Manhattan
A crook cashed two forged checks worth more than $10,000 at a Midtown bank before a suspicious teller turned him down the third time, authorities said Wednesday.
The suspect had already succeeded in stealing a total of $10,440 from a 45-year-old man’s account with the two forgeries when he tried to cash another check, for $5,670, at a Midtown Citibank, police said.
But a teller became suspicious of his third attempt and — with the crook right there — called the account-holder to make sure that he had, in fact, signed the check, cops said.
The victim confirmed that he had not written the check, and the suspect ran off empty-handed, according to police.
Bank officials soon discovered the two previous forgeries and provided police with the surveillance picture of the alleged thief.
They had his number.
The “C-Note Bandit,” who asked for just $100 as he robbed several banks from Midtown to The Bronx left his calling card during his last heist, law- enforcement sources said.
Jamel Valentine, 34, bellied up to tellers at seven banks in three days before penning his last demand note on the back of his phone bill and leaving it behind, sources said.
It didn’t take long for cops to track him down by pinging in the phone number on the back of the note, sources added.
The rotund robber, who told investigators he returned to a life of crime to pay back rent, found free housing in jail after being charged with robbery and attempted robbery, sources said.
The Bronx
A thug robbed a West Farms liquor store at gunpoint, authorities said.
A crook pulled a handgun on a clerk inside Palermo Liquors and Wines on East Tremont Avenue near Bronx Park Avenue at about 2:15 p.m. Monday, and ordered her to empty the register into a bag, according to police.
As the robber trained a silver firearm on the frightened 23-year-old, she dumped $400 into a sack, cops said.
Loot in hand, the thief fled the scene, officials said. He is believed to be between 5-foot-10 and 6-feet tall and was wearing a black do-rag, sunglasses, a black shirt and blue jeans.
Cops are looking for a duo caught on camera as two Morris Heights apartments were burglarized on Monday morning.
A thief broke into an apartment on Sedgwick Avenue near West Tremont Avenue at around 10 a.m., but nothing was stolen, police said.
But about 30 minutes later, a burglar swiped an iPad from an apartment in a building on the same street, near Roberto Clemente State Park, authorities said.
Cops released surveillance footage showing two people who entered one of the targeted buildings at around the same time as the break-ins.
One is believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, about 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a yellow and white baseball cap, a white T-shirt and dark-gray pants with white vertical stripes.
The second person of interest, also believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, is about 5-foot-7 and 200 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a dark-gray shirt and dark- gray shorts.
Queens
A teen was assaulted by three men inside a hookah bar in Ozone Park, cops said.
The suspects attacked the victim at the Aladdin Hookah Bar on Liberty Avenue near 109th Street at around 6:20 p.m. on June 10, police said.
The thugs kicked the victim, and one of the brutes bashed the 17-year-old boy’s head with a metal object, according to cops.
The attackers ran off and the youth was treated at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for an open head wound, police added.
The suspects are believed to be in their late teens or early 20s.