Daily Blotter
Manhattan
A Chelsea building that hosts high-end brands and services, including fashion shoots, had a hidden pinhole camera in its unisex bathroom, sources said. A Johnson & Johnson employee discovered the creepy spy cam on the 16th floor of the Starrett-Lehigh building on West 26th Street Jan. 15, and the company immediately reported it to police, a spokeswoman said. The device was hidden above a light switch in the bathroom next to offices that include Ralph Lauren and Haynes Roberts, whose interior-design projects focus on mansions and exclusive resorts from Palm Beach to Fifth Avenue. The bathroom with the hidden device is open and accessible to all tenants and guests on the floor. It wasn’t clear whether the potty perv who put it there captured customers or models who do photo shoots nearby in RR Donnelley’s Studio W26. Investigators had yet to review the storage drive recovered with the camera.
Cops have released a new photo of the man wanted for stabbing another man to death in a Midtown cafe. There are still no arrests in connection with the Jan. 20 murder, however police have released the new pictures in hopes of catching the man, who cops say beat up the victim before fatally stabbing him two hours later. Police describe the suspect as a man with shortly cropped dark hair, last seen wearing a black and blue jacket and a baseball cap.
A 76-year-old woman on the West Side was duped out of $7,000 after responding to a job offer on Facebook, sources said. The victim told investigators she replied to an online ad seeking mystery shoppers and was sent several checks to deposit into her account, but the scammer said she had to return a percentage. The woman followed the instructions from Dec. 23 through Jan. 14, only to discover that the checks bounced. The elderly victim sent her cash through Moneygram and Western Union. Police have not yet identified a suspect.
Cops are looking for a burglar they believe struck three lower Manhattan businesses in three weeks. The man broke the door to Obao restaurant on Water Street around 12:30 a.m., Dec. 28, took $400 from the cash registers and fled, according to police. On Jan. 6, he grabbed a fire hydrant cap to smash the glass in the door of Anejo on Walker Street and broke in around 12:40 a.m., cops said. He fled empty-handed, police said. Nine days later, he broke the storefront window at a bodega on Dey Street, near Broadway, around 2:45 a.m. and made off with $1,600 in cash, cops added. Police do not have a detailed description of the burglar but he is about 5-foot-9.
Brooklyn
Two thieves mugged a man at gunpoint in broad daylight in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to authorities. Police said the pair approached the 28-year-old victim at the corner of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Willoughby Avenue at 12:25 p.m. Jan. 12, whipped out a gun and demanded his property. The thugs grabbed the man’s wallet, which contained $30 and credit cards, and ran off, cops said. The victim was not injured in the stick-up.One of the suspects is about 5-foot-8, has a prominent scar on his face and walks with a limp. His accomplice stands about 5-foot-9, police said. Both suspects are believed to be between 25 and 35 years old.
The Bronx
A thief knocked over a Mott Haven bank Thursday morning, according to authorities. Police said the black-clad crook walked into the Apple branch on East 149th Street near Third Avenue at 11:45 a.m. and slipped a demand note to a teller. The worker forked over $845 and the robber bolted, cops said. The suspect is believed to be between 25 and 35 years old, about 5-foot-6 with a small build.


