30 BUSTS AND SEVERAL STINTS IN PRISON ... AND HE'S STILL OM THE STREETS

After more than 30 busts, alleged pickpocket nabbed again at Rock Center — and released 

 

By Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

 

New York Post

December 12, 2021

 

                                   

Gary Teasley was arrested by police after they said he attempted to steal from a woman near the Rockerfeller Center Christmas tree on December 10, 2021 

 

State records online show that Gary Teasley has done several stints in state prison, most recently on a 2018 grand larceny conviction 

 

He’s the Grinch who stole your wallet.

A serial pickpocket with more than 30 busts under his belt was pinched again last week while targeting unsuspecting tourists at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, only to be dumped back on the street the next day, law enforcement sources and authorities told The Post.

Gary Teasley, 65 — who has been known to wear snazzy outfits, including a long dark fur coat and fashionable hat, during his alleged crimes — is so familiar to cops that they’re on a first-name basis, a source said.

Teasley is such an illicit pro that he also used to keep a storage locker with stolen wallets and other goods — and a detailed record of the heists, broken down by location and category, sources said. 

But the ex-con didn’t even get slapped with a supervised-release restriction, much less a bail, after his latest arrest.

In his latest bust, Teasley was charged with allegedly trying to rob a 71-year-old tourist from Massachusetts at the holiday hotspot, his favorite haunt this time of year, sources said.

Teasley was arrested Friday after police said they spotted him unzipping the woman’s purse and reaching inside, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

“We caught him red-handed,’’ a source said. “We called him by his first name. We said, ‘Hey, Gary, don’t give us a hard time.’  We’ve arrested this guy so many times, we’re on a first-name basis.

“He knows the deal, he was saying, ‘DAT, [desk appearance ticket],’ the whole bail-reform thing.

He’s “a very sharp guy, $1,000 suits, skilled at his craft,” the source said. “A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Teasley was hauled into court Saturday on charges of fourth-degree attempted grand larceny and “jostling.” He was released without bail.

Prosecutors had asked that he be released but with supervised restrictions, a rep for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Sunday. The judge denied the request.

“I’ve personally been arresting him for 20 years,’’ a police source said. “These guys are all coming out of the woodwork around the tree.’’

Teasley has a lengthy criminal record, mostly for possession of stolen property, the sources said. 

State records online show that he has done several stints in state prison in the past, most recently on a 2018 grand larceny conviction.

He was paroled from the Cape Vincent Correctional Facility in upstate New York in November 2019 in that case, the records show.

He’s due back in Manhattan court on the new arrest Jan. 14.

The Post was unable to find a working phone number for Teasley.