February 4, 2009 / Brooklyn news / Police Blotter / Fort Greene

Cold crime

By Mike McLaughlin

The Brooklyn Paper

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Unbelievable!

Two men preyed on the innocent side of a 26-year-old woman to deceive her into giving them $2,000 in a whopper of a hoax that began with an encounter in a shopping center on Atlantic Avenue, included a bizarre prayer over a pile of supposed loot, and ended with the victim betrayed.

One man, in his 40s, approached the woman and asked her for directions in the Bruce Ratner-owned galleria between Fort Greene Place and South Portland Avenue at 4:45 pm. Then, the accomplice joined the conversation and showed off documents that supposedly indicated that he would receive an $81,000 settlement from a car accident.

But the sharpie said he can’t bring money back to his unidentified home country and instead planned to give it to charity. He also said he’d give tens of thousands of dollars to the woman (who, for some reason, did not find this hard to believe).

At this point, the supposed benefactor asked the mark to take him to a bank because he’s never seen American money. The woman then withdrew $2,000 from a Court Street bank, a ceremony that was followed by dinner at McDonald’s with the two confidence men.

In the fast food restaurant, the older of the two con artists intoned a prayer over the greenbacks, wrapped the bills in a cloth and returned the bundle to the woman.

Hours after the “chance” encounter began, the lady took the sanctified cash to her church to donate it, only to unwrap the cloth to find that the scammers had pulled the old switcheroo and left her with old newspapers.

Unholy!

A church-going crook stole a woman’s purse from her pew in a Washington Avenue house of worship on Feb. 1.

The victim, 47, told police that she left her pocketbook unattended from 2:30 to 2:45 pm. Showing no regard for the Eighth Commandment, the thief made off with $180 and a dizzying assortment of credit cards from the church between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Missing money

Highwaymen stole a $2,500 money order from a car parked in a garage on Atlantic Avenue on Jan. 30.

The driver, 47, said his car was in the lot, between South Portland Avenue and Fort Greene Place, from noon to 12:30. When he returned to it, the money order, plus his checkbook and a camera kit. There were no signs of a break-in.

Mean teens

Police cuffed two teens for beating up another lad and stealing his Metrocard on Adelphi Street on Jan. 29.

The wounded schoolboy, 13, said the duo, 13 and 14, put him in a choke hold at 8:33 am between Willoughby and DeKalb avenues and then stole his subway pass.

Shovel + jerk = mayhem

A shovel-wielding maniac was behind bars after bashing another man with the spade during an argument on South Portland Avenue on Jan. 29.

The assailant, 27, and the victim, 40, were bickering between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue at 11:40 am when the shoveler ended the war of words by hitting the other man in the neck and shoulder, causing some lacerations.

Bye-pod!

A thug stole a woman’s iPod as she stood on the corner of Cumberland and Lafayette avenues on Jan. 27.

The villain shoved the 26-year-old woman to the ground and stole the ubiquitous musical device at 9:45 pm.

Invasion

Prowlers burglarized a St. James Place apartment on Jan. 26, stealing computers and jewelry.

The apartment between Fulton Street and Lefferts Place is shared by two men, 30 and 31, who told police they were not home from 8:10 am to 5:30 pm. When the first roommate returned home, he found that the front door had been broken. They told police the intruders stole three laptop computers, a camera, a gold necklace and one backpack.

Teen fiend

Police arrested a 16-year-old who had harassed and tried to rob another man on Washington Avenue on Jan. 29 — even though he found nothing worth stealing.

According to the victim, 26, the suspect had obstructed him on the street, between Gates and Greene avenues, and rifled through his bag at 8:55 pm, but didn’t take anything. The victim, accompanied by police later in the evening, identified the villain on the street.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group