MEATPACKING DISTRICT — A trio of robbers stole $12,000 in cash and $17,000 in jewelry from a Canadian tourist after choking him with a hair-dryer cord in a budget hotel on 14th Street, police said.
Police said the victim told them that one of the robbers called him and asked to come to his room at Hotel 309 at 309 West 14th St. late Monday night.
They knocked on his door a little after midnight and when he opened it, they bum-rushed him, pistol-whipped him and then strangled him with a hair dryer cord to get him to reveal the code to his room safe, police said.
Police said the men opened the safe and stole cash, an iPhone, a MacBook, and $17,000 worth of jewelry before fleeing.
The victim was taken to Bellevue for cuts and bruises, police said.
The incident was first reported by the New York Daily News.
Police are asking for anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS(8477).
