Hit-run death
A green SUV with tinted windows struck a pedestrian crossing Allen St. at the corner of Division St. and sped away at 5:40 a.m., Sat. July 3, police said. The victim, Philip Chin, 56, of 1 Pike St. was taken to NYU Downtown Hospital, where he was declared dead. There was no arrest and police are investigating.
Hit on Canal St.
A vehicle struck and injured a pedestrian at about 6:40 p.m., Wed. July 7 at the intersection of Canal and Hudson Sts. near the westbound Holland Tunnel entrance. The victim was taken to St.Vincent’s Hospital but was not seriously injured.
Counterfeit raid
Detectives from the Manhattan district attorney’s office raided a counterfeiting operation on Thursday morning July 1 at 405 Broadway south of Canal St., just as a van loaded with 2,750 counterfeit DVDs pulled up, law enforcement officials said.
Police arrested three suspects, two who had driven down in the van from the Bronx and one at the Broadway location. Nfa Doumbouya, 19, and Mohammed Komah, 18, who were in the van and Moussa Baide, 36, who was waiting in front of 405 Broadway, were charged with felony counts of trademark counterfeiting.
At the basement location, police said they seized 40,000 CDs, 25,000 DVDs and more than 1,000 phony designer-brand Vuitton, Prada and Gucci bags. At the same time, police raided the factory in the Bronx and seized equipment and material used to make counterfeit CDs and DVDs.
Bungled bank job
A robber who fled with a bag of money from the Commerce Bank branch at 25 Hudson St. near Duane St. on Thursday afternoon, July 1, dropped the loot as he was fleeing down Hudson St. when it exploded in a cloud of pink smoke and a shower of red-dyed currency, police said. The robber had received a dye-pack after he passed a note to a teller demanding money. He was not apprehended.
Bridge closing
Responding to a 911 call reporting that a man carrying a black duffle bag was climbing the cable on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge at 9 a.m., Mon. July 5, police closed the bridge to traffic. Emergency Service Unit officers climbed the cable and searched the underside of the roadway but found neither the man nor the bag he was reported carrying. Police re-opened the bridge at 9:30 a.m.
—Albert Amateau
