BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Freddy Boy. Source: Facebook

Freddy Boy, a pit bull, sat in the getaway car while Dennis Kharitonov, 25, hit up a grocery store on 20^th Avenue, then a bodega on 17^th Avenue and finally a 99-cents store on 20^th Avenue, at gunpoint.

His questionable targets (how much money could a 99-cent store really have?) and his poor choice of getaway driver make his arrest by police officers seem impending.

The car, by the way, was stolen too.

“He [said he] was going to walk the dog and he wasn’t home for two hours,” said his mother, Galina Kharitonov. “I started to get nervous.”

Kharitonov was caught after he crashed into another car near 16^th Avenue. He jumped out and ran, abandoning Freddy Boy in the stolen car.

Cops caught up to him based on a description heard over the scanner. He was wearing a “replica Carmelo Anthony Knicks jersey.”

Freddy Boy was found safe and sound and returned to the elder Kharitonov.

The suspect was arrested and charged with grand larceny.

Image courtesy of Rocco Decorato

The story of Costantino “Tino” Decorato’s violent death inside of the Telco Department Store at 109 Avenue U was a shock to anyone who knew the respectful, hardworking young man.

Eight years later and the case is no closer to being solved.

Three masked and hooded men came into the store just after its closing brandishing a gun.

Decorato and his twin sister, a cashier, were both at work that day.

Fearing for her safety and the safety of the other staff, Tino acted quickly and ushered them into the basement. It is unclear why, but he remained upstairs.

The thugs then shot Decorato in the stomach.

His twin sister rode in the ambulance with him to Coney Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to news sources, the men took only a small amount of money. Law enforcement officials suspect that the gun may have been fired accidentally, but nothing has been confirmed.

Decorato’s older Brother, Rocco, has never given up the hope that the killers will be brought to justice. He posted a memorial to his brother on his Facebook page as he mourns the day of his senseless death.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

Source: Militarygun via Wikimedia Commons

Reality TV just got a whole lot realer. Ex-husband of “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano squealed to cops about the role of two former associates in a murder investigation, which ultimately led to their arraignments.

Hector (Junior) Pagan said that Richard Riccardi and Luigi Grasso are responsible for the  July 2, 2010 Brooklyn robbery of an auto body shop in Gravesend that caused the death of Luchese associate James Donovan.

Pagan also wore a hidden wire which set off a string of mobster arrests, including acting Bonanno boss Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti and Pagan’s ex-father-in-law Anthony (TG) Graziano.

Pagan shot Donovan in the leg, something which he initially pinned on Riccardi. That was proven to be untrue when surveillance footage of the crime surfaced showing Riccardi never left the car.

The bullet landed in Donovan’s femoral artery and he bled to death.

Now, Riccardi is accused of supplying the guns while Grasso accompanied Pagan, according to the New York Daily News. All three stand accused of heisting tens of thousands of dollars from the shop.

Lawyers for the two men implicated by Pagan deny their clients are guilty. Instead, they blame Pagan.

“Hector Pagan is truly the guilty party,” Riccardi’s lawyer Joseph Benfante said, “and has been caught lying to the Brookyn district attorney’s office as well as the U.S. Attorneys.”

Riccardi and Grasso will face life in prison if they are convicted. It is unclear what punishment Pagan will receive.

Source: Billy Hathorn via Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, the FBI arrested a man wanted for a December 2011 Dyker Heights bank robbery. The robbery happened at Capital One bank and the culprit was a seasoned robber. Prior to hitting up the bank, Jack Mannino had recently been released from prison after serving a 10-year-sentence  for a series of  23 robberies back in 1999, according to News 12.

At the time of the robbery, Mannino carried  a box with him and threatened to detonate it in seven seconds if he didn’t get what he wanted. He and an accomplice were able to flee with $5,658 in cash.

Gary Fama, the second man involved in the robbery, had been arrested in March.

FBI agents say this is security camera footage of Gary Fama robbing the Capital One Bank at 7120 New Utrecht Ave. (Source: FBI.gov)

The FBI says that they have arrested one half of a two-man bank robbery crew wanted in connection with an armed Bensonhurst heist.

Gary Fama, a reputed organized crime associate with prior arrests for bank robberies, was ordered held without bail Tuesday as FBI agents searched for Jack Mannino, his alleged accomplice in the $5,658 job at a Capital One Bank at 7120 New Utrecht Ave.

Authorities referred to Mannino – aka the “Seven-Second Bandit” – as a prolific bank robber who they say returned to holding up banks Continue Reading »

A woman had her purse stolen on Bay 25th Street in Bath Beach earlier this month. Fortunately for investigators, footage of the robbery was caught on a home’s security camera.

The incident – which took place on Feb 3, in front of 179 Bay 25th Street near Bath Avenue according to News 12,  almost took a turn for the worse when the thief began to drag the stroller that he snatched the purse from – a stroller containing the woman’s grandson. Fortunately the small child, who was napping at the time, was not injured.

The woman says the man managed to get away with just under $500 in cash and gift cards.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

John Dewey H.S.

A 17-year-old student at John Dewey High School (50 Ave X) in Gravesend was struck in the head with a metal pipe earlier today when he, along with two young friends, was jumped by three thieves who demanded that one of the teenagers give up his cell phone and a pair of headphones.

The incident occurred directly outside the school on Avenue X, according to website DNAinfo.

Meanwhile, the Post is saying that one 17-year-old victim was brought to Lutheran Medical Center in order to have the wounds on his head stapled closed. Another suffered minor scrapes to his face.

The teen who had his electronics stolen was reportedly not injured.

The three alleged perpetrators – ages 17, 18, and 21 – were rounded up by police shortly after the crime occurred. They were taken into custody for assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Jack Mannino alongside robbery footage the FBI says is him. (Source: FBI via cbslocal.com)

I wonder if they’ll ask him, “what’s in your wallet?”

The FBI is seeking to question a convicted bank robber for his possible role in last Thursday’s heist at a Bensonhurst branch of Capital One Bank (7120 New Utrecht Avenue).

They believe Jack Mannino aka “the seven second bandit”, who was released from federal prison just last July, may be back in business Continue Reading »

Janine Power and Anthony D'Angelo (source: abclocal.go.com)

This past weekend, police captured a woman who allegedly escaped from a police car in Coney Island on Thanksgiving Day, as well as a man they say is her accomplice. Continue Reading »

Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursue Crime (oil-on-canvas by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon)

We’ve been meaning to report on Manhattan news site dnainfo.com‘s precinct-by-precinct per capita crime stat study for some time but, as they say, no news is good news and our street corners happen to be some of the safest in the city.

Unfortunately for our pals in picturesque Park Slope, the same could not be said for crime in their neck of the woods.

Crime, particularly burglaries and robberies, have risen in much of the increasingly wealthy ‘brownstone belt’ of Central and Northern Brooklyn, which may be a victim of its own success, real estate price-wise.

Its increasing popularity has also led to a widening disparity of income between longtime residents and wealthy newcomers – presenting plenty of targets for those who resort to crime to make ends meet.

Despite the rise of crime in Northern Brooklyn, Southern Brooklyn’s solidly Middle Class  neighborhoods – including Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Borough Park and Sheepshead Bay – remained some of NYC’s safest areas.

Overall crime was down in Bensonhurst in 2010 – the year used in the study.

Although there was an increase in rapes to 13, up from 6 the year before, this could be an anomaly. While one rape is always too many, the percentage increase should be seen in the context of relatively low numbers for both years, as well as overall crime trends.

Neighboring Borough Park, along with Kensington, is served by the precinct with the lowest crime numbers in the borough.

Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay also had some of the lowest numbers in the city – though Sheepshead Bay has seen a significant increase so far this year.

One area of Southern Brooklyn dealing with high crime, according to the report, was Coney Island.