5,000

 

 NY Post

Catalytic converter thieves are revving up their operations in the Big Apple — citywide, the crime has accelerated by 269%  this year — and  on Staten Island, by a meteoric 670%, NYPD data show.

Across the five boroughs, 5,548 catalytic converters have been ripped off through Aug. 14, compared to the same period last year, when 1,505 were reported stolen, according to the stats.

On Staten Island, catalytic converter thefts rose to 362, up from just 47 the year before, for a 670% increase — the biggest surge in the five boroughs.

“It’s really bad. I’m one shop and in the last few months I’ve done [repaired] 15 cars. Ninety-five percent are Honda Accords,” said Nick Dhouib, manager of Ten Point Auto Repair in New Dorp for the last 30 years. “The people complain about the noise,” he said.

One Staten Island auto repair mechanic pointed the finger at the Garden State.

“I hear they are coming from New Jersey. They jump on the bridge [Goethals or Outerbridge Crossing], take what they can and go back to Jersey,” said the shop owner, who requested anonymity.

Queens leads the five boroughs with 2,092 converter thefts in 2022, compared to 574 in the same period last year — a hefty 264% hike.

In Brooklyn “cat” thefts hit 1,534, up from 403 in 2021, a 281 % spike; The Bronx saw 976, up from 286, for a 241% leap; Manhattan had 584 such thefts so far this year, compared to 195 in 2021 for a 199% rise.

A catalytic converter, which contains rhodium, palladium and platinum, is a piece of the automobile’s exhaust system that breaks down some of the smog which would otherwise come out of the tailpipe.

Crooks can get up to $300 for a standard catalytic converter and up to $1,400 for the part from hybrid vehicles.

 

Sleazy hotel torture chamber

NY Post 

A 59-year-old man was lured to a Queens hotel room on the false promise of sex only to be tortured for hours by two suspects who then robbed him, prosecutors said Thursday.

The victim arrived at Hotel Ninety Five outside JFK Airport in Jamaica on Aug. 6, and paid 19-year-old Destiny Lebron for sex after responding to a prostitution ad, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

But the twisted beatdown began as soon as the victim began to undress, according to Katz.

Lebron allegedly threw bleach in her victim’s face before opening the door to let in her alleged accomplice, 22-year-old Gil Iphael.

Iphael charged the victim, covered his head with a blanket and began punching him while demanding his cash, Katz said.

The two delinquents confiscated the man’s car keys, phone and wallet, officials said. 

When the man refused to unlock his phone, Lebron allegedly burned him with a curling iron until he gave in, according to prosecutors.

The duo tried to steal the man’s money by transferring it electronically before making multiple trips to the ATM to withdraw funds instead, the DA said.

The alleged torture continued for hours.

It really doesn't look that bad from the outside. But the reviews say different.

Man steals tow truck and kills a woman with it

 

NY Post

Police are hunting “a person of interest” in the horrific Mother’s Day mow-down of a Queens mom, law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.

Detectives have a photo of the man they suspect stole a heavy truck and slammed it into 49-year-old Florence Ngwu as he fled, leaving her mortally injured on the pavement outside her home Sunday morning, sources said.

As Ngwu lay dying on the ground, her young daughter screamed, “Mommy! Mommy!” video shows.

Ngwu, a mother of four and a nurse at an area nursing home, clung to life with massive head injuries until she died early Monday at Jamaica Hospital, her shattered family said.

The victim’s older daughter, Princess Ngwu, told The Post on Monday that while the family is glad that cops have identified her mom’s suspected killer, “What’s done is done.

“We can’t bring her back,” Princess said. “It doesn’t really change anything.

“It’s tragic what happened, but it is what it is,” she added. ” We’re OK. She trained us all very well. We were her life — her kids, her husband.”

Princess said she wants her mother to be remembered “as a strong woman.”

“She was a fierce woman, the fiercest woman you’ll ever meet,” she said. “All she ever did was just work, come home, care for us.”

Catalytic converter crime wave continues

QNS 

 Officers from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood responded to a recent 911 call of suspicious individuals under vehicles, possibly removing catalytic converters.

Upon their arrival at the location, officers from the Public Safety Team took swift action leading to the arrest of the perpetrators without incident and the recovery of tools used to remove the catalytic converters.

Theft of the automotive part rose an astonishing 325% nationwide between 2019 and 2020, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau while the NYPD reports that catalytic converter thefts have risen from 211 to 802 over that same period, and jumped to 3,705 in 2021.

Catalytic converters turn harmful emissions, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, given off by the exhaust system into less harmful gasses or water vapor. They are necessary for vehicles to pass safety and emissions inspections in many states and replacing stolen converters can cost as much as $1,500 to $3,000.

Each catalytic converter is worth more than $300 on the black market because they contain platinum, palladium and rhodium, expensive precious metals according to Consumer Reports. The current price for an ounce of rhodium costs in excess of $20,000.

Thieves can steal a catalytic converter in a minute or two, and Councilman Robert Holden is well aware of the increase in thefts in his district.

Mailbox crackers

Queens Chronicle 

There have been a series of mail thefts in Flushing, confirmed by the United States Postal Service, with at least nine green street relay boxes “compromised.”

“Mailboxes were getting absolutely violated,” one resident said.

“We have received reports in the Flushing area, specially in 11358 ZIP code,” Donna Harris from the Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement division of USPS, told the Chronicle Nov. 5.

Harris was unable to confirm how many boxes have been tampered with, but the resident, Frances Scanlon, said it happened 12 times between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1, as told to her by a Flushing Post Office manager.

Scanlon said she religiously checks her mail at her Beech Avenue apartment complex mailbox, between Kissena Boulevard and Bowne Street, every day. She subscribes to the USPS’s electronic delivery digest, which she said is extremely accurate in estimating when mail should arrive in her mailbox.

On Nov. 1, Scanlon was notified that she should expect three or four pieces of mail in her box, and she asked her sister to go down and pick them up. When her sister arrived, the box was empty.

Scanlon followed up with the Flushing Post Office, and was told by a manager that the relay box for her building had been compromised and two bags of mail were stolen, she said.

The manager did not respond to multiple calls for comment by the Chronicle.

In an email shared with the Chronicle, Scanlon was told by a postal employee that two others were hit that day, in addition to nine other instances in the weeks earlier.

The green relay boxes that were compromised between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 in Downtown Flushing are located at:

• Hollywood Avenue and 156th Street;

• 41st Avenue and Parsons Boulevard;

• 134th Street and Booth Memorial Avenue;

• 147th Street and Beech Avenue;

• 144-80 Sanford Ave.;

• 140-65 Beech Ave.;

• Phlox Place and Cherry Avenue;

• Saull Street and Blossom Avenue; and

• 149th Street and Sanford Avenue.

Thieves welcome themselves to Ozone Park sign

Queens Eagle

Southwest Queens has a sign-stealing scandal.

Thieves made off with a brand new “Welcome to Ozone Park” sign last night, hours after elected officials and civic leaders installed the refurbished marker near the Howard Beach border, Councilmember Eric Ulrich said Tuesday.

Ulrich and other community members joined workers from Cannon Signs & Awning to install the new sign near the corner of 149th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard Monday morning. The burgundy board replaced a famous, but weathered version of the sign that was first introduced in 2003.

The next morning, it was gone. 

Under cover of darkness, the thieves sawed through the wooden signposts near the base and fled, Ulrich said. He posted photos from the scene of the crime on Twitter.

“It’s probably the most selfish act that I’ve seen in a long time,” Ulrich said. “Somebody’s a real sicko.” 

Ulrich said he contacted the 106th Precinct to file a police report and also notified the Queens District Attorney’s Office. 

NYPD Spokesperson Sophia Mason said police do not yet have a suspect description, but the investigation is ongoing.

Ulrich said officers are pulling surveillance footage from a nearby hotel and private homes in the area.

He said he suspects at least two people were involved in the heist because the heavy sign required two people to carry off a truck on Monday.

Peter Koo got mugged

AM New York

A Queens lawmaker who was assaulted and mugged by three masked assailants is offering his gratitude to local authorities for taking swift action in arresting the individuals. 

On Thursday, April 9, as he was returning to his Downtown Flushing home from a walk, City Councilman Peter Koo was confronted by the three attackers in the lobby of his building. 

As words were exchanged and Koo attempted to call 911, the assailants tried to steal his phone, according to the councilman. Koo held on to his phone and continued to scream at the muggers, at which point they ran off. 

After contacting the 109th Precinct, officers later arrested two of the assailants shortly after they robbed another person several blocks away. 

Describing it as a “frightening encounter” Koo said he maintained his composure to the best of his ability and contacted the police immediately with the descriptions and the direction they were heading. 

Wheels are coming off in Northeast Queens crime wave

Bayside Patch

  A borough-wide spike in tire and rim thefts is hitting northeast Queens hard, according to the police.
The NYPD's 111th precinct, which covers a region of northeast Queens that includes Bayside and 

Douglaston, has gotten reports of 37 such thefts so far this year, up from 16 last year.
In 2017, there were 43 thefts by this time of the year, precinct officers say.

 
The spike prompted the precinct to add staff to its midnight shift, police wrote in a Facebook post

City worker ripped off party planning money for years at the Oak Ridge House

 

 NY Daily News

A city parks worker allegedly filched $30,000 in payments from people reserving space in a historic Queens mansion for weddings and other celebrations during a four-year spree, authorities said.

Nicole Gamory, 44, of Brooklyn, diverted security deposits and four-figure payments to her personal account from clients booking events at the Oak Ridge House, a stunning 1905 Dutch Colonial building in Forest Park.

“Gamory was entrusted with payments from clients looking to reserve a singular experience for joyous milestones, including birthday celebrations and wedding receptions,” said Margaret Garnett, commissioner of the city Department of Investigation. “Instead, (she) crashed their parties by allegedly pocketing the funds.”

The crooked clerk was suspended from her $59,000-a-year job. She was charged with a string of larceny and fraud charges.

Starting in 2014, Gamory allegedly collected checks and money orders from clients for planned events.

Tire thieves out in force

From CBS 2:

Several vehicles have been stripped of their wheels in Queens, and the cars all have something in common, police say.

Police say at least 16 cases of stolen tires and rims have been reported in neighborhoods like Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst since February.

AAA’s Robert Sinclair told Castro this isn’t surprising. He said the fact thieves are targeting newer Honda Accords, Acura MDXs and Toyota Camrys can be attributed to how popular the cars are on the showroom floor.

Police sources told CBS2 the suspects are likely part of an organized crime ring that works in teams. Suspects in a scout car will pick out a target, then a van is called in with the tools to do the job.

A car can be stripped in a matter of minutes. The parts are then resold. Things like wheel locks do help, but they aren’t always foolproof.

City's trash cans being pilfered

From NBC:

It's not clear why, but thieves are stealing the city's 275-pound trash cans. Melissa Russo reports in an I-Team exclusive.

Man hunting for package thief

From CBS 2:

A fed-up homeowner tracked down a thief who stole a package left at his Queens home.

As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, the thief looked right into a surveillance camera before snatching a box off the front stoop of Jason Gratz’s house on Beach 139th Street in Belle Harbor on Tuesday morning.

“That’s the worst thing about it – not what’s in the contents of the package. It could have been $1, it could have been $1 million, it didn’t really matter. Just the feeling of being violated like that, it really just burned me,” he told Sanchez.

Surveillance video shows the ponytailed robber pausing to eye his target before turning his black cap, contemplating his getaway, and then grabbing the package.

Gratz walked all over his neighborhood and found a construction crew at a condominium that recognized the suspect as someone who had been working at the site, which is just two blocks from his home.

He said he tracked down where the suspect works and informed police, hoping they make a quick arrest.

Wills finally on trial

From NY1:

Queens City Councilman Ruben Wills is the latest elected official to stand trial on corruption charges. In laying out their case Wednesday, prosecutors said he pocketed thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to use on clothing, meals, and even construction supplies. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

Even before he was first elected to the City Council, Ruben Wills had already begun a scheme to defraud taxpayers, prosecutors said, stealing $19,000 in state grant money awarded to his Queens non-profit, and $11,500 in public campaign finance funds.

At opening arguments Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Travis Hill said that for Wills, "stealing taxpayer funds was business as usual."

The trial is now finally underway after numerous delays, including Wills missing court appearances with an undisclosed illness.

He faces up to seven years in prison on six charges, including fraud and grand larceny, all of which he is vigorously contesting.

Warning about Queens airbag thefts

From NBC:

Thieves are targeting mostly Hondas and Nissans on the streets. Lori Bordonaro reports.

Woman using kids to steal packages in Woodhaven

From PIX11:

A woman with her two daughters were caught on home surveillance camera allegedly stealing packages left outside of a Queens home in three separate incidents in October.

Kimberly and Jennifer David, sisters who live in the family home in Woodhaven, Queens, wondered why the numerous clothing items they had ordered online hadn’t arrived.

So they called UPS and the Postal Service and were told all the merchandise had been delivered and left on their porch. Their home has a security camera so they went back and checked the video over a three-week period. They found what happened to their packages.

On Oct. 21, the video shows what appears to be a mother and her two young daughters walking down the sidewalk towards the David’s home. The group stopped in front of the house and looked at the porch. The older woman appeared to be saying something to one of the girls, who then quickly moved toward the porch, crouching as she reached down, picked up the package, turned around and quickly went back down the stairs.

The entire theft took less than 10 seconds.

Caps getting copped by metal thieves

From CBS 2:

New Yorkers are growing concerned about caps on fire hydrants mysteriously disappearing.

State Sen. Tony Avella told CBS2’s Ali Bauman that fire hydrants in Queens are missing their caps and putting residents in danger.

“It’s almost like a ‘Hardy Boy’ mystery, the case of the missing fire hydrant caps,” Avella told CBS2.

Avella has been on the case since November, sending letters to the Department of Environmental Protection and the FDNY. He said the letters have gone unanswered and each day without a solution puts the Queens community in danger.

“The firefighters have a two or three minute delay hooking up the hose, somebody could die,” Avella said.

However, the DEP said it responds to any reports to 311 of missing fire hydrant caps and the FDNY inspects every fire hydrant in the city and replaces any missing cap.

Avella said he’s seen this all over the neighborhood. CBS2 counted at least five hydrants missing caps.

Hundreds of deed fraud cases under investigation

From the Daily News:

The city is dealing with a spate of cases where crooks swipe homes from under the owner’s nose through deed fraud schemes, officials said Monday.

The Department of Finance is pursuing 525 open investigations involving 671 properties across the five boroughs, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens, according to the agency’s testimony to a City Council hearing.

The thefts involve either outright forgery - where a deed to change ownership is filed with a fake signature - or scams where homeowners are talked into signing over their property, often on the promise of help with a delinquent mortgage or other financial trouble.

Laurelton deed scammer going to trial

From the Daily News:

Criminal proceedings against an ex-con accused of stealing a 70-year-old woman’s house out from under her will proceed as planned, a Queens judge ruled Friday.

Darrell Beatty, 50, can’t hide from the 10 charges against him related to his alleged deed scam against homeowner Jennifer Merin.

Beatty, 50, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on grand larceny, burglary and other charges for allegedly forging paperwork declaring him the owner of Merin's three-bedroom Laurelton home.

Grave robbing at Maple Grove

From DNA Info:

Thieves have been stealing bronze vases attached to memorial markers from Maple Grove Cemetery to sell them as scrap.

The problem at the Kew Gardens resting place started a little more than five years ago, as first reported by the New York Post. About 500 vases have been stolen so far, according to Bonnie Dixon, general manager at the cemetery.

“It’s just so disturbing,” Dixon said. “I can’t imagine how anybody would do that but people do and it's sad.”

The vases, which are engraved with the letters "MG" for Maple Grove, cost about $250 each and weigh about 2.5 pounds, Dixon said.

A pound of bronze sells for about $1.20 to $1.50, according to local scrap metal buyers.

MTA is now securing the copper

From the Times Ledger:

NYC Transit President Carmen Bianco has announced new measures to secure the A-train line in Howard Beach and improve the transit agency’s contingency plans.

He acted after a May security breach and infrastructure theft stranded commuters for hours and prompted a subsequent call for reform from state Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach). Thousands of Rockaway commuters lost subway service because of a copper cable theft that left the A-train line completely shut down.

In a letter to Goldfeder, Bianco wrote that the transit agency has re-secured three locations where holes were cut in the fence separating the A-Train tracks from the street near the Howard Beach-JFK Station. These holes, the agency contends, allowed individuals to gain access to steal copper cables and cut service to the line on the evening of May 26. To prevent future theft, the areas are now being closely monitored by transit personnel and the NYPD, Bianco said.