A group of crooks stole ATM machines with thousands of dollars inside at two Little Italy eateries overnight, authorities said.
Police were called to Italian bakery La Bella Ferrara on Mulberry Street at about 8:30 a.m. after a store worker arrived and noticed their ATM, which was affixed to the outside of the store, had been ripped from the wall, officials said.
Surveillance footage from 4:30 a.m. showed two thieves, both wearing masks and gloves, stealing the machine and then fleeing in a black SUV.
An hour later, cops were called to a cheese shop two blocks away on Grand Street, where an ATM with about $5,000 inside was also found ripped from the wall.
The thefts come after a string of similar robberies in the last three months, The New York Times reported.
A small crew of men have struck nine times across three boroughs, hauling off ATMs and netting about $39,000 in total.
“The more I investigate and the more I look into it, if you’re doing ATM burglaries, you’re going to continue doing ATM burglaries. It’s your thing,” one detective told the paper.
Post time: Dec-18-2019