Police: Man Steals $42,000 From Holiday Display Company In Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The search is on for the Grinch who stole Christmas in Brooklyn.

On Oct. 26, a man sneaked into Louis Nasti Mechanical Displays in Flatbush behind the owner's back and stayed inside until the business was closed for the day.

Once all the employees left, police said he stole from the Christmas wonderland.

"He took cash, and he took tools, and he took liquor, and he took cigars," owner Louis Nasti told CBS2's Steve Langford. "He went through every file cabinet, looked at every file."

Police said the suspect got away with $42,000 in cash and other goods during the seven-hour spree inside the business.

But the thief may have gotten more than he bargained for when he realized he was locked inside the Farragut Road factory, Langford said.

"He was stressed at one point where he was holding his head and sweating that he couldn't get out," Nasti said.

After apparently drinking some of the boss's liquor, the suspect grabbed some tools to break through a window, Langford reported.

"He climbed out through there and he also sent out whatever he took in big green garbage bags," Nasti said, adding the burglar called a friend for help to cart away his haul of stolen goods.

The suspect remains on the loose, but the factory's owner says the holiday show will go on.

"Christmas will be here, that's not an issue," Nasti said.

The company is well known for its over-the-top Christmas and other holiday decorations. Nasti has even been called the Geppetto of holiday mechanical displays, and his work has appeared in several store windows around the city.

The company has been in business nearly half a century.

The suspect did not damage or steal any of the Christmas displays, possibly because they're almost impossible to cart away, Langford reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, visit the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.