UES Newsstand Worker Beaten By Crooks Who Steal $3K, Lotto Tix: NYPD

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A Yorkville newsstand worker was bloodied by a trio of crooks who also made off with thousands in cash, a debit card and a fistful of lotto tickets, police said.

The victim, a 67-year-old man, was working inside his newsstand on First Avenue near East 79th Street about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday when a group of three men in ski masks approached him, officials said.

He was then punched in the chest by the men, knocking him to the ground and causing severe lacerations to his head, an NYPD spokesperson told Patch.

The violent trio then stole about $3,000 in cash, lottery tickets and a debit card from the newsstand, police said, and then ran west on East 79th Street.

Medics rushed the injured man to Lenox Hill Hospital in stable condition, according to police.

A subsequent search for the suspects was unsuccessful, officials said.

Police said the three men were wearing ski masks and were dressed in all black, but no other suspect description was available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).