A 57-year-old Bronx man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating an NYPD official and making threats to victims across New York City to steal money and other goods, police said Wednesday.
Anthony Gonzalez was cuffed a day earlier on charges of grand and petit larceny, criminal impersonation and criminal possession of a weapon and stolen property, the NYPD said.
The NYPD says the first reported instance in the pattern dated back to July 2020, when Gonzalez allegedly fought with an employee at Radio City Apartments in midtown Manhattan. Police say the man brandished a firearm and police shield before threatening to have the employee "investigated by law enforcement."
In at least two other instances this year, the NYPD alleges Gonzalez impersonated an officer to offer victims help before coercing them "to pay him for services that were never rendered."
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Between a nearly two-week period in April, police said he removed a computer, 15 bottles of cologne, sneakers and clothing from a 60-year-old man. In May, he allegedly took nearly $4,000 from a 45-year-old man after posing as a detective.
Detectives investigating the robbery pattern allege Gonzalez had struck in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday if he had an attorney.
