Crime Watch
Down and Out
Someone stole a wallet from a hospital patient. At 9 AM on Saturday, November 23, a 30-year-old male patient in a hospital on York Avenue received a call from an American Express representative who alerted him to suspicious charges. The patient then went to look for his wallet and found it was missing from the dresser drawer in his hospital room. He told police that the room was always open and never locked. He canceled all his cards and found unauthorized charges on two of them. Other items stolen were an Apple iPad Mini valued at $500, $50 in cash, various credit and debit cards, the patient's New York State driver's license, and a Zipcar card. The total stolen amounted to $550.
Synagogue Sin
A woman tried to pawn a silver basin taken from a synagogue. An employee of a synagogue on East 85th Street reported to police that at 3:20 PM on Tuesday, November 19, she received a call from a pawnshop stating that one of the synagogue's silver basins had been brought in by a 52-year-old woman who lacked permission to remove such an item from the place of worship. The pawnshop had made the seller leave a photocopy of her ID. The item stolen was a silver basin used in religious ceremonies and valued at $750.
Wire Mire
A man was bilked out of $100,000 by an unscrupulous person. At 10 AM on Thursday, September 26, a 36-year-old man living on Park Avenue made an agreement with another individual to purchase numerous vehicles. The man wired the other person $100,000 to conduct the transaction. The wire recipient then informed the man that he was keeping the money and not purchasing the vehicles as agreed upon. At the time of the police report, the perpetrator refused to speak with the victim.
Unlicensed Liquor
Someone posing as an employee of an Italian restaurant ordered liquor fraudulently. At 10 AM on Tuesday, September 24, a person claiming to be a representative of a popular restaurant on Third Avenue placed an order with a liquor distributor and later took possession of the property when it was delivered. The restaurant owner said he is being held accountable for the unauthorized purchase. The items stolen were three cases of Antinori Tignanello valued at $1,224 and two cases of Col D'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino priced at $648, making a total of $1,872.
Unauthorized charges appeared on a man's business credit card. At 12:35 AM on Saturday, November 23, a 47-year-old man living on East 75th Street received a notice from Chase Bank stating that an unknown person had used his business credit card to purchase $2,000 of merchandise at an Apple store without permission or authority. The man was still in possession of his card.