Chelsea pipe bomb
A two-by-four-inch pipe bomb exploded at 1:10 a.m. Tues. Sept. 4 in front of Studio Dante, 257 W. 29th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves., and blew the windshield out of a car parked at the curb, police said. No one was injured and police said the bomb was not believed to be an act of terrorism. Studio Dante is a theater and acting studio owned by Michael Imperiolli, a former star in “The Sopranos” HBO television show, and his wife, Victoria. A Sept. 6 New York Post article reported that the bomb was intended as a “message” for Imperiolli, but a police spokesperson said only that the case was under investigation and there was no determination yet on who planted the bomb or why.
Chelsea bomb scare
A report of a suspicious black briefcase that was left in a nail salon on W. 23rd St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves on Fri. Aug. 31 brought police to the location at 3:10 p.m. and forced people to leave the building until bomb squad police determined the briefcase did not have explosives.
Robbery arrest
Police arrested Kareen Anderson, 26, on Sat. Aug. 25, a few minutes after he held up a victim at gunpoint on Sixth Ave. at W. 25th St. Police apprehended him on W. 27th St. at 4:30 a.m. when he dropped his gun as he was attempting to run. Anderson is being held in lieu of $40,000 bail pending an Oct. 3 State Supreme Court arraignment.
Unlawful imprisonment
Police arrested Michael Rizzo, 29, at 6:20 a.m. Mon. Aug. 20 and charged him with assault and unlawful imprisonment for holding his girlfriend by the neck and pulling her hair to prevent her leaving his car parked on E. 30th St., and Park Ave. S. Arresting officers found an illegal gravity knife on the driver’s side of the dashboard and charged Rizzo with weapon possession. He is free on $5,000 bail pending a Dec. 6 court appearance.
Club burglary
Burglars with a chain saw and a drill entered Stereo, the club at 512 W. 29th St., sometime between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sun Sept. 3, drilled open a safe in the manager’s office and made off with $30,000, police said. The theft was discovered at 10 p.m. Sunday when the manager arrived to open for business. The burglars forced open a door on the east side of the building, but the door to the manager’s office was not forced and could only be opened by a key code, police said.
Stolen license, credit cards
Police investigating a street robbery around noon Tues. Sept. 4 stopped a man on suspicion on Ninth Ave. at W. 19th St., asked to seek his driver’s license for identification, and discovered the license had been stolen. The suspect also had two credit cards that were stolen. Jeffrey Hargrove, 37, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property. He was not charged in the street robbery.
Rowdy teen
A 15-year-old boy who was yelling and cursing on the platform of the IND station at Eighth Ave. and 23rd St. at 3:15 p.m. Tues. Sept 4, got on a train still yelling and refused to obey the conductor who told him to get off, police said. “I ain’t getting off this [expletive deleted] train. Arrest me. I’ll go to jail.” He was arrested and charged with obstructing government administration.
DWI checkpoint arrests
Police at an auto traffic checkpoint on W. 25th St. just west of Ninth Ave. stopped Daniel Kweon, 22, at 2:50 a.m. Sun. Sept. 9 and charged him with driving while intoxicated. Police said that Edward Kim, 22, who was in the car with Kweon, interfered in the arrest and resisted being handcuffed when he was arrested himself. Kim was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of government administration.
Police at a traffic checkpoint on 10th Ave., between W. 25th and W. 24th Sts. stopped a Florida driver, Keith Cotrell, 35, at 1:32 a.m. Sun. Sept 2 and charged him with drunk driving. Police said Cotrell acknowledged he had been drinking Jack Daniels a half hour before the arrest, but he did not say how much.
Police stopped Dominic Mazza, 43, on W. 14th St. near Washington St. in the Meat Market at 1:30 a.m. Fri. Aug. 31 and charged him with drunk driving.
Lobby ruckus
Police arrested John Iazzetta, 35, in the lobby of the apartment building at 527 W. 22nd St. at about 12:30 a.m. Sat. Sept. 9 and charged him with malicious mischief. A building employee said the suspect spit in his face, menaced him with a lobby fan, smashed a television screen on the floor, and kicked and smashed a lobby window.
Chelsea Hotel rampage
A woman resident of the Chelsea Hotel, 222 W. 23rd St., kicked and smashed the lobby window at 4:45 a.m. Tues. Aug. 28, then tore the wallpaper as she was climbing the stairs to her apartment, police said. The woman also threw a broom out of a hallway window. There was no arrest.
Club assault
Police arrested Alexandra Rodriguez, 20, a patron of Sol, the club at 609 W. 29th St., at 5 a.m. Sat. Sept. 1 and charged her with assault for punching another woman patron in the head.
Street fight
Police responded to a report of a street fight at 2:20 p.m. Sat. Sept. 1 on W. 25th St. west of Ninth Ave. and arrested Luis Vargas, 46, on charges of criminal mischief and assault. Police said Vargas knocked over and damaged a motorcycle belonging to one man and knocked another man to the ground and kicked him in the face several times.
— By Albert Amateau
