True Gotham

Good news, bad news.  The good is that we FINALLY have the surveillance video from the Open House that was robbed this past  Sunday.  The bad news is that they aren't nearly as clear as we had hoped but they are good enough to alert the industry and the public to this duo of thieves who have apparently hit at least (probably more) 5 open houses since October 21st.  Note the brunette fixing her wig in the elevator.  My agent who caught them in the act is almost certain that the brunette is a man in drag.  The blonde was a bit smarter than her partner as she was careful to not show too much of her face on the video.  She seems to be a real woman too. 

Here are the pics and they are being circulated around my industry and to the public in an effort to thwart any future robberies and possibly capture these dregs.

  The duo together entering the elevator.

The adjustment of the WIG!

 Entering the building

Best pic of the blond.

We are still reviewing more images but this is a start.  As we capture more images and are able to "clean them up" and perhaps enlarge them we will post as available.

To my colleagues and the public,

First and foremost, it appears that this couple has pulled this off numerous times over the past month.  Having said that, this is by no means a reason to be overly anxious or suspicious as most of those I have spoken to in the industry have never heard of this happening before.  I'm not a detective at all but it appears that this is an isolated incident of serial robbers taking advantage of the open house market.  Open houses remain one of the primary sources for buyers and i will at NO TIME suggest that people discontinue having them.  They remain the most powerful tool to sell most apartments!

I am suggesting that all of us be a bit more diligent about keeping our eyes on those that attend our open houses and that sellers LOCK UP valuables such as cameras, iPods, cell phones, jewelry, medication, credit cards and other small "stashable" items of value.  For a great list of what homeowners should do to prepare and protect themselves, visit my colleague Peter Comitini's blog.

Here's to these thieves being captured!

UPDATE: If you recognize these women call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. All calls are anonymous.

UPDATE:  Not just caught on camera but "caught" as in apprehended!  On Saturday, 11/24 the duo was apprehended and charged.

Aren't those the lunching ladies from the Carmel ad?

"Sometimes he takes me shopping..."

"Sometimes he takes me to open houses to pick up a few things..."

I knew the real estate crash was going to bring crime, but not like this...

Doug, I commend you for posting this. As you implied, open houses are key to a successful sale, so one might think it would go against your best interest as a RE agent to publicize this.

Thanks for bringing awareness - I hope these people get caught and others are deterred.

Thank you very much newbie. Really!!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that. I'm sincerely coming at this from a position of trying to prevent this from happening again. I have never heard of it in my 16 years and would like to go another 16 without this experience.

Some have accused me of self-promotion and "opening a can of worms" which sickens me and at moments makes me wish I had just ignored it. But if I did ignore it and someone got really hurt or killed by these wackos, I would be very upset for not doing what I could to prevent that.

This transcends business.

This is so great that they've been caught by the camera! Surely someone will recognize them.

Of course, your integrity speaks for itself, and I'm not questioning your statement but I'm blown away that in 16 years of selling real estate in New York that you've "never heard of it." I would think that open houses present the perfect opportunity for thieves and I've heard of several instances where CD's, DVD's, and medications have found their way out the door.

Do you guys ID people who come to open houses? I could see that being a good deterrent but nobody does it here.

Norm,

Only after I posted this story and shared these photos with my colleagues did others share stories. I truly never heard of this until now and many of my colleagues in the biz longer than I haven't heard of it either.

I think ID'ing people is a great idea and as I commented to another poster, it will take some getting used to for the buying public but it would increase safety.

As a transgendered person, I resent the reference to a man "in drag," and "wackos" which has been picked up by the equally ignorant news media. I don't see anyone in a ball gown, sequins, elaborate makeup and all the other accoutrements of drag queens. Many transgendered people would consider a slur, and I certainly do.

Jay,

By no means was any of this an attempt to slander the transgender community. In fact, when googling the word "drag" even the Encarta encyclopedia defines it as "clothing of opposite sex: clothing characteristic of one sex worn by a member of the other, especially women's clothing when worn by men." So I do apologize because the clothing was relatively unisex. It was the wig and ton of make-up that resulted in the "drag" label from my perspective and again I meant no disrespect whatsoever.

As far as the "wacko" label, that does not have anything to do with one of these people wearing a wig and makeup but everything to do with their brazen crimes.

As the police try to catch these people, I think it's imperative to describe that one was a man with a brunette wig and makeup on. Perhaps the word "drag" was indeed inappropriate and again I apologize to you and the entire transgender community for any offense taken. Consider this my education on the subject and I certainly won't use it incorrectly again.

I could be mistaken, but I think I saw those two sitting in the Starbucks on Columbus and 67th earlier in the week. I remember thinking how much the brunette was an obvious man in drag but that the blonde might be a real woman. They were examining a garment that they were holding up, having taken it out of a bag. It looked like a pale silk skirt or perhaps an undergarment. They were sitting right inside the front window on the Kiehl's side. I don't know if Starbucks has a security camera, but there may be one on Columbus that might have captured them. (I just guessed at the time that they were a cross-dresser and his wife, but the way they were examining the goods was odd.

Tony,

This is precisely the type of information that should be conveyed to crimestoppers. Call them and let them know. Perhaps police can review Starbucks video for better images.

Doug- I also commend you for coming out with this info- I believe it is critical that as a community, we protect our sellers- by being mindful of suspicious Open House visitors. Because of your story, I believe I identfied a pair today in one of my Open Houses, and without causing any drama, I followed them very closely and escorted them out of the property in the nicest way possible... I am convinced from their inability to respond to my search related questions that they were not real buyers... And one of my associates had the same vibe. Your disclosure allowed me to feel comfortable hovering over them as I was not feeling comfortable with the vibe I had. We need to keep the Open Houses going, yet protecting our clients at the same time.

Thanks Jessica. I learned a ver valuable lesson last week. Doing the right thing isn't always comfortable and well received. That is why I so appreciate comments like yours.

I am always amazed at the poor quality of video captured today.
There is simply no reason that a building of this quality doesn't have useable video.
Why bother if it is of no use.
Hasn't the doorman, porter, building manager looked at previous captured video and commented how it didn't show faces or give a way to determine height.
Downward facing cameras are useless unless you are facinated by peoples scalps.