Machete-Wielding Desperados Raid Secret Gambling Dens in New York’s Chinatowns, Slashing Card Players — Who Don’t Want the Police Involved

Ruthless raiders are going for broke by targeting underground gaming parlors hidden deep within New York City’s Asian communities. Since last week, the NYPD remains on the hunt for a six-deep crew who stormed into a gambling den shrouded behind a storefront facade in Brooklyn’s Chinatown, the Sun has learned. Shortly after midnight on March 27, the bandits — toting guns, machetes, and even crude pipes — swarmed the playpen hiding among a stretch of mostly Asian eateries and mom-and-pop businesses along 8th Avenue near 68th Street at Sunset Park. The assailants roughed up four patrons — stripping them of their jewelry and cash, according to a law enforcement source. After snatching the riches, the crooks fled in two separate cars.First responders arrived to find a 47-year-old man slashed to the chest, a 32-year-old man gashed in the arm, a 41-year-old man with a head injury, and a 44-year-old man suffering a foot injury.They described to officers that their elusive attackers were four Asian and two white. The same Sunset Park neighborhood was targeted again hours later. Shortly before 2 a.m. cops were called to another storefront fronting a gaming parlor on 58th Street near 8th Avenue. CCTV footage showed one man and at least one accomplice had pried open the door and swiped cash before fleeing. At least one potential person of interest, a 38-year-old-man, was quizzed about the burglary; but released without charges. It is unclear if the burglary has any ties to the wet work committed by the six-man crew from the day prior.The NYPD has been on the gambling den offensive. In mid-March, the NYPD’s 72 Precinct brass hailed a gambling den raid. The establishment had been serving patrons out of a storefront on 57th Street near Sixth Avenue. Stacks of cash (mostly one-dollar bills) resting beside accounting ledgers served as police-seized trophies. “Great job by Patrol Officers Lui & Chen on shutting down an illegal gambling den,” reads the 72 Precinct tweet. “Unlicensed premises like these foster a safe haven for illegal activities, & our community will NOT tolerate it. Your dedication to keeping our streets safe is truly appreciated!”The Sun has learned that three men in their 50s and 60s were nabbed and facing illegal gambling charges. Last August, cops shuttered another suspected basement gambling parlor. The trio of arrests out of the illegal gambling spot on 59th Street near 9th Avenue in nearby Borough Park involved a 29-year-old man claiming he had been taken hostage. The victim said that he had forfeited a wad of foreign cash to his captors after they came charging in shortly after midnight on August 16. The three men, all in their 30s, were slapped with robbery and unlawful imprisonment. On Aug. 1, a Manhattan Chinatown mahjong gaming parlor drew police after a lone raider, identified later as Joshua Dorsett, shook down numerous women at gunpoint. The 22-year-old man was captured on CCTV footage stepping inside of the den located on Canal Street shortly after 4 p.m. In his attempt to dodge arrest, Dorsett tossed several handbags filled with valuables. Bystanders recovered the bags and the loot. Dorsett was cornered by cops at Eldridge Street. The armed man soon was engaged in a struggle for his gun — one round squeezed off hitting a cop in the upper thigh and that same bullet managed to pass through and graze another, police said at the time.The Manhattan man was booked on attempted murder of a police officer, possession of a loaded gun and five counts of robbery. He is due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 12.Gambling parlors have long been considered easy pickings for robbers due to being high volume cash enterprises, according to a police source. Word travels of their existence; often through insulated, ethnic neighborhoods — all operating behind closed doors and often in the shadow of night. Good Sams are less abundant in these cases. That’s because there’s a high reluctance of customers and proprietors to report any crimes due to the illegal nature of the business, the source added.Beyond the secrecy factor, investigators are up against determining the tally of losses. Given that the robberies often involve live games — it’s difficult to get a hard count of the casino’s bank which fluctuates with wins and losses. And calculating the value of jewelry swiped from its patrons (some of whom are known to vanish before the arrival of the law) only compounds the difficulty of catching the thieves.NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced in February that beginning this summer, the NYPD will roll out a precinct-based Quality of Life Enforcement teams or “Q-teams” to deter and do away with the stain of gaming parlors among other community maladies that are fielded through the city’s 311 system. The enforcement and progress will also be followed with the NYPD’s CompStat statistical approach to measure the success of the teams.

Machete-Wielding Desperados Raid Secret Gambling Dens in New York’s Chinatowns, Slashing Card Players — Who Don’t Want the Police Involved

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