Manhattan
A brazen bank robber struck near Union Square yesterday, police sources said.
The thief, carrying a black bag and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, walked into the Chase branch on Fifth Avenue near 14th Street at 2:15 p.m. and ordered everyone to hit the ground.
He indicated he had a firearm tucked underneath his sweatshirt but did not display a weapon.
At least two people hiding in the back of the branch managed to dial 911, sources added.
But before cops arrived, the robber, partially covering his face with a bandana, fled with an undisclosed sum of cash.
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A break-in thief was caught red-handed in a West Village building, law-enforcement sources said.
Matthew Miller, 34 allegedly smashed the front window of a Bleecker Street storefront at 2 a.m. Sunday.
He reached through the broken window and opened the door from the inside, said sources. A witness called 911 and responding cops captured Miller, according to court papers.
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Cops nabbed two men carrying counterfeit bills in Midtown, authorities said.
Ernst Huggins, 34, and Tyrone Richards, 18, were stopped by police for undisclosed reasons on Fifth Avenue near 34th Street at 6 p.m. last Thursday, according to law-enforcement sources.
Huggins allegedly had in his possession about $1,200 in counterfeit bills that all bore the same serial number, the sources said.
Richards was allegedly carrying $300 in funny money.
According to court papers, the suspects confessed to police that they knew the bills were phony.
Queens
The “Holiday Bandit” was up to his heist hijinks again yesterday, knocking off an Astoria bank branch, authorities said.
The silent alarm was tripped at the Investors Savings branch on Broadway near 35th Street at about 1 p.m. after an armed Marat Mikhaylich entered and announced a stick-up, according to police sources.
The 6-foot-3 Mikhaylich, 35, flashed a firearm and made off with $400, sources added. He fled in a greenish-gray Lincoln Town Car.
The robbery marks the seventh time Mikhaylich — dubbed the “Holiday Bandit” for heists during this past Christmas season — has struck, authorities said.
Staten Island
The ex-wife of a deceased homeowner was arrested for fleeing with the proceeds of the sale of his home in defiance of a judge’s order, authorities said.
Lawrence Kowalewski, 64, died in August 2007 and a Surrogate’s Court judge ruled that the man’s brother would receive $160,000 from the eventual sale of the home on Cranford Avenue and Kowalewski’s ex-wife, Diane, 69, would get the rest of the proceeds, according to court papers.
However, the woman sold the home for approximately $400,000 and fled to Nebraska with all the money, sources said.
Kowalewski was tracked down by the DA’s detective squad and arrested Tuesday.
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A hothead went ballistic on his girlfriend in Stapleton, authorities said.
Michael Russo, 37, threw a phone at the woman on Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. in the home on Sands Street near Bay Street, according to court papers.
He also allegedly pulled her hair and kicked at the back of her legs.
Russo was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault and harassment, said a spokesman for DA Daniel Donovan.
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Two brutish brothers beat and robbed a friend in South Beach, authorities said.
Michael Battaglia, 20, and sibling Joseph, 21, punched the victim in the face and stole his jacket and cash Saturday at 2:40 a.m. on Windom Avenue near Cedar Avenue, according to court papers.
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the attack, which left the victim with a concussion, sources said. The suspects were arrested Monday.
Brooklyn
Police are hunting three bandits who roughed up a 56-year- old jewelry-store employee in Downtown Brooklyn yesterday.
The three hoods stormed into Kim’s Jewelry and Watches on Fulton Street near Flatbush Avenue Extension at 11:30 a.m., police said.
One of the bandits pulled a gun and struck the worker as the others snatched jewelry and watches from showcases.
The employee was not seriously injured.
