A 76-year-old ex-con who's been arrested some 37 times over the past three decades is behind bars again after being caught in a sting operation at the Upper West Side Fairway on Broadway. Responding to complaints about pickpockets working the aisles, undercover cops left a wallet in a shopping cart and arrested the woman after she allegedly stuffed it into her bra, sources tell the Post. The suspect, who goes by many aliases—the most current being Katherine Kelly—most recently did a year at Rikers after being caught thieving while on parole.
"She was a pickpocket terrorist and had to be caught," an NYPD source declares. The Post spoke with her occasional partner in crime, 71-year-old Richard Schiulaz, who got busted with Kelly during a 2006 C-Town job. He says, "She's like a damn gypsy. You never know where she's going next...But she's a 76-year-old woman who can hardly walk—her back hurts her so bad. How could this woman knock off 25 stores—that's impossible. What's her secret? I'd like to know."
In 2004, the Daily News covered Kelly's exploits with Schiulaz, when she was reportedly 69 and going by the name Charlotte Martinelli. The two were arrested after a failed hair salon caper on Long Island, which involved "Martinelli" entering the salon in clown makeup and asking to use the bathroom. Instead, she tried (and failed) to grab $2,000 in cash from the office while Schiulaz called 911 to report a bogus robbery across the street and divert cops. An emergency truck answering the false call struck a car at an intersection, injuring a middle-aged couple. Angelica Huston and Gary Busey can expect calls from Hollywood producers by the end of the day.
