Merchandise raid
A week after raiding and closing a group of Canal St. counterfeit merchandise stalls, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement and the N.Y.P.D. raided 15 stalls inside the four-story building at 424 Broadway on Thursday morning Dec. 11.
Armed with a search warrant, agents converged on the building at Howard St. and Broadway at 7:15 a.m. before the start of the business day and seized bogus merchandise with an estimated street value of more than $1 million, according to Jason Post, spokesperson for Special Enforcement. No arrests were made.
Enforcement agents filled more than 1,600 large plastic sacks with counterfeit merchandise including 12,000 handbags and thousands of counterfeit designer labels not attached to merchandise.
The haul included over 1,000 pairs of designer sunglasses including counterfeit Oakley and Chanel, over 1,000 pieces of counterfeit jewelry including Tiffany and assorted counterfeit accessories.
The stalls, seven on the third floor and eight on the fourth floor, are owned as individual commercial condominiums and were ordered vacated for various violations.
On Wed., Dec. 3 Special Enforcement raided commercial stalls in two buildings on Canal St. between Lafayette and Centre Sts. and seized counterfeit handbags, wallets, jewelry and perfume that filled about 500 large plastic sacks.
Bicycle mugger A man riding a red and black racing bicycle and wearing a black ski mask stopped a man, 75, on the northeast corner of Charlton and Greenwich Sts. at 6:20 a.m. Sun., Dec. 7 and demanded money, police said. The victim began to run but the suspect caught him, punched and kicked him to the pavement, pulled a knife and repeated several times, “Give me your money.” The victim handed over $40 and the robber, described as 5’11” tall and 170 pounds, fled on his bicycle, police said.
Shoe theft Alerted by the sound of a security sensor on Wednesday night, Nov. 26, a guard at Century 21, 22 Cortlandt St., tried to stop a man running out of the store with five pairs of shoes without paying the $950 price for them, police said. Three store agents pursued the victim and saw him toss the items, four pairs of Dolce & Gabbana shoes and one pair of Eileen Shields shoes, into a construction site at Fulton St. The guards caught up with Charles Troy, 33, and held him for police. The guards sustained minor injuries and the suspect was charged with grand larceny and resisting arrest.
Bank robbery A man entered the Wachovia Bank branch at 463 Broadway at Grand St. shortly after noon on Thurs., Dec. 11, walked up to a teller and announced a robbery and demanded money, police said. The suspect, described as a black man about 5’11” and 230 pounds, fled with an undetermined sum of cash, police said.
Attempted bank jobs A man entered the Bank of America branch at 318 Grand St. at Orchard St. at 2:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 10 and passed a note to a teller demanding money but apparently lost nerve and fled, police said. The suspect, described as Hispanic in his late 30s, between 5’6” and 5’8” and between 180 and 200 pounds, was wearing a Yankees hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap with the letters “PR” on the front.
A man who entered the Chase branch at 525 Broadway at Spring St. at 8:44 a.m. Tues., Dec. 16 went up to a teller and said “I need 20s and 50s,” and passed her a note that said, “I have a gun,” police said. The teller left her window and went to the manager who rang the robbery alarm. The suspect, described as a black man between 39 and 45, with a dark complexion, 5’10” and wearing a black overcoat and skull cap, fled empty handed from a side door, ran east on Spring St. and escaped, police said.
Teen mugged A Bronx boy, 16, told police on Mon., Dec. 15 that a group of teenagers attacked him three weeks earlier at the northeast corner of Spring and Sullivan Sts., hit him on the head, stole his coat, sweater and book bag and fled south on Sullivan St. The victim told police he delayed reporting the incident because he could not identify his assailants. The victim said he feared other attacks and was seeking a safety transfer to another school. Although victim’s school was not identified, there are three high schools located in two buildings on Broome St. and Sixth Ave., three blocks from the scene of the mugging.
Soho penthouse hit Burglars made their way into a penthouse apartment on Greene St., between Spring and Prince Sts. sometime between Friday night, Dec. 15 and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 17, police said. The intruders left a bedroom with clothes strewn around and made off with two laptop computers, a camera, a clock radio and $700 in cash. A friend of the owners, who were out of town at the time, told police that she and her boyfriend were authorized to stay in the place but had gone out to a party on Friday and returned Sunday to find the place in disarray.
Boutique robbery A man entered the Anne Fontaine clothing boutique at 93 Greene St. on Wednesday afternoon Nov. 26, approached a saleswoman with his hand in his jacket simulating a gun and said. “Give me the cash.” Told there was no money, the suspect punched the woman and two other employees and took $190 from the cash box, police said. He kicked open the front door and fled north.
Party assault A resident of 160 Front St. at Maiden Ln. told police that he got into an argument with a stranger at a party in his apartment on Saturday morning Dec. 13. The stranger grabbed a bottle of Scotch that the victim was holding and hit him over the head with it, police said. The victim went to Downtown Hospital and had seven stitches to close a scalp laceration, police said. The suspect was not apprehended.
Chair attack A Harlem resident, 16, told police that he got into an argument over a girl with 17-year-old boy at Rossetti Pizza, 114 Sixth Ave. near Broome St. on Thursday morning Dec. 11. The victim said the older youth picked up a chair and hit him in the face with it. Carlos Paulino, 17, was charged with felony assault in the case.
— Albert Amateau
