An undercover group of thieves has been robbing small business owners in New York City — pulling ATMs off the ground with vans and drag chains or pulling them out of stores by hand, video shows.
At least 49 businesses have been robbed so far in the spree, according to trade group United Bodegas of America (UBA), which is offering a $5,000 reward for the bandits. Bodega is often used as a term for a convenience store or small grocery store in town.
The NYPD said investigators believe the thieves are a group of three people using stolen cars to commit the crimes, which have been reported in at least 25 of the city’s 78 precincts.
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A pair of thieves steal an ATM from a small business in New York City. The NYPD is looking for three suspects in connection with at least 49 similar burglaries. (NYPD)
Radhames Rodriguez, the group’s president, told Fox News Digital that authorities should return to fully pursuing low-level crimes and criticized the NYPD’s newly announced stalking policy, which prohibits police from pursuing non-criminal suspects. violent and low level.
“While we understand the need for balance in law enforcement, limiting prosecutions to only suspects involved in violent crimes and misdemeanors sends a dangerous message to criminals who commit low-level crimes,” he told Fox News Digital . “These so-called ‘light offences’ are often the breeding ground for more serious crimes, creating a sense of lawlessness and impunity.”
While the city has taken steps to combat rising crime, business owners see the new tracking policy as a step backwards.
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Thieves rip through the side wall of a New York store to steal an ATM from inside. The NYPD is looking for three suspects in connection with 49 related crimes, which also involve stolen vehicles. (UBA)
“Accountability must exist at every level of criminal activity,” Fernando Mateo, a UBA spokesman, told Fox News Digital. “Low-level crimes should not be dismissed as trivial because they escalate. Today it’s shoplifting, tomorrow it’s armed robbery.”
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday that the new vehicle pursuit guidelines would minimize the risk of collateral damage.
According to the NYPD, 25% of car chases in 2024 resulted in a crash, property damage or injury. Two-thirds of them began with a traffic stop where the suspect fled. Officers are no longer permitted to pursue under such circumstances.
The new rules limit officers to car chases only for serious crimes — felonies and violent misdemeanors.
“The NYPD’s enforcement efforts should never put the public or police at unnecessary risk, and prosecutions for misdemeanors and low-level felonies can be potentially dangerous and unnecessary,” Tisch said in a statement. “Modern police’s advanced tools make it possible to catch criminals more safely and effectively than ever before, making many pursuits unnecessary.”
NYC GROUP ROBBED 49 STORES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, STOLE ATM, SUBMIT: POLICE
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch hold a news conference on December 19, 2024 in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
ATM thieves remain free.
Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the new guidelines don’t really represent a big change, however.
“The policy has always been this – it’s up to the patrol supervisor to call off any vehicle pursuit based on certain factors. [as] written in the patrol guide,” he told Fox News Digital. “She’s putting it out there to let everybody know — it was already there, but to reinforce it eventually, the New York City Council is going to completely in Chicago and will stop all pursuits, including foot pursuits. It’s just a matter of time.”
Although the pendulum appears to be starting to swing back toward a tougher approach to crime across the U.S., he warned that some blue-city leaders are not yet on board.
An NYPD vehicle is seen in Times Square in New York City on October 24, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The messages may have changed with the vote about how people feel about what they want the police to do in the United States, but cities are in strong hands with police protection, the abolished mob,” he said.
While the announcement of its stalking policy has been criticized, the NYPD made another big change this week — increasing patrols on subway cars at night days after the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told residents that transit crime was only in the heads of theirs.
“The NYPD will roll out the ambitious plan to put two officers on every train overnight in phases,” the department announced Thursday. “Phase 1 will officially begin on Monday and will include the first 100 officers. Additional phases will be rolled out over the coming weeks with the hope that the full operation will be completed by the end of the month.”
Police have released surveillance video showing two of the suspects removing an ATM from a store. UBA also released a video showing them knocking down a wall with a chain attached to the back of a van before stealing another.
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The police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the thieves.
“It was reported to police that between Thursday, September 19, 2024, and Thursday, December 26, 2024, there were a total of 49 incidents involving three unidentified individuals who removed vehicles and license plates,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News. Digital. The individuals then used these stolen vehicles to drive to commercial establishments where they forced entry and removed ATMs and other property. The individuals left the locations in different vehicles.
