I dunno, it strikes me that shoplifting on Greenwich Avenue must be a fairly low- success game when you look like a denizen of the South Bronx (UPDATED)

I mean, I understand the Willie Sutton factor, but still ...

Over the years that Greenwich Free Press has dutifully published Police Report press releases on the latest bust for shop lifting, “return” and credit card fraud, I’ve noticed that, almost without exception, the perps have, ah … “exotic” names suggestive of a non-WASP ethnicity. I’m not suggesting that only our darker-hued citizens engage in this sort of behavior — far from it — but the fact that they’re the ones getting caught makes me wonder whether it’s because they’re being discriminated against, or is it because they stand out from the usual Greenwich Avenue shopper, thereby attracting the attention of shopkeepers and security guards.

If I were determined on a life of crime, I think I’d choose a forum where it would be easier to blend in and thus escape detection, yet the Avenue continues to draw petty thieves like wasps to dead fish. Why?

Just one of the imponderables of life.

Here’s a recent example of what I’m talking about:

“On Sept 25 Greenwich Police arrested three people from New York following an incident related to alleged return fraud at a retail store on Greenwich  Ave.

Plainclothes officers conducted in person surveillance and observed behavior consistent with return fraud. On scene investigation revealed that the suspects conspired to return several items to the store that had been stolen. The items totaled a financial loss of over $1800.

All three were detained and arrested.

Miss Tanisha bynoe on an earlier occasion

Woman pleads guilty to passing counterfeit bills in Wetzel County

Tanisha Bynoe, 36, Brooklyn, NY was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 4, Larceny 4, and Criminal Impersonation. She  was able to post the required 7% minimum of her $50,000 bond and was released. She was assigned a date in Stamford Superior Court on Oct 9, 2024.

Trumane A Gibbs, 31 of Brooklyn was charged with Larceny 4 and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 4. His bond was set at $50,000, which he was unable to post. He shares the date in court on Oct 9, 2024.

Ajla Kazaferovic, 26, of Utica, NY was also arrested. She was charged with Larceny 4, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 4 and Criminal Impersonation. Her bond was set at $100,000, which she was unable to post. She was not released from custody.

“Police said Ms Kazaferovic was found to have an active extraditable arrest warrant from New York.”

UPDATE: From the comments section, this:

According to Greenwich CAPP [Community and Police Project — I looked it up — Ed] presentations, approximately $50-$100K in merchandise is stolen in the Greenwich business district daily....and not including what the hedge funds steal in the second floor suites. Police say they are overrun by Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European gang members and are very well organized. I didn't believe it either until I witnessed someone walking out of Saks with a +$50K handbag without paying. With all the jewelers, high end retailers, and banks on the Avenue....those figures are entirely possible on average.