Borough-Wide Blotter
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF
112th Precinct

Phony Cop Busted

A 51-year-old city employee was arrested on February 21 and charged with pretending to be a cop when threatening his Queens neighbor, authorities said.

Edwin Torres, an exterminator for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, brandished a real gun and a phony police badge while menacing a neighbor in his Forest Hills Gardens neighborhood, police said.

Police sources said Torres went to his neighbor to settle a dispute and boasted, "I'm a detective."

Torres was charged with impersonating a police officer, menacing and weapons possession.

Hunt cellphone Thief

Cops in Forest Hills are seeking help from the public to identify and locate a teenager who snatched a cellphone from a computer store on Austin Street on February 2.

Police said the teen walked into the Game Shop store on 71st Avenue at about 7:15 p.m., where he eyed the merchandise, then grabbed the cellphone and fled on foot.

The teen was wearing a black jacket, black pants and a black hat at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Crimestoppers Hotline at 1-800- 577-TIPS. 115th Precinct

Homeowner In 'Revenge' Theft

A Jackson Heights homeowner was arrested on February 21 and charged with stealing a cellphone from a day laborer he had hired for some construction work.

Police said during the construction work, the victim asked Carlos Cordova if he could make a call, and Cordova let the man use his cellphone.

Cordova later became irate when he realized the worker ran up charges on the phone and did not reimburse him for them, police said.

Cordova decided to snatch some justice, and on October 20, 2006, he broke into the victim's apartment on 69th Street where he stole the man's cellphone "for revenge", police said.

Cordova was arrested on February 21 and charged with burglary and robbery.