Fulton St. scare
A woman employee at 122 Fulton St. near Nassau St. told police she was putting out the lights in a hall at 5:49 p.m. Fri., June 19 preparing to close for the night when a man appeared, pushed her into an office and said “I have something in my pocket and I’m going to kill you.” The suspect, described as a black man, 5’8” and 170 pounds about 40 years old, ordered her to take off her clothes and lie on the floor but she refused and told him to take her money and jewelry. The suspect took $500 in cash, three diamond rings and a gold bracelet with a total value of $1,100 and fled.
Teen assault arrests
Police arrested Sheila Hendricks, 16, and her friend Radhaisa Carmona, 17, and charged them with victimizing a girl, 15, on Broadway and Cortlandt St. on Friday afternoon, June 19. Police say the pair had a male accomplice who was not apprehended. The victim was walking to the nearby subway station at 3:50 p.m. when the two girls came from behind, started punching her in the back and the neck and caused her to drop her cell phone, police said. The man came up, snatched the cell phone from the pavement and fled into the subway station, police said.
Armored guard fake
Police arrested Jesus Bailey, 21, on Sat. June 13 and charged him with posing as an armored car security guard in the 2007 theft of more that $120,000 from two stores, one on East Broadway in Chinatown and the other in Washington Heights.
Bailey, dressed in a Rapid Armor Corp. uniform and carrying a gun, made a pickup with an unidentified accomplice of about $30,000 from a store at 88 East Broadway under the Manhattan Bridge ramp on Aug. 31, 2007. The store discovered the ruse 15 minutes later when the real Rapid Armor guard turned up.
The following day, Sept. 1, 2007, Bailey, again dressed as a Rapid Armor guard, picked up about $90,000 from a business at 1395 St. Nicholas Ave. at 180th St., according to the charges filed by the Manhattan district attorney.
Bailey is being held pending a July 15 court date on charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon.
Security zone arrest
First Precinct police patrolling the Financial District in a radio car ordered a man to move away from a restricted area in front of 41 Broad St. at 12:20 a.m. Fri. June 19 and when he refused they began writing him a summons. The suspect grabbed one of the officers, wrenched his arm and pushed the other cop against the patrol car, police said. Ariel Garcia, 27, was charged with assaulting a police officer.
Threats on D.A.
Jack Chang, 54, was charged on June 16 with sending threatening letters and a false hazardous substance to a Manhattan assistant district attorney who is prosecuting him for grand larceny and fraud.
Chang, a tax preparer, was charged with sending a June 9 letter threatening death to Gilda Mariano, chief of the money laundering and tax crimes unit in the Manhattan district attorney’s office at Hogan Pl. and sending a similar letter, with a white powder that proved to be corn starch, to Mariano’s home.
Mariano is currently prosecuting Chang for grand larceny and fraud charges filed in April in connection with the theft of more than $80,000 from his tax preparation clients. Mariano had previously supervised Chang’s 1995 conviction of stealing more than $940,000 from 30 clients from 1988 through 1992, for which he served one year of a three-year prison sentence.
Chang’s lawyer, Robert C. Reuland, said the criminal complaint filed by the District Attorney’s office “has nothing that proves he [Chang] wrote those letters beyond a reasonable doubt.” Chang pleaded not guilty on June 16 and was being held without bail pending a July 20 court appearance.
Bodega assault
The owner of a grocery store at 172 Prince St. near Thompson St. told police that a man he described as white and 5’7” tall, hit him in the mouth with a bottle at 7:15 p.m. Tues., June 23 and fled. The victim was treated at Bellevue Hospital.
King St. burglary
A resident of 26 King St. left home at 10 a.m. Mon., June 22 and returned at 10:40 p.m. to find evidence of tampering on her door, the lights on in her bedroom and 10 pieces of jewelry valued at $7,200 missing, including antique diamond and onyx earrings, a Raymond Weil watch and a bottle of perfume.
Taxi robbery
A woman, 24, who got into a cab at 3:30 a.m. Sat., June 20 in the Meat Packing District after a night of drinking, was ordered out when the cab arrived at W. Houston St. and Thompson St., police said. Before she knew what happened, a man opened the door, pulled her out of the cab, grabbed her bag and got in the cab himself before it drove off, police said. The victim told police she could not identify the cab driver or the thief and did not remember the cab number.
Soho boutique theft
The manager of the Hugo Boss shop at 555 Broadway between Spring and Prince Sts. told police that someone had shoplifted a limited edition watch valued at $2,700 sometime between noon and 5 p.m. Tues., June 23.
Wallet lifted
A Great Neck resident, 42, told police that his wallet with $100 cash, credit cards and ID were picked from him pocket around 1:20 p.m. while he was in Koyzina Café, 62 William St. The victim said that one of his credit cards had an unauthorized charge for a MetroCard.
Locker room thefts
Three patrons of the New York Sports Club branch at 160 Water St. and two patrons of branch at 217 Broadway, were victims of burglars who broke into their lockers between 11 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. Tues., June 23, police said.
At 160 Water St., the surveillance camera recorded the image of a man entering and leaving the locker room with a towel draped over his head hiding his face, police said. One of the victims at 160 Water St., a retired N.Y.P.D. officer, lost his wallet, $60 in cash, and his N.Y.P.D. identity card to the thief.
— Albert Amateau
