Crime & Safety
De Blasio Staffer’s iPhone Snatched From His Hand On Subway, Police Say
The mayor's deputy communications director was riding a train when a thief took his pricey phone at the Fulton Street stop, police said.
FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY – A staffer for Mayor Bill de Blasio had his iPhone stolen right out of his hand while riding the subway, according to police and a news report.
The man was riding a 4 or 5 train from Union Square when it stopped at Fulton Street and a thief snatched the phone and hopped off. The New York Post identified the victim as de Blasio’s deputy communications director Mahen Gunaratna.
Gunaratna chased after the thief and an accomplice but could not catch them as they exited the station at Maiden Lane and Broadway, according to police.
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Gunaratna, whose phone was valued at $500, did not immediately answer an interview request from Patch.
“It’s certainly unsettling and a major inconvenience,” de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips told the Post.
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The suspects, who were described as 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, about 150 pounds and in their late teens, are still at large.
The NYPD's Transit Bureau reported 175 crimes as of July 31, down from 191 by that time last year.
Lead image via LinkedIn.
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