MANHATTAN — Mrs. Claus would not be happy.
A bespectacled Santa look-a-like with a long white beard and a round belly was more like the Grinch for allegedly filching a $75,000 emerald from a Midtown gem shop just days before Christmas, police said.
The holiday-time heist unfolded at Astro Gallery of Gems, at 185 Madison Ave., near 34th Street, at 11:40 a.m. on Dec. 22, according to cops.
Sources said that the suspect reached into a locked display case and grabbed the Colombian emerald before fleeing.
It was not clear how he got into the locked case.
The store could not immediately be reached for comment.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), log onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by text 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
