‘Violent’ mugger in electrician shirt busted for 10 heists in NYC: cops
A “violent” mugger responsible for 10 robberies in Manhattan and Brooklyn — usually while wearing a bright neon yellow “Precision Electric” shirt — was grabbed by police early Friday, cops said.
Nicolas Giraldo, 26, was taken into custody early Tuesday by members of the NYPD Warrants Squad and charged with multiple counts of robbery, assault and grand larceny.
The Queens resident has been identified in at least 10 knifepoint muggings in Midtown, Chinatown and Murray Hill in Manhattan, and Brooklyn Heights.
His robbery spree began on May 7, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Thursday.
“He really takes off in June,” Essig said, noting that three of the robberies Giraldo committed occurred on the same day. “He’s a pretty violent guy. He comes up and sticks a knife in somebody’s face or body then he removes headphones or property.
“In some incidents he cuts them,” Essig said about Giraldo’s victims.
One of Giraldo’s victims, a 24-year-old man, suffered cuts and his side during a struggle with the mugger on W. 57th St. back on June 5, cops said.
On June 13, he stabbed a 55-year-old man in the arm during a tug-of-war over a laptop bag during a heist on Columbia Place and Joralemon St. in Brooklyn Heights.
Giraldo allegedly pulled a knife on three people in separate robberies around E. 35th St. in Murray Hill on June 19, taking expensive jewelry off of each victim, who ranged in age from 40 to 68.
None of his victims were seriously injured.
Cops linked the robberies together because Giraldo often wore the same shirt.
“He had this electrician’s shirt on,” Essig said.
Cops did not disclose if Giraldo worked for the electrician company. There are a handful of Precision Electric companies in the tri-state area.
His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Friday.
