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"Bonnie & Clyde" Penthouse Burglars Tell All
By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Last week, the Sun reported that the "Bonnie & Clyde" burglars who robbed twenty-five apartments would face criminal charges next month. A couple from Savannah, Georgia, Robert Nestingen and Melissa Pavozehr, managed to steal about $350,000 in jewelry and cash since January 31 by targeting penthouse apartments.
The couple hit buildings on the Upper West and East Side, Gramercy Park and Chelsea, and would pose as prospective buyers if building residents asked them questions. Pavozehr, "a former Miss Georgia Teen USA contender," and Nestigan spoke to the Post yesterday, and it might be one of the weirdest confessions:
"It was too easy," said burgling beauty Melissa Pavozehr. "All he needed was a pair of Prada gloves, a screwdriver and a center punch," she said of how her lover, Robert Nestingen, looted at least 20 posh Manhattan pads this spring...
Nestingen said he selected his marks on instinct alone. "I saw a lot of penthouses, and they don't have bars on their windows or gates to keep people out," he said. "I realized if I could get in the building, I could get in those apartments."
Pavozehr would hang out in front of targeted locations, pretending to talk to someone in the building on her cellphone. "I would say things like, 'I just got here, and I'm on my way up.' People coming out would hold the door open for me," she said. "Other times, Robert would just ring a bell and say 'FedEx.' "
..."Sometimes the doors would even be wide open, or at least unlocked. And people almost never shut their windows," he said. "I never went in through a front door."
Nestigan and Pavozehr claimed that when they came to NYC, they were robbed of their ID and were forced to go into shelters, where they picked up a crack habit. (Yes, they did use the money from the robberies for the drugs.) The NY Sun says the couple were living at Hotel Chelsea, though a receptionist couldn't confirm if they had stayed there, since the hotel doesn't "keep a record of guests' names." This has prompted a weird sense of pride with the Hotel Chelsea blog.
The couple faces up to 25 years in prison; they may be linked to other robberies as the NYPD sorts through details. And pur favorite quote from Pavozehr: "We never hit an apartment if someone was home, and we never robbed a place where we saw toys, because that meant children. We decided never to hurt anyone, and we never did a job after getting high."
Tagged
bars
Chelsea
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crack
crime
drugs
east side
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hotel chelsea
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money
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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