Reader report: The return of the guy with the kids in the car

Via the EVG inbox tonight...

I had never encountered him before tonight. Yes, the guy who says "are you from around here" and then says his kids are in the car and he needs money ...

Had a run-in with him just now at East Sixth Street and Second Avenue, and didn't get to hear his whole pitch because as soon as he said his kids were in the car I just immediately said no. He didn't even push it — just spun abruptly on his heels and crossed Second Avenue.

I can't believe this guy is still working this neighborhood after all this time. It must be more lucrative for him than other nabes.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral

Snowy afternoon grifter alert

Reader report: 'my kids are in the car and I'm out of gas' scam guy back in action

Reader report: 'my kids are in the car and I'm out of gas' scam guy back in action

From an EVG reader last night:

Tonight I was approached by the infamous "wife and kid are in the car" scammer on East 6th Street and Avenue A. It was about 10:30 p.m., and he asked me if I live in the area ... He then told me his wife and child were stuck in his car, and pointed across the street to an SUV, and said if he showed me his birth certificate and gave me his iPhone, could I...

I interrupted him there and said "I've heard about you," and began to walk away. "You bitch!" He screamed at me. I turned to look at him, more shocked and amused than threatened, and he yelled "You dirty bitch!" Then I yelled as loudly as I could: "WHY AM I A BITCH? BECAUSE I BLEW UP YOUR SPOT, YOU SCAM ARTIST?"

The reader said that his description matches one left by an EVG reader several months ago: He's in his 30s or 40s, slightly balding, about 5-9, 160 pounds with dark beady junkie eyes.

Last night, the reader also noticed that he has a tattoo on his right forearm — the name Rosa spelled out vertically in capital letters. Per the reader: "He could be white or Hispanic. He was also wearing one of those straw fedoras so many dudes wear in the summer."

A well-placed EVG source told us back in March that this man had been arrested at Penn Station.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral

Snowy afternoon grifter alert

Snowy afternoon grifter alert

EVG reader the East 2nd Street Cadillac w/the tiger in it guy shares the following with us

The guy who has been written about numerous times on E.V. Grieve is making the rounds this afternoon. I chased him off East 2nd St. between 1st Ave & Ave A (close to the Taco stand) around 1 PM today as an unwitting lady was about to give him money.

He's the white guy who approaches folks on the street and his M.O. is usually something about his wife and kids being locked out of their car. He says he'll give you his driver's license or car keys or cell phone (probably all stolen items) for you to hold as collateral to prove that he's honest and will pay you back. Then he asks for anywhere from $10 to $50 or more.

Today he's saying that his car is stuck in the snow. He's in his 30's or 40's, slightly balding, about 5'9", 160 lbs with dark beady junkie eyes.

He is getting increasingly aggressive — especially with women — I've had female friends say that he's grabbed their arm or really stepped into their personal space or insisted that they come with him to his car.

He scares easily so stand up to the little punk.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral

East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral

An East Village resident shares the following with us...

There is a scam artist working the area around Tompkins Square Park. A white guy in his early 40s, baldish, about 5-8, stout — dressed and looking like a perfectly average working-class type.

The first time he came up to me near my building about two months ago, pleading for help, saying he and his kids were trapped in a van that ran out of gas and he needed something like 18 or 28 dollars, I don't remember exactly.

I never do this, but that time I believed the guy, especially since he looked so desperate and even offered his wedding ring, some chain, phone and what not as a security deposit till he paid me back. I turned down his generous proposal, gave him $20 and was happy to just go home after a long day at work. Actually, I even felt good about helping the guy out.

But then yesterday, on the same block, just a couple of feet from my building, the same guy catches up with me and starts telling me the same story all over again.

I was furious, but being pregnant I didn't feel prepared to take the risk of getting into a big arguement with the guy or taking his picture. So I just interrupted him and said he had pulled his trick on me two months ago and left.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

A heads up from a reader:

at 8:30am today i was walking down ave A ... someone passed me and a plastic bag brushed against my leg.

the bag fell to the ground and revealed a broken bottle of grey goose.

the owner of the bag, who seamed a bit down on his luck and possibly homeless, made a stink about how i broke his grey goose. he was not being aggressive but certainly upset.

Ah, yes! Then the man will produce a receipt showing that the vodka cost $60, etc.

I saw this happen a few weekends ago on St. Mark's Place. The passerby simply kept walking, paying no attention to the demands of the man holding the bag. He followed the passerby for about 30 feet then stopped.

Gothamist noted the other day that a variation of this scam was occurring with some frequency in Chinatown...

And DNAinfo noted this broken-bottle scam as well on Tuesday. Happening in Midtown. Per DNA:

"It's not a huge, huge problem," a law enforcement source said, adding, "If you say it's a scam, if you know it's a scam, they're only going to push you so hard."