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Federal charges are in the works against the violent armed robbers who’ve swiped more than $4 million worth of pricey watches and jewelry from patrons at trendy Big Apple hotspots, the city’s top cop said Tuesday.
In a pair of interviews, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said local and federal law enforcement officials were seeking to take down the crew, which The Post exclusively revealed Monday is affiliated with the notorious Trinitarios gang and calls itself “OED” — for “Own Every Dollar.”
“The message to these people should be very clear: We are going to come after you with the full might and fury of the criminal justice system, including federally, and put [you] away for as long as we possibly can,” Shea said on 1010 WINS.
On FOX 5, he said the NYPD was working with “all five district attorneys, multiple federal agencies on a task force” to shut down the criminal enterprise eyed in over a dozen robberies.
“There have been some arrests, but the problem is still ongoing,” Shea said. “You can absolutely expect more arrests as we get closer to hopefully bring us to a conclusion.”
Law-enforcement sources said Tuesday that investigators had now tied a total of 16 robberies to the ring: 14 in Manhattan and one each in Queens and The Bronx.
They include last month’s shooting of an outdoor diner at the Philippe Chow restaurant on the Upper East Side who fought back after another patron had his Rolex watch stolen, and Thursday’s gunpoint robbery of about $150,000 worth of jewelry from a Diamond District store owner who was leaving Tribeca’s Buddha-Bar New York restaurant and lounge.
Shea’s comments came a day after an NYPD cop fired three shots through the windshield of a black BMW in which three suspects allegedly fled after being spotted casing the scene outside the Pergola restaurant in Chelsea.
On Aug. 19, a 34-year-old man was robbed of $100,000 worth of jewelry — including an Audemars Piguet watch — after he left Pergola.
Cops caught one of Monday’s suspects — Wilson Mendez, 19, of The Bronx — following a brief chase and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of cuts to his face.
But Mendez has yet to be charged in Manhattan Criminal Court and his whereabouts on Tuesday were unknown.
His lawyer, Dawn Florio, said only, “We’re going to fight the charges vigorously.”
Spokespersons for the US Attorney Offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn declined to comment.
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