January 12, 2008: Vol. 31, No. 2

A jeweler was kidnapped at gunpoint in the Hasidic section of Williamsburg on Dec. 31 and forced to drive to his warehouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where his captors stole more than $1 million worth of gold and jewels.

The jeweler, who asked not to be identified by The Brooklyn Paper out of fear that he and his family would be targeted again, told cops that two men flagged him down at the corner of Wythe Avenue and Williamsburg Street and asked for directions to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Before the victim could answer, the men jumped in the car, one of them brandishing a handgun, and forced the upscale jewelry dealer to drive to his Flushing Avenue warehouse.

Once there, they forced him to disable the security cameras and burglar alarms before they cleaned out the place.

The victim, who has been importing gold and diamonds since the 1970s, then drove the robbers to Clinton Avenue, about five blocks from the warehouse, where they had a van parked under the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway.

The robbers unloaded their ill-gotten booty and made a clean getaway without firing a shot.

The jeweler told police that he didn’t know the men who kidnapped him, although they certainly knew him and his business.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper