Crime Watch: Riding While Intoxicated

Riding While Intoxicated Everyone's heard cautionary tales of taxi drivers jacking up fares on unsuspecting passengers, but one cabbie took it much further than an extra couple of bucks. A man came into the 20th Precinct last Friday to report that his cab driver from the previous night took advantage of his intoxicated state to swindle him. The victim got into the cab after a night of drinking and the driver, noticing his inebriated state, convinced the man to hand over his debit card and divulge his PIN, then drove to several ATMs and made withdrawals using the passenger's card. The victim didn't even realize he had been taken for a ride until he sobered up the next morning and found cash withdrawal receipts but no cash. Spending Spree Upon checking her monthly credit card statements, a local woman discovered that someone had made unauthorized charges on her Bloomingdale's card account, in three separate purchases, to the tune of $3,952.17. The statement didn't reveal where the charges had been made-it could have been at any Bloomingdale's location or online-but the woman told police that she has been in possession of her credit card the entire time. She also received a call from the customer service department of electronics store P.C. Richard and Sons informing her that they had cancelled a suspicious transaction that was attempted online, again using her credit card. Family Squabble Turns Into Police Matter A woman called the police on her 18-year-old daughter after a family spat turned criminal. The daughter told her mom that she had stolen her wedding ring, telling her that she knew it would hurt her. When the mother, whom police report already had an order of protection against her daughter, checked, her custom-made ring was indeed missing. The daughter said that she had sold the ring, made of yellow metal and white stone and worth $1,150, to a friend, who confirmed the story to police. He also said that the thieving daughter had used the money to fund a trip upstate to purchase cigarettes and alcohol. Love Steals After trying and failing to retrieve his stolen property from his vindictive boyfriend, a man resorted to the police last week. He told the cops that he had invited his boyfriend into his home, but that night the perpetrator scooped up his iPhone, a $350 pair of pants and his Chase credit card and left the apartment. He then called his victim, informing him of the thefts, but refused to return the property when given the chance. Police found several calls made to the iPhone before the man could cancel his phone account and credit card. Sidewalk Knockout A mom playing with her kids outside her home on Saturday night got a rude awakening that ended in a robbery and assault. A man she knew approached her and the two got into a verbal argument. It turned violent, however, when a second man, a friend of the other, stepped in, swore at the woman and hit her twice in the face, causing severe pain. She took out her phone and said she was calling the police, and the perp grabbed it out of her hands and ran down Amsterdam Avenue. Police conducted a canvass but have not located the man.