Erica Wang (PatrickMcMullan.com)
She’s unlucky with grooms — but has great taste when it comes to shoplifting.
The bride jilted at the altar by celebrity chef Todd English allegedly stole from Bergdorf Goodman eight years before her confessed heist of $52,000 worth of items from the Ralph Lauren store where she worked, The Post has learned.
Erica Wang, 36, was arrested on Feb. 23, 2004, for boosting merchandise from Bergdorf’s luxury emporium on Fifth Avenue, sources said yesterday. Details were not available because the court case is sealed.
“She’s obviously a troubled girl, and after Todd English, I don’t think her life has ever gotten back on track,” said someone who knows Wang.
English — the handsome chef behind The Plaza Hotel Food Hall and a slew of other hot eateries — called Wang hours before their October 2009 wedding and said, “I can’t marry you today.”
A friend said he “wasn’t surprised” to hear about Wang’s latest shoplifting arrest. “It shows that he’s not the biggest ass on the planet.”
“She’s always been crazy and has always been a loose cannon,” the pal said, adding that English “had his reasons” for dumping Wang.
The Post exclusively reported yesterday that Wang was arrested Thursday at Ralph Lauren’s flagship store on Madison Avenue after admitting to stealing $5,944.25 worth of items she bagged up and hid in a storage room.
They included a $98 T-shirt, a $2,000 Brenna jacket, an $855 Burkha pin and a Deidre silk chiffon top priced at $698, sources revealed yesterday.
Wang also allegedly confessed to swiping another $46,000 worth of merchandise since she began working on the main accessories floor in January, after leaving a job organizing meetings for a financial firm.
Wang gave a written confession and made a “promise to pay” for the looted merchandise, court records stated.
The alleged larceny comes two years after the NYU grad Wang bought an East 55th Street condo for $1.2 million in what appears to have been an all-cash deal.
Wang, who is free without bail, said yesterday, “I’m not allowed to discuss this.”
Her lawyer, Charles Clayman, said he believes Wang’s case “can be resolved without the necessity of further litigation.”
Asked about the $46,000 worth of Ralph Lauren items that Wang allegedly admitted stealing, Clayman said, “We’re not going to discuss whether they exist of not.”
A former Wang business associate said: “She’s always seemed very charming, but these series of legal events demonstrates an underside to that charm. Obviously, she has some issues.”
Additional reporting by Tara Palmeri