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Caught On Camera: Brazen Bandit Swipes Packages From Greenwich Village Apartment Building

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A brazen thief with a bag full of packages was caught on camera, and authorities say it wasn't the first time.

Residents in one Greenwich Village building say their orders are easy pickings. Packages of all shapes and sizes are routinely piled in the lobby of an apartment building on Jones Street.

It means when you've got a thief who can't resist the temptation to take them, you've got a problem.

"A neighbor showed me video of the person with a big black garbage bag coming in like the Grinch, taking all the boxes and heading out the door," resident Peter Flynn said.

The video was taken by an alert resident who caught the alleged suspect in the act around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. She says she tried to stop the crook, but the person threatened her before getting in an unmarked van and taking off.

"That explains where my packages are," said one resident who says he was missing four or five of them.

As others search for their orders, they told CBS2 their packages have been disappearing for years.

"Don't want to keep losing packages and sometimes it's important stuff, not random shopping," resident Nikita Vekil said.

Building management posted a sign asking for packages to be delivered to each individual apartment, but clearly not all delivery companies have gotten the memo. In the lobby early Tuesday, there were more than a dozen boxes left unattended.

"Delivering three to four hundred packages a day we think if you get in a double-locked door it's safe, but apparently not," delivery worker Billy DeSanto said.

It's especially not safe when the doors are left wide open allowing anyone in, including a criminal. Residents say a lot of people forget to close the door behind them.

The building's super says he plans to dedicate a room to deliveries that can only be accessed with a security code. In the meantime, residents are advised to shut the doors and not be so polite when someone who doesn't have keys tries to get in.

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