Undercover Cops Rub Elbows With The Perps Who Lift Theft To No. 1 Subway Crime
By Pete Donohue, New York Daily News
A burly bald guy in his 40s stood by the door of a No. 6 train with an open newspaper Friday morning, but his interest wasn’t in the day’s headlines. As his eyes darted frequently above the pages, he scanned the passengers in the subway car, apparently sizing them up as potential pickpocket victims.
At the same time, six eyes were on him.
Sgt. Randy Stoever sat in a corner looking smart in a blue suit, white shirt and tie. With black sunglasses, he seemed like another thirtysomething businessman heading to work. Another officer, John, sat a few feet away in a pinstripe suit, appearing distracted by music on his headphones. Actually, he was tuned in to a police radio.
And standing nearby was Scott, a cop whose dress code went in the other direction: black Converse sneakers, cuffed jeans and a short-sleeve shirt that showed off several tattoos.
The undercover officers were zeroing in because Stoever had seen the bald man with the newspaper in days past, “playing the trains,” as Stoever put it, by switching cars and walking up and down platforms, apparently looking for an easy mark.
While subway crime is at its lowest level in decades, pickpockets lifting wallets and dipping into backpacks and purses are now the most prevalent criminals on the rails. Most ply their illegal trade in Manhattan, where the crush of commuters lures crooks looking for a quick payday.
That leads to a daily cat-and-mouse game of undercover cops searching for deft predators - and thieves trying to spot plainclothes police.
The Daily News tagged along Friday with a crew of undercover officers, who spoke of the tricks of the trade as well as some of their most memorable busts.
Art of distraction
One repeat offender in his late 60s always wore a jacket but, once seated, would slip an arm out of its sleeve. He would then slowly extend his arm and steal from the person sitting next to him.
Other crooks conceal their hands with newspapers, coats or backpacks, always looking away from where their sticky fingers are probing.
While many pickpockets employ sleight-of-hand thievery, others use the art of distraction.
One team nabbed by cops featured a woman who pretended her foot was stuck between a subway door and the platform. When someone would bend to help, her partner would steal from the good Samaritan.
Police also have tactics.
They know that thieves, many of them hooked on drugs, will work until finding a victim.
Because some pickpockets have been arrested dozens of times, cops study photographs so they can pick out faces in the crowds. The NYPD Transit Bureau’s Manhat-tan pickpocket unit has a roster of 327 underground felons who’ve been busted in the past five years, Inspector Louis Croce said.
“We know who’s in jail and we know who’s been released on parole,” said Stoever, head of the pickpocket unit.
“We know where they live, when they have court dates, when they have to meet with their parole officers. We try and focus on the heavy players who go to jail and, when they get out, come right back into the system to pick pockets,” he said.
Among those on the watch list are six crooks who have been partially or completely banned from the subway system as a condition of their parole.
Telltale moves
Over the last year, the Manhattan pickpocket unit has made about 60 arrests - few of which came easily, because the cops have to catch pickpockets in the act.
As the cops carefully stalked the suspected thief on the 6 train, the man made several telltale moves of a pickpocket.
He boarded at E. 68th St. on the upper East Side and got off at E. 86th St., but he remained on the platform. He let several trains go by, then joined a group of boarding passengers a few times when trains came in, but backed off.
The man finally got on, riding as far as E. 96th St. He left the station and stood on the corner awhile before walking away - with the cops tailing him. After several blocks, he slipped into the crowds.
“He was definitely looking for a target,” Stoever said.
Back on the subway, the cops got on and off trains dozens of times, their means of communication largely silent - a nod of the head, a hand signal, a dart of the eyes.
‘It’s like hunting’
At 51st St. and Lexington Ave., Stoever’s team spread out on the platform. Stoever noticed an unshaven man, wearing khaki pants and a striped jacket, roaming the platform. The man would join crowds preparing to board, but then move away.
Stoever followed him, whispering the man’s description to a partner. The second partner, seemingly uninterested but keyed on Stoever’s movements, strolled along.
All four boarded a train.
In the commuter crush, Stoever literally rubbed elbows with the suspicious character. Stoever’s eyes were concealed by his sunglasses, but they were
focused on the man’s hands.
The suspect didn’t make a move, and the officers eventually let him go on his way.
“It’s a very tedious game,” Stoever said. “It’s like hunting.”
“It can be frustrating,” added John, a partner who didn’t want his last name used. “But when you do catch someone, it makes up for it. Every time I get someone, I feel like I’ve prevented 10 people from being ripped off.”
Suddenly, the police radio monitored through the headphones had word another team had made an arrest.
Those cops noticed a man earlier in the morning, at E.
77th St. and Lexington Ave., who they had observed acting suspiciously many times in the past month.
At one point, at Union Square, he was “looping through the crowds,” Stoever said.
His behavior finally led them to ask him for identification.
The man pulled out a wallet and opened it - displaying a woman’s driver’s license.
He put that wallet back in his pocket and pulled out another wallet, police said.
Not a match, either.
Cops found he had three credit cards belonging to two women, an out-of-state woman’s driver’s license and another woman’s photo ID.
The man was handcuffed and taken away, later charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
“Just another day at the shop,” Stoever said.
Sidebar: Fending Off Pickpockets and Thieves
Don’t neglect your property. Thieves seize the opportunity when someone places possessions on an empty seat or the floor.
Don’t think the person pushing you from behind is necessarily trying to get on the train. A common tactic is for a pickpocket to join the back of a crowd boarding a train and lift property while trying to squeeze onboard - and then pretend to give up because it’s too crowded.
Hold your purse, backpack or packages in front of you. Thieves generally make their move from behind on crowded subways or platforms. Some thieves have been known to carefully cut the straps and take a whole bag or purse, leaving the victim with just the straps.
Keep your purse or backpack zipped, and use a device called a gear guard, which is a clip that fastens zippers together. Gear guards are free at police stations at major subway hubs.
Beware of phony altercations or feigned accidents. Pickpockets often work in teams of two or three and have been known to spill a drink or food on a passenger’s shirt while a partner lifts a wallet or steals other property when the victim is distracted.
Watch for riders who conceal their hands. To hide prying hands, pickpockets use folded jackets, newspapers and backpacks.
Source: NYPD