In case the exterminator comes calling

An old #scam is returning to the #EastVillage involving exterminators. They say the landlord sent them & you allow them in. Only things leaving are your valuables.

If you did not call, check with the building management before allowing anyone inside. #NYPD #CrimePrevention pic.twitter.com/vZkPIgeq2C

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) February 8, 2019

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

Craigslist apartment scammer is on the loose again

[From March: NYPD photo of the suspect, aka David Horowitz and Michael Bryant]

You may recall a post back in March, in which police were looking for a man who they say conned 10 women out of more than $20,000 with fake Craigslist ads for East Village apartments.

Apparently he's still up to his old apartment-scamming tricks.

Someone left this comment on the post last week:

I was just scammed by this individual. He did the exact same thing. I was shown the apt with keys and everything. I went to move in yesterday and found two other individuals already living in the studio who said they had rented it from the same guy. He took two payments from me of $2,200. He also showed the studio to the couple that are currently staying there.

This man works with a woman and also took two payments of $2,200. I went online and googled East Village Craigslist rental scams and the picture of this man came up and recognized him immediately as this is who I met that subleased this studio to me and the other renters.

I went to the Police yesterday [Sept. 5] and told them the story and have a meeting with a detective tomorrow. The other renter is coming with me and said she went to the police today and was told that this man was arrested a few months ago and got out and is now doing the same scam again using a different alias. The police officer also mentioned that this was a big case and there are some 36 accounts against this man.

The apartment in question this time is at 178 Ludlow St. CBS New York broadcast the story last night. There's some surveillance video too, though it's not the greatest quality. You can watch the video and report here.

As always: Anyone with information that could help in the investigation may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Andy Warhol-owned townhouse used to swindle apartment hunters in the East Village

Reader report: More about being aware of ATM skimming

[Photo from July 18]

An EV reader has a follow-up to our July 19 post "Beware ATM Skimming these Beware ATM Skimming signs say."

It seems as if a friend and I were both taken by this scam recently. We've both woken up to fraud alerts from Chase in the past week that our debit cards have been used elsewhere in the City.

Given that we both reside in Alphabet City, frequent the same places, and were still in possession of our cards, it suggests that it was indeed a scamming operation to steal the card data and produce dummy cards. Chase confirmed as much over the phone when I spoke with them. I'm very careful about using my card, so wherever the operation is it must be pretty stealth. We think it happened somewhere along Avenue C.

Reader report: Avoid couple with stroller asking for milk money for the baby

An EVG reader shared the following with us from yesterday …

I've been approached by this young African-American couple several times in the past year. They are pushing a stroller with a one-to-two-year-old child. They always look sullen and ask for "money for milk for the baby." I always reply "Sorry." Today, when I politely declined, the woman came after me, followed me into a store on 2nd Ave & 4th St. threatening that she would "...knock my fucking head off the next time she sees me." They are usually walking up 2nd Avenue. The police were called. I don't know if the police were able to catch up with them.

This on the heels of the return of the "my kids are in the car and I'm out of gas" scam guy.

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

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

You recall the "my kids are in the car and I'm out of gas" scam guy who has been made the rounds in the neighborhood, right?

A quick flashback to a reader report last month:

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.

Anyway, we hear that the man was arrested last Friday at Penn Station. The story is that he was posing as "an Orthodox Jew and needed to get home before Sabbath" … and he was short on cash to accomplish this, of course…

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

Former Andy Warhol-owned townhouse used to swindle apartment hunters in the East Village

[321 E. Sixth St.]

Police are looking for a man who they say conned 10 women out of more than $20,000 with fake Craigslist ads for East Village apartments, including one in a building once owned by Andy Warhol.

The suspect, who is known to use the aliases David Horowitz and Michael Bryant, reportedly "advertised an apartment at 321 E. 6th St., between First and Second avenues, without permission or authority from the actual owners, police said. He took cash deposits of $2,200 as a downpayment from nine different women who answered and wanted to rent the apartment, police said."


[NYPD photo of the suspect, aka David Horowitz and Michael Bryant]

CBS New York said that the man also took $2,100 from another woman who answered an ad for 434 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

We looked up 321 E. Sixth St. on Streeteasy. It's not even a rental. The building hit the market for $2.4 million in 2010. The listing at the time noted that Warhol owned the building in the 1960s. Paul Morrissey apparently lived here until the 1980s. Cynthia Nixon was also rumored to have bought the building several years ago. Not sure what the status of the building is now.

According to the Post, "Police said he may be a former resident of the building who once rented and later sublet the bait apartment."

Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Own half of a used Warhol on East Sixth Street

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."

You had me at "My name is Menachem"

Someone -- presumably Menachem himself? -- put copies of this photocopied note around apartment buildings in the East Village last night.




I'm sold!

Report: State housing official nabbed in rent scam

From today's Post:

A state housing official from Brooklyn was busted for selling lists of rent-regulated tenants to builders so they could target properties for redevelopment, The Post has learned.

Keith James, 53, of Brownsville, a rent program specialist at the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, took the bribes from January 2001 to September 2005, authorities said.

A source close to the investigation told The Post that the rolls - which are not public - "are valuable because it gives developers and potential purchasers insight into the long-term revenue of a building that has rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments," allowing them to target buildings with fewer or older rent-regulated tenants.