Crime Watch

BY JERRY DANZIG
LOLaPALOOKAAn acquaintance didn’t just rip a man off; he bragged about it on Facebook. At 11 a.m. on June 20, a 29-year-old man left $2,050 in a briefcase in his vehicle parked at the northwest corner of Cortlandt Street and Broadway, behind the passenger seat where a 28-year-old male acquaintance was sitting. The driver left the vehicle briefly to take care of a customer work order. When he returned, both his acquaintance and the money in the briefcase were gone. The victim told police that his acquaintance had made remarks on Facebook pertaining to the theft. Police are seeking Joshua Riffas, 28, of Brooklyn on charges of grand larceny.
ePreyA North Moore Street resident is still waiting for a car she purchased on eBay. On June 23, a 54-year-old woman attempted to purchase a 2007 Toyota Camry SE from an individual through eBay Motors online. The seller advised the woman to use iTunes gift cards to pay for the car. She complied, purchasing four gift cards, and sent the cards’ numbers to the seller’s email address. She has since to receive the car, while the seller continued to e-mail her requesting that she send him further gift cards. In all, the buyer was out $2,000.
Perth SnatchingYet another motorcycle was taken from downtown streets. On June 20, a man from Perth Amboy, N.J., parked his red 2013 Honda CBR600RR in front of 155 Sixth Ave, Checking on it at 11 p.m. that night before going back to work. The Honda was gone when he went to check on it once again about 12:30 a.m. The bike is valued at $10,000.
Boosters BaggedPolice nabbed two more SoHo shoplifters. At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, two men aged 43 and 44 entered the Christian Dior store at 105 Greene St. Working together, they made off with a handbag valued at $3,919. The two, subsequently identified as Curtis Kelley and Willie Gardner, were caught later that day and found to be in possession of burglar tools, specifically a “booster bag” lined with aluminum foil. They were arrested on grand larceny charges.
Barroom HaulLay down your purse, and things could turn for the worse! At 10:32 p.m. on June 23, a 27-year-old Hoboken woman left her purse on a chair in Emmett’s on MacDougal Street and went to pay her check at the cashier. When she came back to her table, her purse was missing. She subsequently checked her card accounts and found that more than $200 had been charged to her Discover card, as well as an unknown amount to her Capital One card. She then canceled all accounts. A security camera at the bar showed a man taking her purse. The property stolen included $440 in cash, Ray-Ban sunglasses valued at $150, assorted makeup worth $75, a black purse priced at $30, an external charger costing $30, and various credit and debit cards.