Recent ATM Ripoffs Believed To Be Connected To Dozens Of Others In Citywide Pattern
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two ATM robberies last week are believed to be the latest in a string of similar crimes dating back more than a year.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, the thieves are in and out so fast that store owners never see them coming. They have made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars after hitting 73 machines across the city, authorities said.
The brazen bandits don't even use PIN numbers to steal their loot, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported. In most cases, they just pull the ATM right out of the wall.
That was exactly what happened case with the ATM exposed to the street next to Bombay Deli Pizza & Tandoori Restaurant on 36th Street and Ninth Avenue on Feb. 16. A new ATM has been installed at the restaurant since.
Recent ATM Robberies Possibly Connected To Dozens Of Others In Citywide Pattern
The thieves are also suspected of hitting an ATM at Susanna Pizzeria, on Bleecker Street right off MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village on the same night.
And surveillance video from another similar incident in a Queens laundromat showed exactly how the crew of criminals steals the ATMs.
One is seen coming in with a crowbar and fumbling with the machine. When he returns, he hooks a chain to the front of the machine with the other end attached to a truck. With one sharp pull by the truck, the front of the ATM is ripped off.
The suspect grabs the box of cash from the machine and takes off, while stunned customers rush over to see the commotion -- oblivious to the entire robbery.
"Nobody saw – that's crazy. That takes some real guts," said laundromat customer Ranger Cherry. "That's ridiculous."
Police said this spree of ATM robberies by the same suspects started in January 2014. Their biggest target is privately owned machines, located both inside and outside in all boroughs except for Staten Island.
Vending machines now stand where the ATM once stood in the Queens laundromat, and Cherry and other customers have to find a new place to get cash.
"That's where I usually take out my money, so actually now, I've got to go back home because I don't have any cash on me," Cherry said.
In one of the latest thefts at Bombay Deli, employees said the ATM that was hauled away had itself just been installed.
"The machine was new – like, maybe three days before, they put that machine," said employee Abdul Quayuya.
Police said the group of three to five suspects have used several different methods to break into the ATMs, with the help of hand tools and stolen vehicles. At times, they have made off with the whole machine.
"I saw that ATM broken, and pieces was inside," Quayuya said.
One man said he believes the suspects must be professionals if they still haven't been caught.
"And that affects the working man too," he added. "You tend to use those when you're going to go in there for a sandwich and need money and take it out of the machine; if it's not there, it's an inconvenience."
As many as five suspects may be involved in the string of robberies that has reportedly netted tens of thousands of dollars, Schuck reported.
The owners at Bombay Deli told CBS2's Carrasco they are going to put a big lock on the front of the new ATM they have installed.
