to 2003 he was chairman of the NYMEX compliance review and adjudication committees. As part of the guilty plea, Karvellas has been promised a five-month jail sentence and five years probation and must pay $850,000 in illegal profits and fines, according to prosecutors.
Also charged in connection with trading ahead of NYMEX customers’ orders were Thomas Maloney, a former floor broker and Brian Keane and Ryan Tremblay, former floor clerks.
— Albert Amateau
