N.Y.’ers Like a Good Laugh,
But This Joke Did Not Ignite
There are three kinds of bomb scares-well, at least three. There are those involving innocent objects (such as attaché cases or even paper bags) that in this diabolical age are mistakenly suspected of being explosive devices. Then there are actual bombs packed with real explosives. Somewhere in between are hoax bombs, such as the one the cops encountered on April 17.
The device that commanded the NYPD’s attention was discovered atop a Verizon phone booth located at the northwest corner of 80th Street and Second Avenue at 8:45 p.m. It resembled a pipe bomb, so the cops cordoned off the area and requested a second opinion-from the department’s Emergency Service Unit. The E.S.U. arrived and, agreeing that the object looked hostile, asked the bomb squad to have a look.
After what the police described as a “thorough examination” aided by the use of something called a “
The 19th Precinct’s detective squad was also on the scene conducting investigations, and the crime-scene unit showed up to dust for prints-not only at the phone booth where the device was discovered, but also at two other phone booths across the street, the suspicion apparently being that the hoaxer might have called 911 himself and then hung out to enjoy the fun.
“It’s not like it was a false report,” observed Inspector James Rogers, the 19th Precinct’s commanding officer. “It was something made to look like it was a device. It was more than the average bomb scare we receive.
“We want the community to be our eyes and ears-not to think nothing of it, because it’s not the world we live in anymore,” he added.
The Strip House
Nobody ever suggested that visiting an upscale Manhattan topless bar was going to be cheap. Nonetheless, a patron of one such establishment felt he was way overcharged last November, despite the fact that the club’s dancers have some of the best tans and biggest personalities in the business. The incident wasn’t reported to the police until April 14.
According to the victim, a 53-year-old East 74th Street resident, he and a friend were about to leave the bar when they were approached by four men who informed him that his tab was $8,500-which comes out to a lot of lap dances.
When the customer disputed the charges and told the gentlemen that he’d take up the matter with American Express, they didn’t discourage him from doing so, but, he claims, they also told him that they weren’t returning his Amex card until he signed the receipt.
The victim later called American Express to settle the confusion. But when he did, he said, he discovered that his bar bill had since grown to $28,021.06. He informed the police that he hadn’t authorized the charges. Nor did he enjoy any of the goods or services listed on the receipts. He also said that the signature wasn’t his.
Fast Friends
It’s bad enough to lose your handbag when you go bar hopping-but it’s really distressing when you lose your friends, too. That’s the misfortune that befell one 26-year-old woman on April 20. She’d stepped outside Brother Jimmy’s, a bar at 1485 Second Avenue, to answer her cell phone because it was too noisy inside.
In the meantime, she left her bag with her companions, assuming it was safe. But when the victim, an East 27th Street resident, returned about 15 minutes later, not only was her property missing, so were her buddies. The black handbag’s contents included $680 in cash, a $150 money order and a Commerce Bank A.T.M. card.
Ralph Gardner Jr. can be reached at rgard135@aol.com.
