By Tom Tracy
Whisked away Talk about a hefty medical co-pay! A 46-year-old man said that he lost a $1500 gold chain as he sat on a chair inside the Family Health and Can Do Center at 7405 Fifth Avenue. The victim said that he was inside the doctor’s office at 1 p.m. at March 15 when he left the chain hanging on the chair he was sitting on. He said that he stepped away from the chair and returned within three minutes. The chain, which had a crucifix hanging from it, was already gone, he told police. Cops were looking for the thief as this paper went to press. With friends like these… A 27-year-old man suspects that one of his “buddies” palmed his wallet as he drove his two friends home last week. The victim said that he had the wallet on him as he drove his friends around Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. After dropping off the last friend at the corner of 14th Avenue and 63rd Street at 6 p.m. on March 12, he noticed that his wallet, which contained about $900 and some credit cards, was missing. Shopaholic sought A 38-year-old woman told police last week that someone used her social security number to open a T-Mobile, Dell and a Macy’s credit account, which he, or she, used to go on a shopping spree. The woman, a resident of 73rd Street, said that the identity theft took place sometime between January 6 and March 14. The accounts, she said, were opened without her permission. Pulled out A 20-year-old Bay Ridge woman approached police last week claiming that an identity thief had removed $600 from her account. The victim, a resident of 74th Street, said that the money disappeared sometime between October 10 and March 14, when she reported the lost cash to authorities. The bank told her that someone used her identification numbers to get access to her account. Cops were looking for the identity thief as this paper went to press. Lotto lunacy A gun-toting thief robbed a Bensonhurst bodega of $350 worth of lotto receipts Thursday, cops from the 62nd Precinct said this week. A worker said that the unidentified thief entered the store, located on 18th Avenue near 63rd Street at 5:30 a.m. on March 13, pulled a gun and threatened to kill the employee if he reported the robbery to police. The thief then went around the counter, put the muzzle of the gun against the victim’s neck and ordered him to empty the lotto machine. No injuries were reported. Couple accosted A Bensonhurst couple was robbed of $7,000 as they made their way to their 70th Street home Saturday morning, officials said. Police said that the couple was walking up their steps just after 1 a.m. on March 1 when two unidentified males accosted them. The thieves shoved both victims to the ground and ran off with their property toward 19th Avenue. The two victims, who suffered some scratches during the scuffle, but were otherwise unharmed, were taken to Lutheran Medical Center for observation. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential. Nothing is sacred Cops are looking for a devilish thief who took a woman’s pocketbook at a Seventh Avenue church. The woman said that she had placed her pocketbook on a table at the church, located near 63rd Street on the evening of February 25. He returned to pick up the pocketbook a short time later, only to discover that some not-so holy roller had already rolled off with it. Investigators were trying to track down the thief as this paper went to press. Followed and robbed Two teens are being sought for shadowing and then robbing a 16-year-old at the corner of 87th Street and Shore Road, police said. Officials said that the victim was passing the corner at 7:50 a.m. on February 28 when the two suspects, described only as white males, punched him in the face and demanded to know what was in his coat. The thieves ran off with the victim’s wallet, which contained about $30 in cash, a MetroCard and a school ID. The victim said he believes that the two thieves had followed him to Shore Road from Third Avenue. Cops were looking for the thieves as this paper went to press. Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to contact the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential. Help wipe out graffiti As the ongoing war against graffiti vandals continues, cops are now offering up to $500 in reward money to anyone who can offer them information that can lead them to anyone who commits graffiti vandalism. The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals. Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police. Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners. According to police there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
