Knifepoint Bookie Bandit Hunted: CCTV Released

Police are appealing for information about a knifeman who twice robbed a bookmakers in east London – snatching £7,500.

The robber struck at Coral Bookmakers on The Portway, Stratford, on November 24 and December, 4 last year.

On both occasions, a member of staff was threatened at knifepoint as they were on their way to the bank with takings.

The suspect is described as a black man, wearing a black balaclava with grey vertical stitching up the middle, a black Nike puffa-style jacket and black Nike Air Force 1 trainers with white soles.

If anyone has information regarding the identity of this man they are asked to call the Flying Squad on 020 8345 1400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference 5334676/15.

Patient Swindled Free Private Medical Treatment At Harley Street Clinics

A woman who has suffered with ill-health since her birth dishonestly obtained treatment from Harley Street specialists and other health providers by lying she had private medical insurance.

Ruthie Zangi, 38, of Kingsway, North Finchley was born one month premature and amongst other ailments has scoliosis, a debilitating spinal condition.

Despite this she has made a name for herself by leading an active lifestyle, particularly on the tennis courts.

At Isleworth Crown Court she was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 50 hours community service work.

USA-born Zangi has undergone speech-therapy and assistance in learning to walk and after her family moved to the UK from Israel. 

She attended the former Jewish Free School and Barnet College.

She was originally charged with nine counts of fraud by false representation between August 30, 2012 and January 13, last year.

The health providers included in the original charges are Harley Street ENT Clinic; Harley Street Diagnostics; The Doctor's Laboratory; BMI Healthcare; United Open MRI; The BUPA Cromwell Hospital; The Parkside Hospital and The London Cardiovascular Clinic.

The sums involved are £2,463; £570; £190; £1,202; £1,338; £875; £440 and £775.

Pedestrian Headbutted: E-fit Released

Police are hunting a late-night thug, who headbutted a fellow-pedestrian when they brushed shoulders in the street.

Detectives from Croydon have released this E-fit image in an attempt to identify the suspect responsible for the violent and unprovoked attack.

The attack left the 28 year-old victim with a broken nose and requiring hospital treatment.

The assault happened at approximately 11.05pm on December 17, last year outside the Millets store on High Street, Croydon.

The victim and his friend were returning from a Christmas function.

As they were walking along the High Street the lone suspect was walking in the opposite direction and their shoulders made contact.

The suspect then stepped towards the victim and became verbally aggressive.

He then headbutted and punched the victim before running away.

The victim was taken to hospital and treated for facial and head injuries He suffered a broken nose in the unprovoked attack.

The suspect is described as black, 6ft tall, aged in his mid 20s, and had corn rows.

Detective Constable Abhi Bibra, said: "This was a violent and unprovoked attack that left an office worker requiring hospital treatment during the Christmas holiday period.

"I would ask the public to contact me if they recognise the person who may have been responsible, or have any other information about this assault.

“Your information may be vital in identifying the person responsible and will be treated as confidential."

Anyone with information should contact Croydon CID on 020 3276 2236 or 07769 922321. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Violent Handbag Robber: CCTV Released

Police are hunting a bag-snatcher, who threw a middle-aged woman to the ground as she left a south-east London train station.

On November 16, last year at around 8.00pm, the 52-year woman exited Plumstead Station and walked along Walmer Terrace.

On Walmer Terrace she was approached from behind by a male who grabbed her handbag.

The woman was thrown to the floor and the man made off with the bag that included her personal items.

The man was later captured on CCTV cameras walking along Plumstead High Street towards Lakedale Road.

He can be seen walking along Lakedale Road before making his way back to Plumstead High Street where he sits at a bus stop before walking out of camera view.

The male is described as a black male, aged in his twenties, around 5'9", with short black hair and facial hair possibly a beard or goatee.

On CCTV he can be seen wearing a light coloured hooded top with dark shoulders and hood, but he turns this inside out making it a dark coloured hooded top when he commits the offence.

Detective Constable Danny Banks from Greenwich CID said: "We believe the man we are seeking to trace is either local to the area or has links to the area and I am appealing to anyone with any information as to the identity of the suspect to please come forward and assist us with our investigation.

"This man has caused much distress and it is of paramount importance he is caught as quickly as possible.

“We have carried out extensive enquiries and are now releasing footage of this man in the hope that someone recognises him.

"I would like to reassure people who may be concerned that local Safer Neighbourhoods officers have stepped up patrols in the area and are distributing crime prevention messages to residents, in particular asking them to be aware of their surroundings and of who is around them."

Anyone who recognises this man or can provide information on their whereabouts should call DC Danny Banks from Greenwich CID on 07789 574 885 quoting reference number 3623536/15 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Online Scammer Avoids Prison For Horse Riding Con

Scammer: Poppy Eastwood

A notorious internet fraudster, who conned online buyers into forking out for equestrian equipment she never supplied, has avoided prison with a suspended sentence.

Poppy Valentine Eastwood, 24, of Pike Close, Bromley lied to customers she was selling her horse riding tack because she was suffering multiple sclerosis.

She pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by false representation and one count of acquiring criminal property, namely £10,873.

At Croydon Crown Court she received six months imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months, and was ordered to repay her victims £2,403 compensation.

In 2014 she was convicted of selling iPads that never arrived to facebook customers and the website has a group with 4,000 followers called: 'Scammed by Poppy Eastwood.'

During the course of the police investigation, officers from Operation Falcon, the Met’s Cyber Crime unit, found 46 victims who had attempted to purchase horse related items from Eastwood at a number of online market places between 20 January 2014 and 13 November 2014.

Eastwood would discuss possible transactions with potential customers prior to a deal being struck.

During a number of these conversations she falsely claimed to be selling the riding equipment because she was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.

Typically, the victim would transfer the funds to purchase the item and await receipt of the goods.

However, they never received the goods leaving them out of pocket.

Eastwood would initially make excuses for non-receipt of the goods but would eventually cease all contact with the victim.

Detective Constable Stephen Westlake of Operation Falcon said: “'Eastwood has defrauded a large number of online buyers who believed that they were dealing with a genuine seller.

“She has also pretended to suffer from a life changing illness to gain the trust of her victims.

“The effects of becoming a victim of crime run far deeper than the loss of cash. I hope that Eastwood’s victims gain a measure of closure following today’s sentence."

Polo-Playing "Rich Man" Thumped Cabbie During Route Row

"Rich Man": Lo Gatto 

A polo-playing businessman returning home from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gave a mini-cab driver a black eye while boasting about his riches.

Simon Rubel Lo Gatto, 44, the owner of a leading Italian luxury office furniture company based in St. James' had a dispute with the driver over the route he was taking.

Yesterday he was sentenced to a twelve-month community order, which includes 80 hours community service work, after being convicted of assaulting Nakalingam Koneswaran. 

Lo Gatto must also pay the cabbie £100 compensation, a £60 victim surcharge and £620 costs.

He had just been collected from Heathrow Airport on November 30, last year and was on his way to his £1.15m apartment in Arthur Road, Wimbledon Village.

However, during the journey he changed his mind and demanded to be taken to Brinkley's Garden, a restaurant in Hollywood Road, Little Chelsea to meet his girlfriend.

"He was sitting behind me and slapped my left arm," Sri Lankan cabbie Mr. Koneswaran told Ealing Magistrates Court.

"He said: 'I'm a rich man, do you know my family? We're a valuable family.'

Black Eye: Nakalingham Koneswaran

"As I turned around he punched my face, the left eye and I told him to get out, but he said: 'If you stop I'll punch you again.'

"I was scared that he would punch me again and when I dropped him off I said: 'Thank-you' and he said: 'F*** off.'

"This was very painful for me and swollen the next day, a black eye. This incident traumatised me and I am scared if someone shouts at me from behind."

Lo Gatto is the European MD of Interoffice, a sponsor of his polo team, and the company counts Rolls Royce, Microsoft, The FA, Mishcon De Reya and L'Oreal amongst its clients.

He is a member of Ham polo club, a partner and international ambassador for Dubai Fashion TV and Dubai's five-star Royal Ghantoot Marina and Resort.

Prosecutor Mr. Bhavin Patel told the court Lo Gatto disappeared into an airport bar and started drinking while Mr. Koneswaran looked after his suitcase.

The defendant claimed he had two lager shandies to settle his nerves despite flying out from Heathrow at least twenty times a year.

Guilty: Simon Lo Gatto 

"There was a disagreement as they neared Chiswick, with the defendant shouting they were in the wrong lane for the A4.

"Mr. Koneswaran told the defendant he was in the correct lane and Mr. Lo Gatto replied: 'You f***ing talking to me?'

"He then punched him in the left eye and said: 'I'm a mafia man. I can do whatever I want'."

The mini-cab driver told the magistrates: "He was treating me like a servant. I've never had anyone treating me like that.

"He walked like a proud man and he was ignoring me and demanding me to do things."

Mr. Koneswaran took two photographs of his black eye, which were shown to the court, and Lo Gatto was arrested at home on December 4.

There was a stand-off between the defendant and the officers, who arrived at 11pm, but Lo Gatto eventually answered the front-door and spent the night in cells

Lo Gatto denied drinking on the flight or being drunk and told the court: "He starts being a little rude and we began to argue loudly.

"I knew he was in the wrong lane and the word 'f***' was used by both sides."

He denied punching the driver or having a dismissive attitude: "If I am confident in myself and someone sees that as arrogance that's their interpretation."

Probation Officer Laura Braithwaite told the court: "He says he does not consume alcohol regularly and has no issues with it."

Lo Gatto's lawyer Mr. Mark Haslam said: "There was a dispute about the lane the taxi should be in.

"The defendant said the taxi driver was in the wrong lane and there followed a teated argument, a blazing row on this minor point that escalated.

"He's a hard-working, self-employed man. He does not accept the findings of the court and has lodged a notice of appeal."

Pensioner, 90, Victim Of Distraction Thief

Police are hunting a callous thief, who targeted a 90 year-old pensioner, stealing property after getting into his home.

On the morning of September 18, last year police were called to reports of a distraction burglary at a residential address in Theydon Gardens, Rainham, east London.

A woman, aged in her mid-thirties, knocked on a number of doors in the road.

One of the doors was opened by a man in his nineties.

The woman, entered his home and after a short while left taking with her some of his personal property.

CCTV at a nearby care home has captured the woman in the area.

She is described as a thin white woman, with long black hair and a thin face. She wore a pink/purple coat and blue jeans.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 quoting image 201664 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

£30K Diamond Cartier Watch Snatched: E-Fit Released

Police are hunting a robber, who snatched a £30,000 diamond-encrusted Cartier watch from a pensioner in west London.

This e-fit of the suspect has been released in the hope of tracking him down.

Officers were called to Ledbury Gardens, Notting Hill on July 31, last year after the 69-year-old man was set upon at approximately 7.55pm. 



An unknown man approached him and began to make references about football.

He began shouting "Barcelona, Barcelona" at him, then grabbed his wrist and tried to remove the watch. 



A struggle between the pair ensued and the suspect pushed the victim and stole his watch.



The victim was not injured.



He is described as 6ft tall, aged approximately 25 years-old, with a Middle Eastern accent, short, dark brown or black hair and clean shaven.



He was wearing a navy blue t-shirt with a white swirl on it.

Anyone with information or witnesses to the incident are asked to call the police non-emergency line on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Drunken Fighting: "It's A Polish Tradition"

A drunken Polish troublemaker banned from a west London neighbourhood told police fighting and drinking was a "tradition" amongst his fellow-countrymen.

Plumber Zbigniew Andrzaj Bukowski, 52, of Beaumaris Tower, Park Road North, Acton had been served with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) excluding him from from an area of Shepherd's Bush.

This was following multiple incidents of heavy-drinking and brawling outside a Polish convenience store and the next-door bookies on the busy Uxbridge Road.

Today Bukowski pleaded guilty at Hammersmith Magistrates Court to failing to comply with the CPN on June 11 when loitering outside Tote Bookmakers.

Prosecutor Malachi Packenham told the court: "The defendant told police officers it's a Polish tradition to fight, shake hands and drink alcohol."

Bukowski said the bookies was a convenient location for him to collect wages from his employer, which he then spent on alcohol in the Polish store.

He was fined £115, with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge.

Bukowski was told any further breaches of the order would result in a sentence of imprisonment.

"I don't want to go to prison. It's no place for me," he told the court.

Gyno Consultant Guilty Of Fondling Female Patients

Guilty: Patwardhan

 A "highly manipulative" consultant gynaecologist has been convicted of groping four female patients during private and NHS consultations.

Typically Mahesh Patwardhan, 53, would bend them over an examination couch and fondle their breasts from behind, even asking one woman to reveal her tattooed bum.

Woolwich Crown Court heard Patwardhan, of Alderton Hill, Loughton, Essex was turned on by rubbing himself against the women as he groped them.

He saw NHS patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlton and private patients at The Blackheath Hospital and The Holly, Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

He was convicted of four counts of sexual assault between July 31, 2008 and September 24, 2012.

Patwardhan, who is married to anaesthetist, was also convicted of two counts of fraud relating to falsely billing private medical insurers for work he did not perform.

"Patwardhan is a highly manipulative individual, having used his position of trust and authority to prey on the victims under his medical care, believing that they would be too embarrassed to report such offences to police," said Detective Constable Mark Azariah after the verdicts.

"Thankfully he was mistaken and I commend the victims for their courage in speaking out despite the sensitivity surrounding their personal medical concerns.

Dirty Doc: Mugshot

"I hope that today's result and the fact he is no longer a practising doctor brings them some comfort and peace of mind in what has been a traumatic ordeal."

The already-disgraced doctor had been struck-off by the General Medical Council in October, 2014 and publicity from that case prompted more victims to come forward.

An investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command and Patwardhan was arrested on November 20, 2014 as he stepped-off a flight from India at Heathrow Airport.

Prosecutor Miss Kate Bex told the jury a 32 year-old mum-of-three was seen at the Queen Elizabeth in 2008. 

"He came behind her and put his arms around her and onto her breasts.

"He groped her breasts and squeezed them with his hands and she was in total shock," added Miss Bex, explaining the woman made an excuse to avoid removing the rest of her clothing.

In digitally-recorded interview with police the woman explained: "He came behind us and that's when he put his hands on us. He wasn't talking, he was just groping my breasts.

"It was horrible, I was in total shock. I didn't know what to do, I felt sick and disgusted.

"When he said: 'Take your knickers off' I knew something was wrong. If I had lied on that couch and took my knickers off what would he have done?"

Another woman, a 37 year-old mum-of-two, says Patwardhan became more intimate after sizing her up.

"The cuddling started after her second or third visit," explained Miss Bex. "He'd hug her goodbye and push his body into her, grab her bottom and kiss her on the cheek.

"He examined her breasts after asking her to bend over the couch and asked her to show him the tattoo on her bum."

A 30 year-old woman was a private Blackheath Hospital patient, who had an ovarian cyst.

"The defendant put his arms around her, his hand on her knee and told her she was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

"He asked her to bend over the couch and she could feel his body pressing against hers from behind while cupping her breasts.

"She thought he became aroused and she was embarrassed so put her clothes on and left the room as fast as she could."

Patwardhan offered to investigate the back pain of a woman aged 26. "He felt her spine and then cupped her breasts."

A 35 year-old private patient gave Patwardhan the opportunity to make some extra money out of her insurers.

He performed intimate cosmetic surgery on the woman, but billed her insurers - AXA PPP - for cyst removal because they would not cover the true operation, the jury were told.

"Afterwards he told her she would soon be having: 'Lots of sexy sex and orgasms' in a way that gave her the creeps,"  said Miss Bex.

Patwardhan was cleared of sexually assaulting this patient and a 37 year-old referred by her GP after a smear test.

A private BUPA patient, aged 21, came forward to report Patwardhan for making her sign a claim form for a £195 non-existent pre-surgery consultation.

She was seen at The Holly, where the defendant's wife was the anaesthetist, and said she did not make a fuss because she was in the couple's hands.

When questioned by police Patwardhan mainly answered "no comment" to questions, but did deny making dishonest claims and conducting sexually-motivated examinations.

He will be sentenced on July 26.