A knife-wielding gang of shoplifters is terrorizing supermarkets across New York City, making off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in goods – and store owners gripe that cops are ignoring the rampage, The Post has learned.
The crew of five has hit dozens of stores since July, brazenly stuffing backpacks with pricey beef, salami and seafood – and flashing their blades at workers who dare try to block their exit before they speed off in getaway cars, store owners told The Post.
“Every time they come in, they are stealing about $800 worth of Dominican salamis,” Efrain Castro, who owns a Fine Fare in Upper Manhattan, told The Post. “These guys are quick. They hit hard and they empty out the case fast. They have a purpose because it’s a business for them.”
Grocers say they feel abandoned by law enforcement under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They say it’s pointless to call the authorities when the same offenders get freed after repeatedly being charged with low-level offenses – if at all.
At least one member of the gang is known to NYPD, although his identity hasn’t been disclosed to grocers, according to a source briefed on the investigation. The suspect has a “significant history of arrests including taking out a knife while shoplifting at a supermarket,” the source said.
Local grocers have taken matters into their own hands, alerting each other to fresh heists in a WhatsApp chat group, said Samuel Collado, president of the National Supermarket Association. He estimates that more than 100 stores have been hit by the gang — with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product stolen.
“It’s incredible that those guys have been able to get away with this for so long,” Collado said. “We haven’t seen an organized crime group like this ever that is walking around freely as they do.”
The gang’s reach is likely greater, he added, as the NSA only tracks incidents that its 200 members in New York have reported.
An attempted shoplifting last month at a Morton Williams in Midtown Manhattan sparked tragedy when a 64-year-old worker died after a scuffle with the suspect.
The incident had no apparent connection to the organized ring, but has provided a rallying cry for store owners who say cops haven’t shown consistent interest in the shoplifting crisis.
“NYPD gives us the impression that we are bothering them when we call to report these crimes,” said the NSA’s Collado.
The suspect in the Morton Williams case is still at large. An NYPD spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing and that it has not been ruled a homicide yet.
Last year, the NYPD launched a pilot in the 46th precinct in the Bronx, reviving old-school tactics for fighting shoplifting, as The Post first reported. The state has increased penalties for retail theft, making it easier to charge the crime as a felony, among other steps.
The NYPD boasts that retail theft is down 13% so far this year, part of an overall decrease in crime.
The gang has been less active in the 46th precinct where the pilot program remains in effect, according to local grocer Carlos Collado – no relation to Jose or Samuel Collado.
Nevertheless, the members of the shoplifting ring remain at large. The gang cleaned out the bacon supply of a Key Foods in Jackson Heights, Queens in September, said owner Jose Collado, no relation to Samuel Collado. In July, they stole $900 worth of corned beef and other meat from his grocery store in Floral Park, LI, in one fell swoop.
The thieves are so bold that they walk into stores in pairs without trying to hide their identities, according to video footage obtained by The Post.
“Once the shoplifter has the items in a bag or on them, they want to fight and we have cases where there has been a physical confrontation,” said Samuel Collado.
In some cases when the cops were called, workers got swept up with the thieves and taken to a police precinct – where the crooks brazenly accused the employees of assault, according to grocery store owners.
“Our workers don’t want to go to the station,” said Samuel Collado. “They fear having to file a report.”
Earlier this month, the supermarket association met with officials from the 45th and 48th precincts in the Bronx, where police urged grocers to file reports every time there’s an incident.
The pilot enables retailers to upload photos and videos of shoplifters to a WhatsApp group in real time and detectives have access to the posts. Detectives have also shared their personal numbers with store owners, encouraging them to report crimes directly to the investigating officers.
Grocers say the cops have signaled they plan to keep the pilot program going, although they haven’t signaled plans to expand it. An NYPD spokesperson did not address whether the program would be expanded when asked by The Post.
“The NYPD takes all crimes seriously, including retail theft, which our officers have driven down significantly this year,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
This year’s drop in retail theft is a “direct result of the department’s overhaul of its approach to combating retail theft,” the spokesperson added.
Specifically, NYPD insisted that it is “deploying officers on foot posts in high propensity locations when theft is most likely to occur; placing special emphasis on investigating petit larceny; establishing patterns and identifying recidivists; coordinating with transit officers who catch shoplifters fleeing in the subways; and emphasizing this crime and these cases at weekly CompStat meetings.”
The reality, however, is that grocers are being forced to take matters into their own hands — resulting in harrowing confrontations.
On Sept. 8 at the Upper Manhattan Fine Fare owned by Castro, a burly security guard confronted a duo stealing packages of foot-long salami and “grabbed both of them by the neck and they cooperated with him,” Castro said.
However, two other thieves in the store got away while the guard was distracted, Castro said.
In July, three of the shoplifters walked out of an Astoria, Queens Key Food at 42-15 30th Ave. with $1,000 worth of frozen seafood, including $30 packages of shrimp, stuffed into backpacks, according to store owner Samuel Collado.
Outside the store, a blue Volvo with Washington state plates was waiting.
“It took three minutes and they just walked right out of the store,” Collado said.
The thefts are a complete loss for supermarket owners, whose insurance deductibles are typically $5,000 per incident.
“We never call the police unless it’s a violent issue,” said Steven Sloan, co-owner of the Morton Williams chain whose employee died last month.
It usually takes an hour for the cops to show up, he added.
“What are we supposed to do, hold a shoplifter for an hour? We are not a jail and we can’t hold them.”
