College Point scam artist arrested

From the Daily News:

A 50-year-old Queens man has been collard for a crime spree against motorists where he posed as a Good Samaritan then ripped them off as they were distracted, police said.

Mario Gutierrez, of College Point, was involved in four of the 16 incidents since August — 13 in Queens — where a team of thieves used similar tactics, police said.

In one case, Gutierrez swiped $40,600 in cash from a man who had just come out of a bank, police said. Authorities believe at least two other suspects were involved in the crime spree.

One man would tell the victim that he or she has a flat tire, and while the driver was checking for damage an accomplice swiped valuables from the car, cops said.

In some cases, the tires may have been slashed beforehand by the suspects. In the majority of cases, there was no damage at all, a police source told the Daily News on Tuesday.

In three incidents, the con men also sprayed victims’ jackets with unknown substances or convinced them to take off their outerwear for cleaning, then the suspects emptied the pockets, cops said.