Brooklyn Teen Says NYPD's Bogus Sob Story Prompted Illegal iPhone Sting Arrest

After the NYPD arrested 141 people in a four-day iPhone/iPad sting a few weeks ago, a Brooklyn business owner noted that one of his employees who was arrested "doesn't speak much English." Commissioner Ray Kelly dismissed the idea that any of the arrested were unlawfully detained. "It was clear that the devices had been stolen, in their minds," Kelly said. But now a Brooklyn teenager who was arrested claims he was entrapped by an undercover officer, telling the boy that the phone was purchased legally and that he needed to feed his daughter. "He was really persistent," 19-year-old Rob Tester tells the Brooklyn Paper. "I felt sympathy." Lesson learned: never do anything about the misfortune of others.

Tester, a BMCC student, was leaving the McKinley Park Library on Fort Hamilton Parkway when a man began begging him to buy his iPhone for $20. Tester said he refused, but the man was persistent, saying he couldn't feed his children on Christmas day. As soon as Tester paid for the phone, the police pounced, and he spend the next 26 hours in jail.

An employee at a 86th Street newsstand who witnessed another man get arrested in the sting, said in that case, the undercover agent also said the phone was purchased legally, and gave a similar sob story. "[The guy working with police] never said it was a stolen phone, he said that he bought it from an Apple store the day before, but now he needed the money for his wife."

NYPD spokesperson Paul Browne continues to deny that the police were entrapping people. “They were clearly told the items were stolen as the reason for them being offered for sale so cheaply,” he tells the paper.

Tester's father says he's hired attorney Matthew Galluzzo, and plans to sue the city. "If a police officer comes up and says, 'I own this thing,' that is not stolen, you don't have a right to arrest that person," Galluzzo says. "It's entrapment."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Christopher Robbins in News on December 28, 2011 1:24 PM

Comments [rss]

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e non

what ... the nypd entrapping people in bogus set-ups? unpossible!

bggb

Good work NYPD - focusing on the important things.

DrSysz

Just like the "terrorism" cases.......set 'em up, knock 'em over....one more flashy stat and one more flashy press conference. All a sham.....

Chris Norman

Listen, keeping a private army funded isn't cheap. So if Bloomberg has to pull a stunt like this to keep Apple opening stores in NYC transportation hubs, then why not cut these upstanding corporate citizens some slack?

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

$20 is not that far from what a reseller on CL would give you for a used Ipod. They offer $50 or such.

no body

this is doubly dumb because busting some idiot who didn't know better than to not buy something off the street. does nothing to stop the robberies, assaults, violence of criminals ganking gadgets from people. if NYPD really wanted to do something they'd raid those sketchy electronics shops that do jailbreaks and sell stolen phones. or... i dunno. catch the thieves.

EricKosten

As with all stories regarding the NYPD:

Don't you have something better to be doing, officers?

Colonel_Ingus

This reeks of complete bullshit.

swampyankeesmom

if it's too good to be true...

cr17

This is why Common Sense 101 needs to be a mandatory course for all college students.

First lecture: "Too good to be true? IT IS!"

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

This is why I keep a cheap MP3 player to use as a recording device. And have a 2 way recording feature on my answering machine.

NurseRachet

You have an answering machine!

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

Like insurance, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Just let everyone know you're recording this conversation and see what happens. Thankfully that's still legal in NYS.
Answering machine found for $5 at a thrift shop.

mistermarkdavis

He just got out of jail from when he baught a stollen star-tac flip phone.

inspacenyc

They do this all the time. It's their word against yours, and their superiors will back them up 100% of the time.

When will people learn? When somebody comes up to you with an offer like this, take out your phone and video tape them saying that the phone is not stolen, then buy it.

But in any case, everybody should know that anybody offering you an iPhone on the street for $20 is up to no good. If they give you some sob story about feeding family and you really feel genuinely bad, just give the guy 20 bucks and tell him to keep the phone.

Chris Norman

Or maybe the kid figured, "It's the holidays, and I can afford $20. Let me give him the cash, take the junk he's peddling, and prevent some out-of-town rube into getting suckered into paying more for this obvious scam."

What's next - commuters getting busted by the NYPD for throwing a dollar into the hat of a subway musician because he didn't pay the RIAA licensing fees for the song he was busking to?

cr17

And some sketchy person on the street will allow you to video tape them selling you the item and and saying it's not stolen?

Charles Alexander

Are the police this bored? And how many iPhones (Yx$399) were bought with tax payer money?

mistermarkdavis

If store owners are scared to buy stollen iPhones at any price from any one it is harder for thieves to unload the goods. It's very hard to catch thefts in the act.