A.T.M. scam A man who tried to use the A.T.M. at the Washington Mutual branch at 835 Broadway between 12th and 13th Sts. at 5 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 3, had some trouble after he inserted his card and went into the bank for help. When he and the teller returned to the A.T.M., the card had been removed and $500 was gone from his account, police said. The victim later learned that $162 in unauthorized charges had been made on his card for MetroCards.
For a bottle of beer Police arrested Kelvin Vargas shortly after 6:30 a.m. Mon., Nov. 10, and charged him with third-degree assault for punching the owner of a convenience store at 683 Broadway at W. Third St. Police said Vargas, of 250 Mulberry St., grabbed a bottle of beer and tried to walk out without paying when the owner tried to stop him. Vargas struck the owner in the face in the struggle and was apprehended a short time later. He was charged with third-degree robbery and second-degree assault, and was freed on $3,000 bail pending a Feb. 2 court date.
‘Knife in your face!’ A Jersey City resident driving behind a cab that stopped at the intersection of Hudson and Bethune Sts. at 12:32 a.m. Sat., Nov. 15, slammed into the back of the taxi several times and then got out of his car and threatened the cab driver, police said. The suspect, Babacar Ndiaye, 47, pulled a knife and told the cab driver, “I will put this knife in your face!” according to reports. The suspect was charged with menacing and possession of a weapon and was freed pending a Jan. 23 court appearance, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Pizza perps Police arrested two men and charged them with beating and robbing a patron of a pizza parlor at 72 Christopher St. around 3 a.m. Tues., Nov. 11. Jermayne Buchanon, 27, of the Holland Hotel on W. 42nd St., and Ernest Elijon, 21, of Bolton St. in the Bronx, smashed the victim’s head into a table, kicked him and took $70 from him and fled, police said. The suspects were apprehended a short time later and were charged with second-degree robbery. They were being held pending a Dec. 19 court appearance.
Chops own hand An Emergency Service Unit team and police from the 13th Precinct who responded to a call about a deranged man at 240 E. 21st St. at 10 a.m. Tues., Nov. 11, learned that the victim had cut off his own left hand with “an ax type weapon.” They found the man on the roof of the building, staunched the bleeding and took him and his severed hand to Bellevue Hospital, where he was said to be in stable condition. Police declined to reveal the name of the victim, whom they described as being white Hispanic and 38 years old.
Charity swindle The Manhattan district attorney charged five individuals and their printing companies with stealing more than $1 million from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in a phony invoice scam. One defendant, Harold Chayefsky, a print broker, was charged with submitting false invoices from his company, Wintry Press, of 175 Varick St. near King St., to the foundation’s magazine, which Jonathan Stenger, the lead defendant, edited. Another defendant, James Wawrzewski, of 2 Charlton St. in the Village, was charged with submitting false invoices from his company, Cobalt Design Group, of 333 Hudson St., to the magazine that Stenger edited as an employee of the foundation.
Stonewall stealer A musician performing at 55 Club, 55 Christopher St., on Thursday night Nov. 6 discovered at 1 a.m. that his black leather jacket valued at $2,000, a shirt valued at $50 and his wallet had been stolen from an upstairs office at the club.
A patron of Stonewall Inn, also at 55 Christopher St., left his bag unattended for 20 minutes around 1:20 a.m. Thurs., Nov. 6, and returned to find that his wallet with his South Carolina driver’s license and bankcard had been stolen along with his cell phone.
— By Albert Amateau
