A shadowy group of thieves has defrauded small business owners New York City – pulling ATMs out of the ground with vans and drag chains or carrying them out of stores by hand, video shows.
At least 49 businesses have been robbed so far, according to trade group United Bodegas of America (UBA), which is offering the bandits a $5,000 bounty. Bodega is often used as a term for a convenience store or small grocery store in the city.
The NYPD said investigators believe the thieves are a group of three using stolen cars to carry out the crimes, which have been reported in at least 25 of the city’s 78 precincts.
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A pair of thieves drag an ATM out of a small business in New York City. The NYPD is hunting three suspects in connection with at least 49 similar burglaries. (NYPD)
Radhames Rodriguez, the group’s president, told Fox News Digital that authorities should return to fully prosecuting low-level crimes and criticized the NYPD’s recently announced pursuit policy, which bans police from chasing suspects for non-violent crimes and lower-level crimes.
“While we understand the need for balance in law enforcement, limiting pursuits to only suspects involved in violent crimes and misdemeanors sends a dangerous message to criminals who commit low-level crimes,” he told Fox News Digital. “These so-called ‘minor offenses’ often become the breeding ground for more serious crimes, creating a sense of lawlessness and impunity.”
While the city has taken steps to combat rising crime, business owners see the new no-go policy as a step backwards.
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Thieves tear the wall out of the side of a New York City store to steal an ATM from inside. The NYPD is hunting three suspects in connection with 49 similar crimes, including stolen vehicles. (UBA)
“There must be accountability at every level of criminal activity,” Fernando Mateo, a UBA spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. “Low-level crimes should not be dismissed as insignificant because they escalate. Today it’s shoplifting, tomorrow it’s armed robbery.”
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday that new guidelines for vehicle pursuits would minimize the risk of additional damage.
According to the NYPD, 25% of car chases in 2024 will result in a collision, property damage or injury. Two-thirds of them started traffic checks during which the suspect fled. Officers are no longer allowed to pursue under such circumstances.
The new rules limit officers to car chases only for serious crimes – misdemeanors and violent crimes.
“The NYPD’s enforcement efforts should never place the public or police in unnecessary danger, and prosecutions for violations and low-level crimes can be both potentially dangerous and unnecessary,” Tisch said in a statement. “The advanced tools of modern policing make it possible to apprehend criminals more safely and effectively than ever before, eliminating the need for many chases.”
NYC GROUP robbed 49 stores across the city, stole ATMs and cash: police
New York Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch hold a press conference in New York City on December 19, 2024. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
The ATM thieves are still on the run.
However, Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the new guidelines don’t really make a big change.
“The policy has always been this: It is up to the patrol supervisor to cancel any vehicle pursuit based on certain factors (as) outlined in the patrol guide,” he told Fox News Digital. “She’s putting it out there to let everyone know it was already there, but to ultimately reinforce it, the New York City Council will go all out in Chicago and ban all pursuits, including foot pursuits. It’s only a matter of time.’
Even as the pendulum appears to have swung back toward a tough-on-crime approach in the U.S., he warned that some blue city leaders aren’t on board yet.
On October 24, 2022, an NYPD vehicle is seen in Times Square in New York City. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The message may have changed with the mood of how people feel about what they want police to do in the United States, but the cities are in strong hands with the defending police, an abolitionist mob,” he said.
While the announcement about its pursuit policy has been criticized, the NYPD made another big change this week: increasing patrols on nighttime subways, days after the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told residents that transit crime is simply in their heads.
“The NYPD will be rolling out its ambitious plan to place two officers on every night train in phases,” the department announced Thursday. “Phase 1 officially begins Monday and will include the first 100 agents. Additional phases will be rolled out in the coming weeks, with the full operation expected to be completed by the end of the month.”
Police have released surveillance footage showing two suspects dragging an ATM from a store. The UBA also shared a video showing them taking down a wall with a chain attached to the back of a van before you steal another one.
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Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the thieves.
“It was reported to law enforcement that between Thursday, September 19, 2024 and Thursday, December 26, 2024, there were a total of 49 incidents involving three unidentified individuals removing vehicles and license plates,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News. Digital. “The individuals then used these stolen vehicles to travel to commercial establishments where they forcibly entered and removed ATMs and other property. The individuals fled the locations in several vehicles.”
