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Thief Steals iPad at Wedding, Captured on Surveillance

An individual with a colorful history in his short time in the neighborhood was captured on surveillance video stealing an iPad from the backpack of a man who was attending a Simcha in Crown Heights.

The individual, who dresses and appears to be Jewish, is well known to the Police and Shomrim for past run-ins which included thefts of laptops, cell phones and cash from Yeshiva dormitories as well as other Simchas.

Last night’s incident occurred outside the Oholei Torah ballroom, where the Adler-Steinhauser wedding was taking place. One guest, a doctor from Park Slope, has innocently hung up his coat and backpack on the coat rack near the entrance of the hall. Later he returned to find his backpack missing.

After searching throughout the building the doctor found his backpack near a different coat rack and it was missing his brand new iPad and charger.

The following morning the victim returned to Oholei Torah in hopes of checking out the surveillance video and identifying the thief. He was in luck since the school recently invested in very high end surveillance cameras which captured the entire incident.

Shomrim was called and asked how to proceed and after checking out the footage the thief was identified and the suggestion was made to call the police and file a report for stolen property.

Rabbi Avrohom Lieder, director of Ahavas Chessed and the Chessed Center, who with the aid of Shomrim had attempted to help this individual in the past, but all efforts have failed but not before the Chessed Center itself falling victim to this individual as well.

Rabbi Lieder said that the only help for this man would be have him and those of his likes sent away since they are drug addicts who cannot help themselves. “They do not need to be visiting simchas for food, there is places for them where they can get help, but they simple do not want the help.” he concluded.

A decision was made to release the video to the public so that they can better protect themselves from this thief. Simcha halls plan on hanging his picture so that their staff can recognize him and send him away before he strikes again.

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32 Comments

  • OY!

    If you know who it is, why did you publicly identify him? I know, I know, you want everyone to be on guard. Maybe the first thing to do is to post NOTICES warning guests they leave their coats & valuables at their own risk as things have been stolen.

    I don’t know this guy, but maybe he needs some help? Are you so sure he’s a common criminal? There are kleptomaniacs you know, and they just can’t help themselves, it’s a sickness. I’m not happy to see him identified like this. For once, I think this was a bad move. I think you should blur the face or remove the picture.

  • Anonymous

    its no necessary to show his face as long as he can be identified by the parties involved. its not nice to ruin a reputation and not allow this person a chance to change. we all have no business seeing this. please blur his face.

  • levi

    What he did was wrong but public humiliation is worse. you should have blurred his face like col did.

    • hahaha

      Why? So that he can go on to commit his next crime unhindered? People need to see the faces of the people who commit crimes so that you can better protect yourself!

  • Beyond Help

    I was a victim of this individual and I originally thought like all of you saying “why publish his picture”.

    These people need help and we enable them to NOT get the help they need. We need to know who they are just as much as their pictures need to be hanging at every simcha hall.

    Its high time we got rid of all these creepo non Jews who mix in with us and try to look jewish.

    • Anon

      What makes you think he must be non-Jewish? Are you saying Jews are not capable of committing crimes?

  • mendy

    in reply to comment 1 and 2

    it is very good to post his face this man worked for me for a few days, he looked like a nice jewish bocher that i can trust and now that i’m reading this i know that he is bad news he could have stolen from me.

    all i’m saying is that if it would have been a black guy you would want to see his face, and i think being that he is jewish it is more important to show a face being that he DOES hang out around 770 (maybe he will start stealing teffilin)

    • Sorry, you're wrong

      But he isn’t a Black man, he is a Yid & we have a different responsibility. Sorry, that is the reality. We deal with things in a different way IF WE CAN. Now it could be that this guy is a crook in other ways. We don’t know. If Shomrim know who he is, why can’t they help him, even if it means reporting him to the police. Maybe that is what they have to do, but publicly humiliating him & hurting his family doesn’t help things.

  • A GANOF!

    He stole a Jacket and Backpack and left the backpack he walked in with. SMOOTH. But luckily for cameras. Unless he sits in Jail or is humiliated he will keep on doing this.

  • mendoza

    beny yr the best keep doing what yr doing ..
    let the kanif know ” WE ARE WATCHING YOU “

  • mendoza

    wat smart smart slick ganif ……lol
    he has to be ah yid .. such ah chapp to switch bags …. i am telling you if they would put there head in a real parnosah wow he would be rich … what a chev-rah mann

  • bassya

    the two girls in seconds 9 and 10 were me and my cousin!!!! this is crazy! now it is on the internet for everyone to see :( they gave out costumes and we put them on!!
    come to think of it i DID see a guy walk in with a bag!!!! it looked exactly like the guy in the video!!!!

  • Bravo for Posting this!

    Bravo for posting his picture.
    People like him should NOT be protected and everyone in the community should be put on notice.
    Yes – people should not leave their things unattended (unfortunately this is true everywhere) that goes without saying but there is no reason to protect this guy.

    Never try to hide a crime. Bravo for having video cameras and releasing it.

    This has nothing to do with jewish or not jewish. Affiliation with religion has nothing to do with a crime.

    Thank you ch.info for putting us on notice and pls dont turn into those communities that hide their crimes.

  • I know him well

    14, Yes that is the bochur. Blog got even first name right. If you see him, mind your belongings. He has bad drug problem and in order to sustain it, steals.
    Tshuva Now!

  • Personally know him

    You guys are correct by publishing this video.
    I know him personally for a long time.
    He’s been in CH for a couple of years.
    He’s Jewish and very smart, but he is a very big drug addict.
    He gets jobs on and off, and when he gets fired he starts sealing.
    He needs to be locked up in some kind of institution where they can help him to get rid of his habbit of “Crack Cocaine”.
    A lot of people tried to help him, but it’s still goes on….
    Stay away from him, don’t let him in your houses. Don’t give him any money, not even a dollar even if he starts begging you standing on his knees.
    Don’t try to test your “kindness” on him.
    Report him to police, that’s the only choice.
    I put my e-mail in so if anybody wants fact, get it from crownheights.info and contact me. Or asks guys in Shmira, they’ve delt with him in the past.

  • Dovid

    I know this person. He davens in my shule.
    And he also has stolen my property that I had lent to a roomate of his. And he is also 100% Jewish.

    This person is a person with a Drug addiction. He takes for the sake of feeding his habit.
    He needs someone or something to make him want to get serious help.

    I have seen his good side as well in shule.

    This is very sad that a YID is going thru this.
    I am speaking like this because I know him.

  • SCAMMED & SHOCKED..

    B.H. Thanks Crownheights.Info for posting photo and video of this individual. He always says, that he works in a Bank, as a Mortgage Lender, but has just lost his job, and needs financial help, which we have assisted with. But with glassy eyes,I can see what he spends the money on, no more letting him in to my home. We learn lessons the hard way. He is a Rachmonous though, maybe, beyond help. So lesson number one, be wary of who you let into your home. Some of us want to assist, but are very vulnerable.

  • Dr. S

    if you stop him from stealing by showing the picture and sharing description, you are helping him not to steal (from innocent people). Taking away temptation.

  • Russian

    You vey he goes to the free shul on president I’m never getting clause to him yikes

  • Keep him far away

    It’s creeps like this that can eventually ruin their and others lives. Please keep him far away from anywhere he can do damage. Needs help or not, pity him or not, HE’S DANGEROUS. PERIOD!

  • obvious question

    He came in with one backpack and left with Dr B’s. what happened with the on the left there?

  • Oluaa

    I have known this person since he was in law school and feel a tremendous sense of sadness for him. He is a very vunerable person who should be evaluated and assessed for a possible mental illness for it is clear to me he is self medicating. I know there have many who have tried to help him in your community. Don’t stop now.

  • neshama

    1. believe it or not, some black people can be jewish
    2. some black people can honest
    3. there is not a difference,between a non jew who steals and a jew who steals (imo). thanks for posting this, the community at large appreciate it.

  • nobamaplease

    After leaving 770 one night around 1:00 AM I was jumped and pistol whipped…they took my wallet…when I came too is was bleeding badly I was really dazed…I was making my way back to the place I was staying, I ran into this guy and he seemed normal I told him what happened ….he said i should give him money and he’ll go buy some water for me…I happened to have a 20 in my jacket that the ganovim didn’t get so I gave it …and he just ran off…he’s a low life who steals from injured helpless people