Central Park to Central Booking

Walter’s outgoing personality instantly puts everyone he meets in a relaxed, open state of mind. This is important because, as a carriage driver in New York City, his primary function, besides controlling rather docile horses, is to put all his customers in a good mood. The passengers are normally from out of town. No local would pay $35.00 for a half-hour buggy ride. “Fuhgeddaboudit!” The happier the customer, the bigger the tip, and the more they would talk about their plans. Plans Walter would covertly record on his phone.

The tour normally started next to one of the more upscale hotels, like the Ritz-Carlton or the Plaza. Walter would start his narration by pointing out celebrity homes along 6th Avenue West, stopping by the Dakota and Strawberry Fields. The route would meander through Central Park and Walter would point out Tavern on the Green, The Lake, and Belvedere Castle. As the tour clopped along, Walter asked his passengers where they were from, where they were staying, and if they would like to know about some great restaurants only natives frequent? The two women currently in his carriage were from Iowa and would love to find an out-of-the-way place where they might see some famous people. Explaining that most celebrities wait until later in the evening to dine, the best time to stargaze is from 10 pm to around 1 am. The ladies thanked Walter and showed their appreciation with a generous tip. They assured him that exploring the haunts of the beautiful people is exactly what they would do tonight.

The ladies from Iowa were Walter’s last trip of the day, so he gathered his belongings, relinquished his carriage to the relief driver, and left to start his second job, running a robbery crew. Over the last eighteen months, Walter had put together a network of bellhops, hotel maintenance men, laundry staff, front desk clerks, and room service waiters. After compiling data collected from his tours, he would select the marks, disseminate operations logistics to the selected crew, and wait for the results. When a burglary was reported, there were never any suspects, because all video surveillance would be altered and extra room key cards were overwritten. Walter would gather the stolen items, sell them to various fences, and divide the cash among his crew.

The old adage about there being no honor among thieves once again proved its validity. The Iowa ladies told Walter that they were staying at the Jolly Madison towers on East 38th Street. Not a bad hotel for the price, with a decent location. A perfect match for these two, he thought. The best part is he had a very reliable bell captain and desk clerk working that property tonight. When he called Chas, the night desk clerk, he was told that Alex the bellman was out sick. That location needed a two-person crew simply because of the hotel layout. Walter would need to fill in. Not a big deal. He’d get to keep Alex’s share. He set the incursion time for 11 pm. The ladies would have been out for about an hour by then and probably wouldn’t be heading back until midnight. Things were about to go very wrong.

Walter had no way of knowing that the fence he had used for a previous job had been arrested for accepting stolen goods. In order to receive a lighter sentence, he turned over his customer list to the Manhattan Robbery division. Walter hadn’t used his actual name with the man, but the phone number he gave was registered to his real name. The items recovered from the fence traced back to a job Walter’s crew had pulled a month ago at the Jolly Madison. The detectives did background checks on Madison employees and found Alex had a prior for B&E. It was a simple good cop, bad cop routine that got Alex to tell it all. Now it was time for a sting operation.

Walter arrived promptly at eleven, got a key from Chas, proceeded to the 12th-floor room 1238, unlocked the door, and walked in. Surveying the room, his eyes fixed on a jewelry case. As soon as Walter opened the case, the two women from Iowa entered the room from the adjoining one, sporting NYPD badges and holstered pistols. The stunned expression on Walter’s face slowly morphed into a grin as he shook his head in disbelief. “I imagine things in Iowa are rather dull compared to the Big Apple,” said Walter.

“Ithaca NY is about as close to Iowa as we’ve ever been. You really should have stayed giving tours. You’re very good at it.” Replied one lady.

“Maybe after I get out, that’s what I’ll do. But I have to say, smelling horse dung all day can really get to you.”