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Read the press release here.

Wheelchair Bandit Stole Purses at Nobu and Marriott Marquis Hotel, Cops Say

By Murray Weiss | September 19, 2013 7:09am
 Police released this photo of a suspect in a wheelchair believed responsible for a pair of bag-snatchings in Midtown in August.
Police released this photo of a suspect in a wheelchair believed responsible for a pair of bag-snatchings in Midtown in August.
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NYPD

MIDTOWN — He’s hell on wheels.

The NYPD is asking for the public's help to catch an elusive thief in a wheelchair they say has been ripping off people in Midtown — including snatching a purse from the posh Nobu 57 restaurant and grabbing a bag from the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, cops said.

Police have been posting fliers all over Midtown asking for anyone to come forward with information about the suspect, who allegedly struck twice last month.

On Aug. 19, cops say the suspect wheeled into the Marriott Marquis Hotel and hung out in the lobby while pretending to be a hotel guest with a room.

Cops say he eventually noticed a woman at the front desk talking to the concierge with her bags sitting unattended nearby. He sidled over to the woman, snatched one of her bags from the floor and wheeled himself out the front door, police said.

He was caught on surveillance cameras fleeing the scene, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and pants and a pair of black sunglasses, cops said.

On Aug. 30, he wheeled into Robert De Niro's swank uptown Nobu 57 restaurant at 40 West 57th St., where he allegedly snatched a Christian Dior purse from a female customer dining at the popular Japanese eatery around 11 p.m.

He was captured on video wheeling away from the restaurant along 57th Street, cops say. That day he was wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt and matching pants, according to the surveillance footage.

In both cases, cops believe he quickly ran up charges on stolen credit cards before the victims noticed their bags were gone and had time to report the theft.

Cops believe the thief is likely disabled because he was never seen on video out of his wheelchair, even during his getaway.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Manhattan South Detectives  at 1-212-477-7447 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.  All calls will be kept confidential, police say.