MANHATTAN — A former cop who worked as a security guard at the Soho Apple Store took a bite out of his employer's inventory by filching $76,000 worth of high-tech gadgets, prosecutors claim.
Surveillance cameras caught former NYPD sergeant Manuel DaSilva, 42, grabbing iPods, iPads and iPhones from the store at 72 Greene St. store and stashing them in his car during six of his night shifts between April and June this year, according to a criminal complaint.
DaSilva, who left the police force after allegedly testing positive for steroids according published reports, was charged with second degree grand larceny and admitted that he sold the gadgets for $500 a piece.
“I kept some of the cash proceeds in my safe and I used the rest to pay my bills,” he told investigators, according to court papers.
When DaSilva'a home was searched, more than $12,000 in cash was found in a safe, and an iPad and an iPod Touch were discovered in his car, according to the court papers.
The former sergeant with Brooklyn's 61st precinct told officials he only took 17 items, but prosecutors said he snatched 100.
He was released without bail after being arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday and is due back in court on Sept. 14th.
According to an investigation by the Village Voice, DaSilva was one of six officers who tested positive for steroids in 2007.
