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Mink Coat Thief Busted After Instagramming Pic of Herself Wearing it: NYPD

By Shaye Weaver | February 27, 2017 5:08pm

UPPER EAST SIDE — An employee at Moda Operandi was arrested after she stole a $13,000 mink coat and posted a photo of herself wearing it on Instagram, according to the NYPD.

Angeline Chidowore, 39, was in charge of inventory at the 24 E. 64th St. store when she was caught posting photos of herself on Instagram wearing several pieces of clothes from the high-end shop and was fired from the job on Nov. 16, 2016, for taking clothes out of the studio, according to a criminal complaint.

On Nov. 9, 2016, Chidowore had signed for a shipment of 14 items, including the clothes she posted photos of herself wearing, and there was no one else at the shop at the time, the complaint says.

After she was terminated, on Dec. 13, 2016, her employer noticed that a $13,200 red mink coat from the brand Color Temperature was missing from the shop's inventory. And on Dec. 25, 2016, the employer spotted Chidowore wearing the coat in a photo she posted of herself on Instagram and alerted police, according to authorities.

Chidowore was arrested on Feb. 22, 2017, and charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said. She was released without bail and is due back in court on April 11, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Her attorney, Kenneth Gilbert, denied the charges against her, noting that taking photos of inventory was part of Chidowore's job.

"The allegations are false. She is denying that she has done anything like this," Gilbert said. "She's worked for some of the big name fashion stores in the country since 2003, and nothing like this has ever happened before. She had an assistant and intern and a new person — there were other people at the location when this allegedly disappeared.

"She is angry about this. I haven’t seen what they're talking about. In some cases, not necessarily this one, they do put coats on and take pictures with the company phone or iPad. When she came back to work, things were confiscated from her. There are some inconsistencies in what they're saying."

During her arrest, police confiscated Chidowore's company phone and iPad, Gilbert said.

Gilbert also noted that his client often wears expensive clothing and there's no way to tell that the clothes she is seen wearing in the Instagram photos were from the Moda Operandi store.

Moda Operandi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Below is a photo of a mink coat from Color Temperature, similar to one taken from the store: