Police are searching for three suspects in 12 separate thefts that occurred between August and February in Queens.

In most of the incidents, one of the suspects tells the victim that he or she has a flat tire. When the victim goes to investigate the flat tire, the suspects remove property from inside the car. In many instances, the victim was leaving a bank when they were targeted by the suspects.

The robberies have occurred in various neighborhoods in Queens, including Flushing, Broad Channel, South Richmond Hill, Queens Village and Sunnyside. All of the incidents have occurred during the day.

The most recent incident occurred on Feb. 28 in a parking lot on Northern Boulevard. One of the suspects approached the victim and told him he had a flat tire while another suspect sprayed something on the victim’s jacket. The first suspect convinced the victim to take his jacket off and put it on the car. While the victim was distracted, the second suspect removed the jacket from the car.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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The retailer, which operates a total of almost 700 bookstores, said that federal law enforcement authorities have been informed of the breach and that it is supporting their investigation.

Barnes & Noble said it had detected tampering with one personal identification number (PIN) pad device at each of the 63 affected stores and by September 14 had disconnected all the pads at every one of its stores. The tampering affected fewer than 1 percent of its PIN pads.

Bugs were planted in the PIN pads that allowed credit card and PIN numbers to be pulled, Barnes & Noble said.

The company said it did not know how many customers were affected. The stores are in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Barnes & Noble said.

A list of stores can be found at http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/10_23_12_Important_Customer_Notice.html

Barnes & Noble advised customers who have swiped their cards at any of the affected stores to change their debit-card PIN numbers as a precaution, and to check their statements for unauthorized transactions.

Still, the company said its customer database was secure, and that purchases made on the Barnes & Noble website, Nook e-reader and Nook mobile apps were not affected. It also said none of the pads at its college campus stores were affected.

Separately, a spokesman for the FBI told Reuters on Tuesday night that the agency’s New York field division was investigating the breach at Barnes & Noble.

The spokesman confirmed a report that said the company received two letters from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York that said it did not have to report the attacks to its customers during the investigation.

At least one of the letters said the company could wait until December 24 to inform customers.

Barnes & Noble shares were down 2.7 percent at $14.90 Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Anita Collins, 67, will spend the next four and half to nine years in prison after she admitted she stole from the Archdiocese during her employment there as an accounts payable clerk beginning in 2004.

“The defendant managed to embezzle from her employer through incremental theft, which exceeded $1 million over seven-and-a-half years,” District Attorney Vance  said.

According to the DA, Collins would make checks out to herself under the name “KB Collins,” then change the information in the accounting system to make it appear the check was issued to a legitimate vendor. She did this more than 450 times.

Collins pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the first degree in September.

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Surveillance video uploaded to YouTube shows a driver crashing a BMW SUV right through the front of an Apple store in Temecula. Several men hop out of the SUV and grab as many iPads, lap tops, iPhones and iPods as they can get. The thieves are in the store for less than a minute before they back out again and drive away.

According to the user who uploaded the video, the alleged driver, Equonne R. Howard, 22, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. He told the court he believes there is no evidence against him.

Howard is charged with vandalism, burglary and theft of electronics in connection with the break-in. Prosecutors say he also robbed a 7-Elevan later in the day.

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In a massive investigation dubbed “Operation Last Call,” 18 workers at John F. Kennedy International Airport were arrested today for their roles in a theft ring that netted $750,000 worth of mini liquor bottles, the Queens district attorney said.

It’s the largest theft bust at the airport in more than ten years, according to the Queens DA.

FJC Security Services Inc., a security company that monitors the perimeter and checkpoints at JFK, told Metro they learned in 2011 that a security guard they employed was committing serious violations.

Instead of firing the guard, authorities asked her to wear a wire. She become a secret informant in an investigation that led to the discovery of a large-scale thieving operation. A ring of 18 people who worked at the airport, including security guards and truck drivers, stole more than 100,000 mini bottles of liquor, and duty-free liquor, perfume, and cartons of cigarettes out of planes and storage facilities at the airport.

The workers are accused of then selling the pilfered merchandise.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, joined by Port Authority of NY and NJ Inspector General Robert E. Van Etten at a press conference Wednesday, stressed that the theft ring eluded to a serious security concern at the airport.

“Perhaps more troubling is that airport security personnel entrusted with guarding against theft and maintaining security at the airport were allegedly involved in the scheme,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. “If a terrorist wanted to breach airport security, the alleged actions of these defendants gave then a back-door opportunity to do so.”

Among the 18 people busted in the ring were three security guards and fifteen present and former truck drivers employed by Sky Chef, the food and beverage subsidiary for American Airlines.

Investigators said Sky Chef employees would remove unsold mini bottles of booze off planes’ beverage carts. They would then bribe security guards with liquor to allow them to pass checkpoints with the loot.

According to officials, the defendants would then sell the mini bottles of liquor for between 55 cents and $1.25 to people outside the airport.

The 18 defendants are facing charges including bribe receiving, receiving a reward for official misconduct, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

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Prince Harry is reportedly in hot water with the royal family after naked photos of him partying in Las Vegas hit the Internet. “This is a mess. This was not the type of fun he was supposed to be having. He’s in trouble,” a source tells Us Weekly. “Protection officers are also in trouble because they could have controlled this.” As news of the revealing photos — taken after Harry reportedly engaged in a game of “strip billiards” — spread, it didn’t take long for his family to find out. “[Prince] William was told about the photos this morning,” a source says. “He’s not impressed.”

Tom Cruise’s five-year marriage to Katie Holmes is officially over after a New York judge signed off on the divorce settlement earlier this week, according to E! News. Completed in a remarkably short amount of time, the finalization comes just a month and a half after Holmes initially filed for divorce from Cruise. “Tom is very happy and relieved that he is moving forward,” a source says. “His priority is being a good father, and this settlement will make sure that continues.”

Avril Lavigne and Nickleback frontman Chad Kroeger are engaged after quietly dating for six months, Lavigne’s rep confirms to People magazine. “A romantic relationship blossomed as they spent time writing together,” the rep says. This will be the Canadian singer’s second marriage after splitting from Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley in 2009. Kroeger “makes her so happy,” a source tells the magazine. “Both of their families could not be more excited.”

Jennifer Lopez may be the next music luminary to take up residence in Las Vegas with a long-running show, according to Hollyscoop. The entertainment company Live Nation has reportedly approached Lopez about a long-term engagement, and her rep concedes it’s not out of the question, telling the Web site, “It could very well be possible.”

Amanda Bynes was reportedly involved in yet another car accident, but this time it looks like it wasn’t her fault. According to TMZ, Byne’s rental car was rear-ended by another driver Monday night, though the other driver reportedly claims they did not have enough time to react and avoid a crash after Bynes made a reckless move. “The collision was minor and information was exchanged, therefore, no police report was taken,” a law enforcement official tells the Web site. Bynes was driving a rental car because her BMW is still being repaired from her last fender-bender.

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The thief, who was captured on surveillance video, went after Salvadore Dali’s “Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio” at Venus Over Manhattan gallery on Wednesday afternoon. He reportedly told a security guard that he wanted to photograph the painting. The guard told him he could, as long as he didn’t use a flash. The guard then walked away, distracted by another gallery patron, and the thief made his move.

After the thief lifted the Dali from the wall, he slipped it into a shopping bag and left the gallery, according to the New York Post.

The watercolor-and-ink painting, worth about $150,000, was created by Dali in 1949. It was selected for Venus Over Manhattan by the gallery’s owner, art dealer Adam Lindemann.

The crook is described as a white man, 5-foot-6, 160 pounds and 35 to 42 years old, wearing a black and white checkered shirt.

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Police said 36-year-old Robert Giuliano branded himself as a “luxury concierge” by promising inside access to the party scene and reservations at hot clubs and restaurants, but used the credit card information of his clients to pay for his own hotel rooms, meals and drinks.

“The defendant made claims through his company’s website that he could get his customers into everything from Fashion Week events to presidential inaugurations, but as charged, he used their money to fund his own lavish lifestyle,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance said.

On his website (www.giulianogroup.tv), Giuliano’s services list offers everything from personal shoppers to advice on subway routes. He claims to have packages available for hopefuls wishing to attend VIP events including Playboy Mansion parties, a private event hosted for President Obama by Deepak Chopra and Russel Simmons, and a Chanel celebrity dinner during the Tribeca Film Festival.

Giuliano is accused of charging more than $6,000 to a client’s credit card on April 4 to pay for an unauthorized stay at the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue. Police said he also charged more than $5,000 to another client’s credit card to pay for four days he spent at the W Hotel on Park Avenue South later in the month.

Gialiano is facing a slew of charges, including identity theft, forgery, grand larceny, falsifying business records and resisting arrest.

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TSA employee Alexandra Schmid, 31, was caught on surveillance video taking $5,000 from the jacket of a Bangladeshi man who had placed it on the belt for the x-ray scanning machine, according to the Port Authority. The man noticed the money was missing as soon as he retrieved his jacket.

Schmid is accused of removing the money from the jacket, slipping it inside a latex glove and then taking it to the restroom. She is charged with grand larceny. A Port Authority official told Metro the cash has not yet been recovered. Schmid is also being investigated in connection with other thefts of the same manner at the airport.

On Monday, federal officials launched a probe into security operations at the airport. Eight workers were suspended for misconduct including stealing, sleeping on the job, or failure to properly screen baggage, according to the New York Post.

Another embarrassing gaffe came to light in December after rapper Freddie Gibbs said the TSA found marijuana in his luggage but didn’t remove it. Gibbs tweeted a photo of a note he claimed was written by a TSA agent on a baggage inspection notice that stated “C’Mon Son.”

Another photo went viral in October after a blogger claimed she found a hand written note next to the vibrator inside her luggage that read “GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL.” The TSA issued an apology to the passenger and said the agent responsible was disciplined.

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Erum Malik, 31, was walking on Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, at about 10 p.m. last Monday, Oct. 3. That’s when a man bumped into her, she told police, and reached into her front right pocket to grab her black iPhone 4.

He was off and running before she even knew what happened, she told police.

However, Malik’s phone was equipped with an app called iGotYa.

When the alleged thief later unsuccessfully tried to unlock and use the phone, the gadget snapped his photo and e-mailed it to Malik.

The mother of four sent texts to the phone, offering a $200 reward if she could get it back.

“I didn’t want him to be in trouble,” Malik told the Daily News. “I just wanted to get my phone back.”
Malik then brought the photo to the police.

“When I told them I had the picture, everyone was surprised,” she said.

Police distributed the image to the media last week and put up wanted posters in the neighborhood.
On Friday, Oct. 7, police recognized 23-year-old Queens resident Brian Chattoo from one of the posters, according to the NYPD press office.

He was arrested and charged with the theft, but his family says Chattoo looks nothing like the man in the iPhone photo.

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Yaasmin Hooey, the former finance director of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, siphoned funds from the nonprofit directly into her pockets.

Hooey, 35, was indicted in October for stealing $311,586 from the Scouts. She will be sentenced March 6, prosecutors said, and is expected to face two to six years in prison.

“Nonprofits are not personal cookie jars,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, unable to resist a quip.

After she pleaded guilty, Vance said she let down Girl Scouts. “It was an enormous violation of the trust the Scouts placed in her as their director of finance, as well as the trust of the many girls that the organization serves.” 

She spent the money on gym memberships, cosmetic procedures and $14,000 worth of bling for herself, according to court documents.

Hooey was an employee of the Manhattan-based group for two years before being hired full-time as their director of finance, which gave her access to the bank accounts, writing checks and transferring money.

She admitted writing 65 checks from the payroll account to herself, forging the signature of the Girl Scout’s CEO. She also transferred money straight into her personal account.

Not only did Hooey steal from an organization where young girls spend hours selling cookies to raise money, she also violated the trust of the girls that the organization serves, Vance said.

She was also charged with failing to file her taxes, and failing to include the money she stole.
According to her Facebook profile, martial arts are a hobby of Hooey’s.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
 

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The good news is that they’d have to be super techie, speedy thieves to ever pull it off. It requires taking a thermal imaging photo of the key pad within about 45 seconds of you touching it.

Researchers at the University of California at San Diego found that residual heat from your fingertips is left behind after you punch in your pin number. Then thieves can use an infrared camera to “pin harvest” and see exactly which keys you pressed.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to start poking the key pad with a random object you happen to be carrying at that moment (pen, car keys, popsicle stick). Researchers found that how hard you press the keys and your body temperature can both affect the results. Additionally, only plastic key pads hold body heat long enough to determine which keys were pressed. Researchers had about an 80 percent success rate if they got to the key pad within 10 seconds. It dropped to about 60 percent if they waited longer than 45 seconds.

The researchers say thermal imaging isn’t exactly all the rage among the thief community… yet. We guess we’ll just hope that these widely published findings don’t give them any ideas…

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