Police Blotter

Robbery arrest

Two men entered Porto Bello, a clothing store at 202 Broadway at Fulton St. on Thursday morning Dec. 15 as the store was being opened and one of them pulled a gun on the manager, police said. The gunman demanded money, punched, pistol-whipped and kicked the manager and the thieves then fled. Officer Nick Rampul, on patrol near the store, gave chase and apprehended one of the suspects after a passerby blocked the suspect’s path. Orrette Davis, 22, was charged with robbery, assault and possession of a handgun

Subway mugging

A group of about eight youths between the ages of 10 and 16 got on an Uptown No. 1 train at South Ferry at 4:30 p.m. Fri. Dec. 9, punched a passenger and tried to take his backpack, police said. The victim, a 45-year-old New Rochelle resident, held onto his bag but the teens managed to take the cell phone he had on his belt before they fled the train at the Rector St. station, police said.

Shoplifting arrest

A security guard at Century 21, 22 Cortlandt St., stopped two men who were walking out of the store at about 10 p.m. Mon. Dec. 12 without paying for clothes valued at $95, police said. One of the suspects bit the female guard on the arm, according to police. Charged with robbery were Marvin Brown, 20, and Thomas Wade, 22.

Resident ambushed

A resident of 105 Thompson St. between Prince and Spring Sts. told police she entered the vestibule of her building at 1:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 10 when an unknown thief came in behind her, snatched her bag with an iPod, her wallet and several credit cards and fled. The victim said the thief reached around her and grabbed the bag without showing his face.

Money laundering

A Chinatown business woman pleaded guilty on Dec. 20 to making unlawful money transfers of $7.2 million between Vietnam and the U.S. from her jewelry store, Kim Phuong Vietnam Enterprise, Inc. at 195A Canal St., according to District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

Rose Huong Phung Dao, 44, pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise corruption, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and on behalf of her company pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transfer, both felonies.

As part of her plea, Dao agreed to forfeit more than $250,000, including money from her bank account and money found in her Canal St. store on Aug. 16 when investigators executed a search warrant.

Dao acknowledged that for a fee she allowed customers to move money to Vietnam without the reports, scrutiny or screening against a list of known terrorists and narcotics traffickers required by law. The operation also allowed recipients in New York to go to the store and receive money illegally transferred from Vietnam.

Morgenthau said in a prepared statement that the guilty plea was part of a continuing investigation into money laundering and illegal wire transfer businesses. The illegal money transfers are often used to conceal the proceeds of narcotics and terrorism activities, Morgenthau added.

Soho hold-up

A thief simulating a gun held up a man who was sitting on a bench on the sidewalk at 390 W. Broadway on Saturday evening, Dec. 10 and took $135 from the victim before fleeing, police said. The robber was described as a black man, about 5 ft. 10 in. tall and weighing 200 pounds.

Mother & daughter busted

Two women who tried to walk out of a clothing boutique at 468 W. Broadway south of Houston St. on Monday afternoon Dec. 5 without paying for clothes valued at $630, wrestled with a male employee, police said. The employee held them until police arrived. Tamara Williams, 19, and her mother, Denise Williams, 37, were charged with robbery.

Online theft

The manager of Melodrom, Ltd., a furniture store at 60 Greene St., reported on Thurs. Dec. 15 that an unknown thief made unauthorized online charges on the store’s checking account on Nov. 29 to pay two Con Edison bills and a bill at a grocery store on E. 180 St. in the Bronx, police said.

No forced entry

The manager of the eighth floor office of CES Acquisition Corp, a real estate management firm at 76 Greene St., told police on Wednesday morning Dec. 14 that thieves had taken a Canon camera, a mobile phone and two BlackBerry devices with a total value of $1,240. There was no forced entry and the cleaning service, which had cleaned the office the night before, had the only set of keys apart from employees, according to police.

Bag gone at eatery

A woman patron at Bari Restaurant on Spring and Mercer Sts. found that her bag, which she had draped on the back of her chair, was missing after dinner at 7 p.m. Fri. Dec. 9, police said. She lost the bag with her wallet, $300 cash, a Dell computer notebook and personal papers, worth a total value of $1,676, police said.

Water St. assault

A building worker at 199 Water St. told police that an employee of neighboring building had hit him with a length of wood at 11:30 a.m. Sat. Dec. 10 during the course of an argument behind the garbage compactor of the Water St. building.

—Albert Amateau

google_ad_client = “pub-6226499064891091”;

google_ad_width = 468;

google_ad_height = 60;

google_ad_format = “468x60_as”;

google_ad_channel =”0606561524″;

google_color_border = “336699”;

google_color_bg = “FFFFFF”;

google_color_link = “0000FF”;

google_color_url = “008000”;

google_color_text = “000000”;

//–>