MANHATTAN — Police have arrested a third man in connection with a $4 million Diamond District jewelry store heist allegedly staged by the shop owners in an elaborate insurance fraud.
Edward Fried, 56, of Brooklyn, was arrested on charges of grand larceny and insurance fraud, police said. It was not immediately clear what role Fried played in the robbery.
Fried is the latest person to be charged in the New Year’s Eve 2008 robbery at Dialite Imports on W. 46th Street. Shop owner Atul Shah allegedly hired a pair of thieves to dress as Hasidic Jews, complete with fake beards, and knock over his store in a brazen daytime heist.
Shah and co-owner Mahaveer Kankariya, both of New Jersey, were charged with grand larceny, insurance fraud and falsifying business records, police said.
The robbery immediately aroused police suspicions because owners were allegedly six months late in rent and more than $1 million in debt, sources told the Daily News.
