‘They picked on the wrong person’ Watch an 87-year-old New Yorker outmuscle a $48,000 Rolex thief in an SUV
Larry Schwartz had just stepped up to the Stein Senior Center near 23rd Street and Third Avenue on a Wednesday morning. Randomly, a couple in what looks like a late model Jeep Compass started a seemingly innocent conversation. What followed was less a snatch-and-grab and more of an unscheduled workout through the SUV’s rear window. After all, Larry already does hundreds of weightlifting reps daily.
The setup seemed innocent enough
The 87-year-old New Yorker and his companion, Joanna Cuccia, had been approached by a man claiming to be from Dubai. He asked for directions to Walmart.
Cuccia says she responded with a polite but puzzled “Welcome” and pointed out the obvious. There are no Walmarts in Manhattan. The driver asked her to explain that to his wife, who was sitting in the back of the SUV.
Once Cuccia walked up the car, Schwartz decided to follow.
Moments later, the driver’s partner, a woman believed to be in her 30s, reached from the SUV and placed a fake Rolex on his wrist. She then quickly unclasped the very real gold Rolex on Schwartz’s wrist, which he said was worth about $48,000.
But she simply underestimated both his grip and his training.
Schwartz said he grabbed her arm, yanked several times, and used her momentum against the interior of the SUV
The struggle left her battered, Schwartz is sure. He explained that not releasing her would have meant getting dragged into the street, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. He eventually let go.
Video shows the suspects speeding off, empty-handed. The NYPD is now searching for the pair: a man in his 40s and the woman who tangled with Schwartz.
The SUV encounter could have gone differently if not for Schwartz’s fitness regimen
He said he’s been working out since he was 14, still pushes himself through about 240 reps a day, and once fought in 44 amateur boxing matches.
Police describe the case as an attempted robbery, but Schwartz seemed unfazed. He responded afterward that the woman in the SUV likely walked away with a badly bruised shoulder…and a new respect for senior citizens who refuse to be easy marks.
