106th Officer Honored for Interrupting Car Theft by Stephen Geffon - Leader-Observer

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Pictured are Frank Dardani (left), Officer Filip Glowa (center), and Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis.

Officer Filip Glowa of the 106th Precinct was honored with the Cop of the Month award for May at last week’s Community Council meeting for his arrest of three individuals allegedly in the process of stealing a motor vehicle, according to Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct.

On Tuesday, May 25, at 11 a.m. Officer Glowa, who is assigned to the precinct’s Anti-crime Unit, was patrolling the southeastern portion of the precinct bordering the Van Wyck Expressway looking for auto theft suspects.

Courtesis said that on 134th Street between Sutter and 131st Avenues in South Ozone Park, Officer Glowa observed three men attempting to load a 2004 Ford Focus onto a tow truck. The inspector added that Glowa, well aware that this area had seen a spike in auto thefts, decided to investigate further.

He asked the individuals what was wrong with the vehicle and why it was being towed. One of the individuals claimed it was his car and he was having it removed from his property. According to Courtesis, the tow truck operator produced an MV-35 signed by one of the individuals who was at the scene. The inspector explained that an MV-35 is a state motor vehicle form prepared when an individual does not have the car’s title.

Courtesis said Officer Glowa felt something was wrong, since it is common for scrappers to forge the MV-35s and bring the car to a dismantler, where it can be cashed in for the weight of the metal in the vehicle.

The inspector said that during Glowa’s investigation the true owner of the vehicle came home and wanted to know why his vehicle was being loaded onto a tow truck.

The three individuals were arrested. Courtesis said the tow truck operator had 11 prior arrests and was on parole until 2016, and had seven prior auto theft arrests. The inspector said the second individual had eight prior arrests, five of which were violent felony arrests. Courtesis said the individual who was claiming that the car was his had seven prior arrests.

Lamborghini Seen at the Ozone Park Nissan dealer....

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It's nice to know someone has money in these tough economic times...I was told that this car sold for $250,000....Incredible..!

9 in Queens, Including Educator, Charged with Cutting Holes in Fences, Driving Off with Luxury Cars by Nicole Bode and Larry McShane - NY Daily News

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A middle school assistant principal was among nine arrested for stealing luxury SUVs, officials said. Above, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Anderson/News

A brazen band of Queens car thieves stole 16 luxury SUVs from local dealerships, swiping some by simply driving them through holes gouged into a chain-link fence, officials said Friday.

A nine-month probe dubbed "Operation Lockbox" produced nine arrests - including a Brooklyn middle school assistant principal, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

The car theft ring, focusing on BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes and Lincolns, made off with late-model SUVs worth more than $400,000.

The clever crooks' favorite target was the Recon Motors storage facility in Whitestone, where they easily dodged security to drive SUVs off the lot like buyers taking a late-night test drive, officials said.

Members of the ring used wire cutters to slice an enormous hole in the chain-link fence farthest away from the front gate security booth and then cruised into the night, authorities said.

The facility was not equipped with security cameras, and the thieves drove the cars through the parking lot of an adjoining business.

"They saw a weakness, and they exploited it," said Deputy Inspector Charles Talamo, head of the NYPD Auto Crimes Division.

In other cases, the thieves actually took the luxury vehicles for test drives and stole the dealer's keys - returning later to drive away with the SUVs.

Brown said the thieves "leisurely window-shopped" at nine dealerships in Queens, Brooklyn and on Long Island for the exact makes and models they wanted. The crew would create new VIN numbers for the vehicles before resale.

The arrests were the result of a joint NYPD-Queens DA probe. Talamo said the police were sometimes aware of the thefts before the dealerships.

The ring's accused mastermind, 54-year-old Melvin Pinckney of Brooklyn, was ordered held on $100,000 bail on a variety of charges.

He and co-conspirators David Jimenez, 40, and Alexander Gil, 34, both of Brooklyn, each face up to 15 years in prison.

Lisle Jackson, 54, was reassigned from his job at Middle School 61 in Brooklyn after he was released without bail. The 12-year veteran of the New York schools planned to supplement his $96,405 annual salary by re-selling the stolen SUVs to new buyers, officials said.

lmcshane@nydailynews.com