A crafty drifter launched a one-man crime wave on posh pads in Chelsea and the West Village, knocking off 11 before being nabbed, authorities said yesterday.
The suspect, Michael Legg, 38, was arrested last week after cops matched his fingerprints to a set taken from the 11th crime scene. Legg later confessed to all the burglaries, police said.
Since May 23, Legg has lifted 12 computers, 11 pairs of earrings, 10 necklaces, five bracelets, four iPods, four cameras, four rings, four passports, three cellphones, two watches, $1,600 in cash and various other items from the upscale apartments, authorities said.
He entered the dwellings by smashing in windows and breaking doors. In some cases, he left behind bloody shirts that he used to treat wounds he suffered during the break-ins, police said.
He used stolen passports and driver’s licenses to open numerous bank and credit-card accounts, which he used to order expensive items from the Internet, including a Rolex watch.
Police took one of the missing passports from his possession when he was arrested, police said.
A previous, unrelated warrant had been issued on Legg, sources said, and his fingerprints were already on file when they were matched to the robberies.
Legg faces up to 15 years in prison for the Manhattan crime spree.
Additional reporting by Alex Sundby
Jamie Schram