A stop-and-frisk poster boy at the forefront of a pending federal lawsuit said Tuesday he wasn’t remorseful for selling tourists thousands of dollars in bogus Broadway and concert tickets after a Manhattan judge sentenced him to five years probation.
“I’m their karma and this is my karma — we all got karma,” said Angel Ortiz, 20, who copped to grand larceny and two counts of possession of a forged instrument as part of a no-jail plea deal last May.
“This happened to them because they were paying for something they did wrong.”
Ortiz was busted January 10th for swindling about $8,000 from at least six victims. He hawked fake tickets on Craigslist for hit Broadway shows like “Book of Mormon” and “Kinky Boots” and sporting events like Giants games.
He has to make full restitution in monthly installments of $200 and will have a criminal record.
Although he admits the scheme wasn’t worth it for him, he doesn’t feel bad for his victims, he said.
“It could have been a way worse experience for them,” he mused, wearing black slacks and a blue tie. “They could have come to NY and never left.”
Ortiz was first in the news as a high-profile plaintiff in anti-stop-and-frisk litigation in late 2012, posing for photos and giving media interviews outside Manhattan Federal court.
He claimed cops illegally stopped and frisked him before roughing him up for no reason near his Tremont Bronx home seven years ago.
This time the fraudster, who has been busted three times for pulling off the same scam, earned the police’s attention.
In the end the fast cash didn’t pay off. He spent a month in jail before his mother paid approximately $7,000 to bail him out – money he won’t get back, he said.
These days he’s sticking to legitimate employment and working as a doorman at a Midtown building.
“I’m happy I don’t have to come to court anymore,” said the baby-faced felon, flashing a warm smile as he left the building.