Staten Island

Serial Burglar Sneaks Through Hole to Rob SI Deli; Has Made Off With $100K From 5 Stores

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A sophisticated thief clad all in black was seen on surveillance video breaking into a Staten Island deli through a tiny hole in the wall in the latest in a string of robberies — but the amount of money the suspect has made off with is anything but tiny.

Store clerk Sheehan Pererer walked into the store and saw the ATM was rifled through and the safe was cracked open.

"It's like crazy what's going on," Pererer said.

So how did he get inside the wall? The suspect apparently climbed through the ceiling tiles of the store next door, before eventually making his way inside the Grand Delfino Deli in Great Kills during the week of Nov. 1, Deputy Inspector Levon Holly told NBC New York.

According to police, the bandit made ripped off the store to the tune of $10,000. But this is far from the first time police believe this particular suspect has struck. There have been four other burglaries in four other precincts on Staten Island, with the thief getting away with more than $100,000 in ill-gotten gains in all.

There is no surveillance from any of the other robberies because the thief has a tendency to take the system, but didn't take it from the deli for some reason.

The thefts come at a time when the small businesses like the ones that have been targeted are struggling to make ends meet. Pererer said that the deli has lost about 40 percent of its business this year.

"Most of the stores are mom-and-pop stores sacrificing their own safety to help get the people of the community the necessities that they need," Holley said.

Anyone with information regarding the robberies is asked to contact police or the NYPD's Major Crimes Unit.

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