Stealing from the poor box II

Cops Hunt For Man Who Stole From Church : 1010 WINS

When their poor boxes got robbed in the weeks before Christmas a year ago, leaders of the Most Precious Blood Church in Little Italy decided to install a video security system.

A thief — the thief, perhaps? — struck again this past Christmas Eve, and now church officials hope the surveillance pays off. A suspect was caught on tape, and police have sought the public's help in identifying him.

The man stole about $625 from three poor boxes, said Father Fabian Grifone, pastor of the Catholic church, which is located on Mulberry Street and is more than 100 years old.

Grifone said he thinks it's the same thief from the previous year.

"I don't think he can be considered too good an example of humanity, right?" Grifone said Saturday evening. "Stealing from a church on Christmas Eve? Come on now. I don't think he needed it to go feed his kids."

Grifone said church officials do not recognize the man caught on the tape, who police said was wearing a gray jogging suit and a white bandanna covered by a baseball cap.

It may have been the giving season, but "it was hunting season for him," Grifone said. "Hunting after our boxes."