By Tom Tracy
Left behind A seven-year-old boy who started his morning Friday intending to go to his Midwood school found himself stranded inside a parked school bus in Bensonhurst, cops from the 62nd Precinct said. Cops arrested the driver, identified as 25-year-old Daniel Bruno of the 2060 block of 65th Street, who, according to officials, apparently forgot to check the bus and find the missing child after making his rounds and parking the bus near his home. The child, a resident of Canarsie, got on the school bus at 8 a.m. on February 16 on his way to P.S. 279, 1070 East 104th Street, when he fell asleep. About an hour later, a Bensonhurst resident was passing the bus parked at the corner of 21st Avenue and 64th Street when he saw the child inside. The seven-year-old was removed from the bus and brought to the 62nd Precinct, where his parents were called. Cops identified Bruno as the bus driver responsible for transporting the child to school a short time later, and was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. Filling up A gun-toting thief is being sought for holding up a Sheepshead Bay Mobil station last week. Police said that the gunman, described only as a six-foot-tall black male, entered the small grocery at the gas station, located on the 2400 block of Knapp Street, at 6:50 p.m. on February 14 pretending to be looking for a newspaper. A few seconds later, he pulled a gun on a worker, ordering him to empty the cash register as well as several cartons of cigarettes into a plastic bag. The thief fled the store with $500 in receipts and three cartons of cigarettes, officials said. No injuries were reported. Gang style gang up A 15-year-old from Flatlands was attacked on Nostrand Avenue in Sheepshead Bay last week, reportedly after he refused another teen’s demands that he join a gang. The victim, a resident of the 5200 block of Avenue M, said that he was walking down Nostrand Avenue between avenues W and X, on his way home from school at 4:30 p.m. on February 16 when a group of eight teens stopped at a corner bus stop. Police were told that the teens wanted him to be a part of their gang. When he refused, they allegedly “ganged up” on him, leaving him with a split lip. Cops were still looking for the assailants as this paper went to press. Razor thin escape Two brothers were arrested last week, charged with trying to steal an assortment of razors from the CVS at 1402 Sheepshead Bay Road. Workers at the store said that 36-year-old George Morotta, a resident of the 1020 block of Avenue W, was spotted allegedly trying to take over $500 worth of razors and power cartridges from store shelves. Officials alleged that Morotta made it just outside the store when a store worker tried to stop him. As Morotta fought off the worker, the fight was joined by his brother, 35-year-old Joseph Morotta, who was allegedly waiting in a nearby getaway car, a 1989 Buick Sunbird. After allegedly taking a swing at a store employee, the two men ran off, only to be apprehended by police two blocks away and charged with robbery. Construction costs Cops are looking for the thieves who broke into a home under construction on the 500 block of Avenue W in Sheepshead Bay, where a water meter and several pricey pipes were taken. Workers said that someone forced open the rear door of the house, which was closed but not locked, sometime between 5 a.m. and noon on February 18. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential. Strangled by scarf A 29-year-old man was arrested last week for nearly garroting his girlfriend with the scarf that hung around her neck. The woman, a resident of Haring Street in Sheepshead Bay, said that she was arguing with her live-in boyfriend at 8 a.m. on February 16 when he grabbed the two ends of the scarf lazily hanging over her shoulders and pulled, strangling her in the process. The 34-year-old woman claimed that she suffered some bruising and swelling, but was otherwise unharmed. When cops were called to the home, they found the 29-year-old assailant, as well as a small supply of cocaine. The man, who was not named because of his relationship to the victim, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Boozing on Bedford A 23-year-old Midwood man was arrested on drunk driving charges last week after he was allegedly caught speeding past the corner of Bedford Avenue and Shore Parkway in Sheepshead Bay, cops from the 61st Precinct said. Officials said that Alex Mazurovskiy of the 1770 block of East 18th Street was allegedly caught nearly going 80 miles per hour in a 50 mile-per-hour zone at 1:30 a.m. on February 17. When police pulled him over, Mazurovskiy allegedly exhibited all of the signs connected with being inebriated: he had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet during a sobriety test, officials said. Baby blue bank bandit A husky thief with a penchant for airbrushed jackets is being sought for a slew of bank robberies throughout the borough. Police believe that the big-boned note passing bandit, who last seen walking out of a Washington Mutual Savings Bank in Bensonhurst sporting a baby blue-gray jacket with a fluttering American flag painted on the back, has been wanted for at least eight heists stretching back to last September. “We don’t think they made too many of these jackets,” Captain John Sprague of the 62nd Precinct told members of Community Board 11 Thursday as he passed around a bank surveillance photo of the suspect as he left the bank at 1901 86th Street on February 8. As with nearly all of the robberies, the suspect came into the bank and handed the teller a note claiming to have a gun. The thief ran off with $1,000, officials said. Later that day, cops connected him to a slew of other robberies that took place both in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Police said that the suspect’s last two heists took place on the same day. Officials said that the thief passed a threatening note to a teller at the Commerce Bank at 1122 Kings Highway at 10:45 a.m. on February 8 before going to the Washington Mutual on 86th Street, where a video camera snapped up the back of his patriotic jacket. Cops described the bank robbery as a 200-pound Hispanic male in his early to mid 20s. He is between 5’9” and six feet tall and usually wears a dark colored knitted cap, officials said. Anyone with information regarding this man’s identity and whereabouts is urged to call the NYPD CrimeStoppers’ hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. Dunkin’ devil A gun-toting thief entered a Sheepshead Bay Dunkin’ Donuts Sunday afternoon, threatening to blow holes in workers if he didn’t get the money from the register. Police from the 61st Precinct were told that the suspect entered the eatery, located at 2302 Knapp Street, just before 4:30 p.m. on February 11 and began waving a gun around, demanding the money from the till. The suspect, described only as a 135-pound black male, was last seen running out of the store with $300 in receipts. No injuries were reported. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this heist to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential. Gunning for cell phones Police are looking for three thieves who held up a Cingular Wireless store inside the Kings Plaza Mall Sunday evening. Cops from the 63rd Precinct were told that three suspects, described only as black males, entered the store at 7:45 p.m. on February 18 and acted as if they had a gun, although no weapons were displayed. The suspects ordered the victims to fork over their personal cell phones. They then ordered them into a back bathroom, where they were told to remain as they raided the register of $4,000. An undetermined amount of cell phones were also removed from the store’s stock, officials said. No injuries were reported. As this paper was going to press, cops were still looking for the three thieves. Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to call the 63rd Precinct at (718) 258-4411. All calls will be kept confidential. Killed by train A 36-year-old man was killed Friday morning after he allegedly jumped in front of an oncoming train at the Kings Highway station at East 16th Street, cops from the 61st Precinct were told. Police believe that Malkahazi Iatashill had intended to take his own life when he was hit by the train just before 7 a.m. on February 16. The investigation into his death, however, is continuing. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.
