Cops: $4 Million Diamond Heist Staged

Inside job carried out by criminals dressed in hasidic costumes.

$4M 'Hasidic' diamond heist staged: cops
By JAMIE SCHRAM • New York Post

Two Diamond District wholesalers were arrested yesterday for staging a bizarre $4 million jewel heist in 2008 involving two purported thieves disguised as Hasidic Jews, in a holdup straight out of the 2001 movie "Snatch," police said.

Atul Shah, 48, and Mahaveer Kankariya, 43, were charged with grand larceny, insurance fraud and falsifying business records in connection with the bogus gunpoint robbery at their Midtown store on New Years Eve.

Law enforcement sources said enhanced video surveillance footage showed the owners stealing the jewelry prior to the fake heist.

"The whole thing was set up," one source said.

One of the phony bandits is currently being questioned at the Midtown North stationhouse, sources said. His accomplice is still at large.

The bogus heist occurred in broad daylight on Dec. 31, 2008, when the robbers — sporting Orthodox garb of black coats, hats and beards, flashed fake ID's to lobby security at 2 West 46th Street and then rode the elevator up to Dialite Imports on the fifth floor, cops said.

After they were buzzed inside the store, the duo pulled out guns and held up Shah and another employee, cops said. The "heist" mimics the opening scene of the film, in which Benicio Del Toro and a slew of diamond thieves disguise themselves as Hasidic Jews.

Shah was ordered to clean out the safe of all diamonds and jewels. The intruders then tied up the two men with duct tape before fleeing.

[Hat Tip: Yankle.]

Comments

[WoolSilkCotton]

This story has nothing to do with anything about Jews.

The crooked owners are not Jewish. The disguised phoney bandits are not hasidim (you can tell their cheeks are shaved and the beards are thus not natural). So why is this an FM story?

[yankele]

Because I thought it was funny and Shmarya agreed.

[Big Jew]

WoolSilkCotton
Its the chareidims fault. If not for chareidim or chassidim these crooks wouldn't have who to disguise themselves like so really in a way its the chareidims fault. Boo Chareidim. Chareidim are bad! Lol Shmarya is pathetic isn't he?

[Shmarya]

Its the chareidims fault. If not for chareidim or chassidim these crooks wouldn't have who to disguise themselves like so really in a way its the chareidims fault. Boo Chareidim. Chareidim are bad! Lol Shmarya is pathetic isn't he?

I'm not pathetic but you certainly are.

No try to read what Yankle said and then process it.

If that's too difficult for you, ask for help.

Jerk.

[Chana Blima Cohen]

These crooks were shmegegis. End of story

[effie]

I liked the heist scene in Snatch.

[Big Jew]

Shmarya
So when someone non Jewish commits a crime and tries to steal 4 million its funny yet if the guy is Chareidi its the most serious thing in the world and you attack full force. What a POS you are.

[Mr. Apikorus]

Must be Jorge Torres Puello up to no good. Again.

[Shmarya]

So when someone non Jewish commits a crime and tries to steal 4 million its funny yet if the guy is Chareidi its the most serious thing in the world and you attack full force. What a POS you are.

A bit slow on the uptake, eh?

What is funny is these guys chose to model their heist after a scene from a movie, and then dressed up as hasidic Jews in a less than convincing way to pull it off – all when they work with hasidic Jews every day, and should have known better.

Think about that, if your POS brain even has the capability to think at all.

[True Blue Aussie]

"Think about that, if your POS brain even has the capability to think at all."

I hope this blog does not end up being a battle field....these insults and personal attacks really don't belong here....

@Big Jew...
If you don't like what is here then just scroll to the top and click on the red X in the right hand corner...
And your problem will be solved...))

[WoolSilkCotton]

Not sure what's so funny about staging a jewelry robbery, and risking a confrontation with security guards or police. These scum were armed; were they willing to shoot a guard or a cop? How funny would that have been?

[Big Jew]

WoolSilkCotton
You expect to understand Shmaryas sense of humor? We arent smart enough....

[Chabadnik Attorney]

Not all the articles posted here are meant to portray Haredim in a negative light. The problem is that there is that perception and when reading the articles the tendency is to see them in that light.

I sometimes have to read a post several times to try to figure out the point of its being posted here. I will admit guilt that my first tendency is as above but then I take a deepo breath and try to think if thats really the point.

This post is hyterical and the point is obvious (after some thought :))

[WoolSIlkCotton]

The NYPD doesn't seem to share our host's findings of humor in this story, either.

[effie]

WSC: Police departments all over the country laugh at dumb crooks.

It's not clear if the other employee was in on it. However, the owner was and he was present. The two were left tied up. It was planned so no one could trip the alarm inside and the security guards on the ground level had no way of knowing if anything was amiss. It's unclear if they even exited out pass the security guards or took a different route. Anyway, it was planned so there would be no confrontations.

[Mike Shapiro]

Whether the "heist" actually had to do with Chasidim is relevant only in that many of them have committed such heinous acts that the police could easily buy into the theory that the robbery was committed by black coats. In actuality, this story absolutely proves the Jimmy Breslin theory of the criminal mind. Specifically, criminals are so dumb that, if they didn't use crooked methods to make money, they would starve to death.

[Bilaam's Ass]

not starve there's always welfare newsquare

[kasha varnishkas]

One of them is the rabbi who made a sexual pass at me!!(lol)

He deserves to be arrested! Filthy thief.

[Vintage Rings]

Thank you for sharing the video !! These crooks were shmegegis. I liked the last scene of it. It was quite funny one. I enjoyed it very much. If you don't mind , Can i Also download this video..