A “violent” mugger wanted in connection to nearly a dozen knifepoint robberies in Manhattan and Brooklyn has been busted, police said Friday.
Nicolas Giraldo, 26, was identified as a suspect earlier this week and charged Friday with multiple counts of robbery and assault, as well as grand larceny, according to police.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters Thursday that the Queens man started holding up people at knifepoint on May 7.
“He’s a pretty violent guy,” Essig said, adding, “He comes up and sticks a knife in somebody’s face or body and then he removes headphones or property.”
“He really takes off in June,” the chief said.
Essig said Giraldo robbed two people on June 5.
In one of the cases, he pulled a knife on a 24-year-old man standing at 322 W. 57th St., just two blocks from the southwest entrance to Central Park, and stole his cellphone, cops said.
Nicolas Giraldo being walked to an NYPD car Friday. William Farrington
Cops say the suspect wore a “Precision Electric” shirt in some of the robberies.
On June 19, he allegedly held up people in separate robberies on East 35th Street in Murray Hill, making off with pricey jewelry in each case, according to cops.
In some of the 10 muggings, Giraldo was seen wearing a yellow “Precision Electric” shirt, according to Essig.
“In some incidents he cuts them,” said Essig, but did not detail which victims suffered wounds.
It was unclear if he worked for the tri-state area electrical company.
He was due to appear in criminal court in Manhattan on Friday.
