Luckiest thief ever?
New video shows how a quick-footed bandit swiped a bucket from an armored truck in Midtown, which — allegedly unbeknownst to him — contained nearly $1.6 million worth of gold flakes, a report says.
The footage was obtained by NBC 4 New York and is said to show the man capitalizing on a 20-second window left open by the guards, one of whom was making a pickup while the other was walking to the front seat.
The theft unfolded on West 48th Street in the Diamond District on Sept. 29 — in broad daylight — as tourists and locals were walking in and out of the countless jewelry stores that line the block.
A surveillance camera captured the opportune heist on tape and showed the man making off with the 86-pound bucket. Throughout his hour-long escape, he appears to struggle with the gold flakes — stopping to set them down several times and even attempting to carry them on his shoulder at one point, according to NBC.
Authorities said his actions appeared to be those of a man who was completely unprepared.
“I think he just saw an opportunity, took the pail and walked off,” NYPD Detective Martin Pastor told NBC, adding that police believe the sticky-fingered swindler had no idea what he had just scored.
“I think when the lucky charm opened up the bucket, he’d seen the rainbow and seen the gold,” Pastor said.
Cops suspect that the man is lying low in Orlando or Miami until things blow over in the Big Apple.