PURSE PINCHED
A sticky fingered thief poached a woman’s purse from inside her husband’s bag on a crowded southbound 5 train on Oct. 27.
The victim told police he boarded the train heading downtown at Grand Central Station at 10:10 a.m., and disembarked at Bowling Green 20 minutes later when he noticed his bag was unzipped and his wife’s valuables were missing. In route, the man said he was jostled several times as passengers came and went, and fears that some pick-purse managed to unpack his bag unnoticed, cops said.
RAIL RAGE
Cops are hunting a black-clad whacko who socked a subway conductor in the face on a World Trade Center-bound E train on Oct. 26.
The victim told police he was busy ferrying straphangers towards the Financial Center and had stopped the train at the Spring St. station near Sixth Ave. at 9:45 a.m., when the belligerent goon, wearing a black hat and black overcoat, sucker punched him right in the kisser.
The attacker fled down Spring St. heading west, cops said.
BIKE BANDIT
A 23-year-old man was arrested after he was allegedly spotted riding a stolen Citi Bike on a Chambers St. sidewalk on Oct. 26, cops said.
The arresting officer was near Center St. at 4:56 p.m., when he spotted the suspect illegally riding on the sidewalk and stopped him for questioning.
The suspect allegedly stated that he was given the bicycle as a gift, but when the officer reached out to Citi Bike, he was told the cycle was reported missing, according to police.
UP IN SMOKE
Looters nabbed more than $1,000 worth of smokes from a Wall St. pharmacy on Oct. 25.
An employee told police that the suspects were caught on surveillance footage inside the drug store between William and Broad Sts. at 4 a.m., when they went behind the cash register and nabbed more than a hundred packs of cigarettes before fleeing.
BUR-BYE!
Three thieves made off with more than $5,500 worth of Burberry scarves from a Vesey St. department store on Oct. 26.
An employee told police that the crooks waltzed into the store near West St. at 5:50 p.m., when one of them got an employees attention and kept him busy as his accomplices nabbed 11 ritzy neck wraps before making for the exit.
NOW YOU SEE, NOW YOU DON’T
Four thieves stole $7,000 worth of spectacles from a Spring St. glasses retailer on Oct. 26.
Surveillance footage shows the crooked crew entering the eyeglass store between Wooster and Greene Sts. at 12:44 p.m., and removing a grand total of eight pairs of glasses from a display case.
FOOD FIGHT
A sidewalk food vendor attacked the owner of another food cart on South St. on Oct. 22, and then took his cash, police said.
The victim told police that he was selling food between Fletcher and John Sts. at 9:10 a.m., when his competitor launched the assault, serving up a knuckle sandwich and a swift kick to the leg, leaving him bloodied.
With his rival incapacitated, the food-vending fiend grabbed his victim’s wallet, nabbing credit cards and more than $600, cops said.
The belligerent cook was no stranger to the victim, who told police that his attacker was a nuisance for other vendors in the area.
BIKE BANDIT
A bike-mounted thief ripped the purse off a woman’s shoulder on Thompson St. on Oct. 16.
The victim told police that she was near Spring St. at 2 a.m., when the biker, dressed all in black, swooped past and deftly snatched her bag and sped away.
The handbag contained debit cards, which were later used to make more than $300 worth of illicit purchases, cops said.
BAND OF GOONS
Four thugs beat and robbed a man on Sixth Ave. on Oct. 22, taking his iPhone and cash.
The victim told police that he was near West Broadway at 3:30 a.m. when the goons attacked, punching him the face and injuring his eye, before turning out his pockets and taking his valuables.
Cops responding to the attack canvassed the area, but their search came up empty, according to police.
— Colin Mixson
