GRAMERCY — A house cleaner arrested for stealing $50,000 worth of jewelry from a client went right back to her old tricks once she was free, making off with another nearly $50,000 barely a month after being released, authorities said.
Rocio Sosa, 35, began her spree on Sept. 10, when she stole a 100-year-old watch worth $50,000 from a longtime client whose apartment she was cleaning at the Trump Parc at 106 Central Park South, prosecutors charged.
She was arrested for that incident on Oct. 28 and released without bail, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
Two weeks later, she struck again at a new building, swiping thousands in jewelry from two different apartments inside 301 W. 21st St., according to police and prosecutors. That included taking 6 pieces of jewelry worth $1,200 on Nov. 10 and taking 11 pieces of jewelry worth $8685 on Nov. 11, prosecutors said.
Those thefts were not reported until Dec. 7 — when she was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and released again without bail, according to court records.
Prosecutors also charged her with an additional theft from Sept. 16 — when a client whose house she cleaned at 301 E. 21st Street noticed $34,000 in jewelry missing. The owner told police that Sosa, who had cleaned his home for about four years, was the only person who had access to the condo and that there had been no signs of forced entry, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately clear if any of the items had been recovered.
Sosa — who had been cleaning one of the apartments at 106 Central Park South since May — returned one of the items to the sister of the victim in that case, prosecutors said. The date of the return was not clear.
In all three incidents Sosa was the only person with access to the apartments, none of which showed signs of forced entry, according to a criminal complaint.
She is due back in court on Jan. 11.
A doorman at 301 E. 21st St., which is located on the corner of Second Avenue, declined to comment.
Sosa's defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
