East Side robbers
Police are looking for a man wanted in a string of robberies in the Fifth, Seventh and Ninth Precincts on the Lower East Side between Dec.26 and Jan. 5. In the first incident at 5:45 a.m., Dec. 26, the suspect, who was accompanied by a woman in each crime, came up behind a woman victim, 46, in her building at 635 E. 12th St. at Avenue C and fled with her bag. On Jan. 3 at 11 p.m. the suspect tried to take the bag of a woman, 63, in her building at 308 Delancey St. but she screamed and he fled. The following day at about 3 p.m. he came up behind a woman, 73, in the building at 709 FDR Dr., in the Lillian Wald Houses and fled with her bag. On Jan. 5 at about 6:35 p.m. he approached a woman, 39, from behind in her building at 10 Catherine Slip in the Al Smith Houses, took her bag and fled.
The suspect was described as a black man, between 5’10” and 6’ weighing about 190 lbs. and wearing a black jacket and black hat. The woman with him was said to be black, in her 20s, wearing a blue jacket, lime green scarf and gloves and black boots. To report information in confidence, phone 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.crimestoppers.com or texting 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577.
Gang mugging
Police arrested Richard Porras, 18, and his sister, Jasmine Porras, 19, of 10 Rutgers St., and charged them with robbery and assault on a young man in front of 500 Grand St. around 6 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 24. The suspects and three unapprehended accomplices forced the youth to empty his book bag and took him to a nearby schoolyard where they punched and kicked him, police said. Police say Richard Porras was the one who took the victim’s wallet, two cell phones and earphones.
Chinatown jewel theft
Police arrested Roberto Ortiz, 48, of Brooklyn, on Mon., Jan. 22, for stealing jewelry with a total value of $13,400 from two Chinatown stores earlier in January. The thefts were recorded on surveillance tapes at 2 p.m. Jan. 7 at the store at 88 E. Broadway when a gold and diamond bracelet and a gold pendant were stolen and at 11 a.m. Jan. 18 at a store at 167A Canal St. when a gold cross was stolen. Ortiz was being held in lieu of bail pending a March 11 court appearance on grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Domestic cuts
Allison Rembert, 40, of Baruch Pl. near E. Houston St. in the Baruch Houses was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon on Tues., Jan. 19 for slashing her former husband on the cheek and the arm with a kitchen knife around 12:25 a.m. in her apartment, police said. The victim required multiple stitches to close the wounds, according to reports.
Fragrant burglary try
Three men were recorded on a surveillance tape trying to break into the Chanel boutique, 139 Spring St., through a side door around 4:16 a.m. Mon., Jan. 18 police said. The burglars worked at it for 40 minutes and finally smashed a window in the door but fled before the alarm company was able to respond, police said.
Contractor indicted
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. secured the indictment last week of The Builders Group, a construction firm at 50 Broad St., and three principals on grand larceny and fraud charges for stealing nearly $7 million from various developers over the past three years.
The company, its owner, George Figliolia, chief financial officer, Isaac Stareshefsky and vice president, John Krupa, illegally inflated construction costs by submitting false bills from subcontractors who would then kick back the excess money to the defendants, according to the charges. The victims were five developers engaged in interior work in buildings in the Tri-State area from 2006 to 2009, the indictment says.
The defendants pleaded not guilty at their Jan. 27 arraignment and were freed pending April court appearances.
Trash can cache
A waitress at Raoul’s, 180 Prince St., told police that her bag had been stolen from her locker on the floor above the restaurant around 4 p.m. Tues., Jan. 19 but was found a short time later in a restroom trash can with her wallet and cell phone missing. Later that day, a man phoned the victim to say he found her cell phone in the street. He did not follow up with an offer to return it.
Double whammy
A pair of thieves was recorded on a surveillance tape at Club Monaco boutique, 121 Prince St., at 11:51 a.m. Fri., Jan. 15 shoving a stack of shirts and a stack of men’s jeans, with a total value of $1,965 in two bags, police said. They made their way out without being stopped. On Mon., Jan. 18, the surveillance camera at the Soho boutique caught the image of one of the thieves at 11:15 a.m. sticking 16 cardigan and 16 crew sweaters, with a total value of $3,168 in a bag and walking out without being stopped.
Handbag theft
Craig Connelly, 17, of Staten Island, was arrested at 4:30 a.m. Thurs., Jan. 21 in the men’s room of Greenhouse, the club at 150 Varick St. at Spring St., where he was going through two handbags stolen from club patrons, police said. A restroom attendant who saw the suspect with the handbags alerted police, according to reports.
— Albert Amateau
