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Thefts Rise at East Village Bars With Help From Bouncers

By Patrick Hedlund | January 19, 2011 10:53am | Updated on January 19, 2011 1:54pm
Police recently busted a thief for trying steal valuables from patrons at Nightingale Lounge on Second Avenue.
Police recently busted a thief for trying steal valuables from patrons at Nightingale Lounge on Second Avenue.
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nightingalelounge.com

By Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo News Editor

EAST VILLAGE — Thefts and purse-snatchings are on the rise at East Village bars and clubs with police warning that nightlife employees are sometimes acting in cahoots with the crooks.

In two incidents at local bars, bouncers were accused of acting as "lookouts" for the thieves, who primarily targeted unattended items like women's purses, Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr told a group of bar owners Tuesday night at the 9th Precinct's Community Council meeting. He did not specify at which bars bouncers had been involved in the thefts, and did not say whether those bouncers had been criminally charged.

"You have to police your own places," Lehr said. "You have to be careful about the people you're hiring."

Thieves also targeted patrons at the 13th Step bar on Second Avenue.
Thieves also targeted patrons at the 13th Step bar on Second Avenue.
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nycbestbar.com/13thstep

In separate incidents around the area recently, thieves were busted for stealing wallets, cell phones and credit cards from the Central Bar on East 9th Street, and the 13th Step on Second Avenue near East 9th Street and the Nightingale Lounge on Second Avenue at 13th Street, police said at the meeting.

Staff at the 13th Step caught two men in the bathroom rummaging through a woman's purse on Saturday after the customer reported it missing, said Randy Shehady, a managing partner at the bar.

Shehady added that his bouncers actually helped detain the thieves and did not participate in the incidents.

"We try to maintain the safest environment we can for our patrons," he said. "But unfortunately as with any type of business, there are going to be bad people who are going to try to take advantage of the situation."

Staff at Central Bar recently caught another man who was arrested trying to steal valuables after security guards became suspicious of the would-be thief, said an employee who would not give her name.

A representative from Nightingale Lounge could not immediately be reached for comment.

"Some of these are crimes of opportunity," Lehr said, noting that 85 percent of the thefts are of items left unattended.

Grand larcenies are up 30 percent in the precinct for the year to date, according to NYPD figures recorded through Jan. 9.