20 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 22, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Flushing man rigged ATMs to hit stolen cash jackpot: DA
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Using high-tech skills and a doctored
debit card, a Flushing man allegedly
turned two Queens ATMs into slot
machines that dispensed nearly a quarter
million dollars in cash to thieves,
prosecutors announced.
Eric Salazar Montano, 33, of Hollis
Court in the Auburndale section of
Flushing was arraigned on March 13 on
charges of grand larceny, computer tampering,
criminal possession of a forged
instrument and computer trespassing.
According to Queens District Attorney
Richard A. Brown, Montano and an
unidentifi ed cohort hacked into automated
teller machines at a Kew Gardens deli and
the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst in two
incidents last December. Posing as technicians,
they allegedly manipulated the ATMs
in such a way that they soon spewed out
greenbacks like slot machines in a casino.
As a result, authorities said, several
unidentifi ed people linked to Montero
visited the machines and scooped up
thousands of dollars in cash without even
swiping a card or punching in a PIN.
“As society becomes more tech savvy,
today’s criminals are keeping pace and
fi nding new ways to enrich themselves
illegally,” Brown said in a March 14 statement.
“Th is new trend is called ‘jackpotting,’
and we are set to deliver big losses
for gamblers who ante up.”
Law enforcement sources said the fi rst
jackpotting incident occurred on Dec. 28,
2017, at a grocery store on Metropolitan
Avenue in Kew Gardens. Police said that
Montero and an unidentifi ed accomplice,
while posing as uniformed technicians,
were seen on security cameras opening up
an ATM. Th ey allegedly manipulated the
machine, then left the store for a few minutes
before returning.
Soon aft er the suspects came back, the
criminal complaint noted, several unapprehended
others approached the ATM
one at a time. Without using a bank card,
they removed $154,000 in cash that the
machine dispensed.
Two days later, on Dec. 30, Montero
and another unapprehended individual
were seen approaching an ATM at the
Queens Center Mall. Aft er tinkering with
the device, Brown said, a co-defendant
and several other unapprehended persons
collected more than $87,000 in dispensed
cash.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill
noted that the NYPD Financial Crimes
Task Force, with the assistance of the
U.S. Secret Service, cracked the case and
tracked Montero down. In executing a
search warrant at Montero’s home on
Tuesday, police found a forged credit/
debit card and more than $42,000 in cash.
Montero was ordered held on $30,000
bond or $15,000 cash and to return to
court on March 27. He faces up to 15
years behind bars if convicted.
Photos: Twitter/@NYPD105Pct
Masked duo wanted for Qns.
Village pharmacy heist
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Police are looking for two men who robbed a Queens Village
pharmacy at gunpoint and took off with prescription medications.
According to police, at 5:05 a.m. on March 11, two unknown
men wearing masks and gloves entered a CVS, located at 219-39
89th Ave., and encountered a 21-year-old male employee. Aft er
asking where the store’s pharmacy was, one of the suspects took
the employee’s cellphone so he couldn’t call 911.
Once they reached the pharmacy, one of the suspects put a gun
to the pharmacist’s head and demanded that he open the safe. Th e
pharmacist complied, and the suspects took a large quantity of
prescription pills.
Th e suspects fl ed the scene with an undetermined amount
of prescription medications and two iPhones. No injuries were
reported as a result of the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the
Queens Robbery Squad at 718-321-2283.
Four days earlier, a Walgreens in South Ozone Park was robbed
at gunpoint by two men who took off with an undetermined
amount of prescription pills. At this time, it is unknown if there is
a connection between the two robberies.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Costa Constantinides
Help decide how to spend $1 million for
neighborhood improvements in Astoria
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
@AngelaMatua
Councilman Costa
Constantinides is giving Astoria
residents a chance to decide
how $1 million in participatory
budgeting should be spent to
improve their community.
Nearly 400 residents brainstormed
more than 600 ideas for
how the money could be spent
last fall and the proposals were
whittled down to 12. Now, residents
will vote on their top fi ve
projects in a variety of locations
from April 9 through April 13.
“Th is program is a rewarding
opportunity for our community
to become more civically
engaged and get a hands-on
experience with the city budget
process,” Constantinides said.
“I thank everyone who brainstormed
and submitted capital
project ideas, who volunteered
to join our committees, and who
discussed and debated these proposals
over the last few months.
I’m looking forward to seeing
which projects the community
likes best.”
Th e ballot proposals include
$250,000 for road repair and
resurfacing; $3,000 for installing
a tool shed at Two Coves
Community Garden, which is
located at Eighth Street between
Astoria Boulevard and 30th
Avenue; and $150,000 for
lighting at the Astoria Houses
Community Center.
Many of the ballot proposals
include upgrades to neighborhood
schools such as $350,000
for technology updates and
$250,000 for a hydroponics lab
at Long Island City High School;
a $250,000 gate refurbishment
for M.S. 126; and $125,000 to
replace the audio and video system
at P.S. 122’s auditorium.
A $150,000 tech lab for I.S.
10, $300,000 for a STEM lab
at I.S. 41, a $250,000 research
library at P.S. 17, and a $450,000
security system for the Young
Women’s Leadership School are
also included on the ballot.
Residents can also vote to redo
the children’s area at Astoria and
Steinway libraries for $300,000.
Astoria residents can vote on how to spend $1 million in their neighborhood.
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