Thief takes off with bucket of gold flakes
NYPD hoping to catch the crook who struck in broad daylight and walked away with $1.6 million
The man police say snatched $1.6 million worth of gold flakes from an armored truck in New York City in September was arrested Thursday in Ecuador, The Daily News reported.
The report said Julio Nivelo, 53, was deported four times to Ecuador, but managed to make his way back to the U.S. Federal agents from Homeland Security assisted in his capture.
The report said authorities believe Nivelo made his way from New York to Florida and then to California. It is believed he made his way to Ecuador from California.
He was described in the report as a career criminal and police sources told the paper he made similar grabs ranging from jewelry in a courier truck and camera equipment.
Still, the video of the gold flakes swipe was remarkably brazen to many.
The footage is said to show the man capitalizing on a 20-second window left open by the guards, one of whom was making a pickup while the other was walking to the front seat.
The theft unfolded on West 48th Street in the Diamond District on Sept. 29 — in broad daylight — as tourists and locals were walking in and out of the countless jewelry stores that line the block.
A surveillance camera captured the opportune heist on tape and showed the man making off with the 86-pound bucket. Throughout his hour-long escape, he appears to struggle with the gold flakes — stopping to set them down several times and even attempting to carry them on his shoulder at one point, according to NBC.
There is no immediate word as to where the gold flakes are.
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