IDENTITY THEFT: Feasting fraudulently | Identity theft is certainly no picnic — but in the case of an unfortunate 48-year-old woman, it certainly came with enough food for one. As reported to police on Sun., April 2, she received a bill at her home address for a number of purchases that were not made by her. The purchases, totaling $591, came from the Monroe, Wisconsin-based electronic retailer The Swiss Colony, and were largely comprised of foodstuffs — including baklava, Bavarian creme torte, crab, wine, wild game meat, and dubious sounding “meat stix” and a “cheese log,” along with a few pricey articles of clothing and a mini-arcade machine for good measure. They were made on a credit account opened using the victim’s personal information without her knowledge, and she is understandably worried about its continued usage. This is but the latest case of online identity theft reported to the 10th Precinct — a kind of crime police have noticed an uptick in recently.
PETIT LARCENY: Phone alone | She might not have literally flushed her money down the drain — but she sure came close enough on Fri., March 31. At about 6pm that evening, a 36-year-old woman visiting from Trinidad and Tobago went to the restroom at the Jacob Javits Center (655 W. 34th St., btw. 11th & 12th Aves.), set her phone down unattended, then forgot to pick it back up when she left. By the time she realized she no longer had her phone and returned to the restroom in search of it, the device — a $700 Samsung Galaxy Note 5 — had vanished. Using Android Device Manager, she was able to track the phone’s last location to W. 42nd St. and Seventh Ave., but was not able to recover it.
PETIT LARCENY: Urban Outfitters fleeced | For reasons unclear, at about 1:40am on Fri., March 31, a man on the 500 block of W. 42nd St. admitted to police that he had, during the period from Feb. 6–March 21, acted in concert with an already-arrested defendant to undertake a number of petit larcenies. In that time, the 21-year-old Brooklyn man used old receipts at an Urban Outfitters store (526 Sixth Ave., at W. 14th St.) to get refunded inappropriate monies to give to his female partner, racking up $900 of ill-gotten cash during that month-and-a-half period. He was arrested.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: Graffiti express | It might not be a Banksy piece, but this graffiti art nonetheless has a blunt message, is thoroughly annoying, and is going to end up costing a pretty penny. On Wed., March 29, New York City Transit employees discovered that an L train, which had been laid up on a spur track at the 14th St. and Eighth Ave. subway station from about 11:30am to shortly before 4pm, had been thoroughly vandalized in the interim. The tag — which, for the record, was 30 feet long by four feet high — spelled out the word “Dimebag” in ostentatious lettering, using red, white, blue, purple, black, and green paint. The estimated cost of removal is $1,250, according to NYCT.
—SEAN EGAN
THE 10th PRECINCT: Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). Commander: Capt. Paul Lanot. Main number: 212-741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212-741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-924-3377. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7pm, at the 10th Precinct or other locations to be announced.
MIDTOWN SOUTH PRECINCT: Located at 357 W. 35th St. (btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). Inspector: Russel J. Green. Call 212-239-9811. Community Affairs: 212-239-9846. Crime Prevention: 212-239-9846. Domestic Violence: 212-239-9863. Youth Officer: 212-239-9817. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-239-9836. Detective Squad: 212-239-9856. The Community Council meets on the third Thurs. of the month, 7pm, at the New Yorker Hotel (481 Eighth Ave., btw. W. 34th & W. 35th St.). Visit midtownsouthcc.org.
THE 13th PRECINCT: Located at 230 E. 21st St. (btw. Second & Third Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Brendan Timoney. Call 212-477-7411. Community Affairs: 212-477-7427. Crime Prevention: 212-477-7427. Domestic Violence: 212-477-3863. Youth Officer: 212-477-7411. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-477-4380. Detective Squad: 212-477-7444. The Community Council meets on the third Tues. of the month, 6:30pm, at the 13th Precinct.
CASH FOR GUNS | $100 cash will be given (no questions asked) for each handgun, assault weapon or sawed-off shotgun, up to a maximum payment of $300. Guns are accepted at any Police Precinct, PSA or Transit District.
