A serial thief from Brooklyn told how to get into any American home

When an experienced burglar thief Joseph Smith goes to work, his success depends on reliable accomplices: good Brooklyn residents who leave windows and doors open, unwittingly helping the criminal.

Фото: Depositphotos

“I don’t rob people,” Smith, 54, said in an interview from Rikers Island Jail. “I don’t walk around with master keys. I'm not a burglar. But some people are idiots. They leave their doors open. They leave their windows open,” quotes New York Daily News.

Add some acrobatics and Smith is in business.

“I’m what they call a second-floor man—I climb up the fire escape and make my way to the window,” Smith said, pointing to a “window” some distance away. “People don’t think anyone can get there.” But I can".

His story is a reminder that a crime rate that appears to be falling to record lows means nothing to the professional criminals operating throughout the city.

Some people do it more rudely and cruelly. Others, like Smith, are capitalizing on the behavior of New Yorkers lulled into a false sense of security as the city's homicide and other crime rates have fallen sharply over the past 25 years.

Property is often stolen from unlocked cars, houses and apartments with open windows. Just ask Smith, who was last arrested in October for a dozen thefts in Bedford Staveswant and its surroundings.

Sometimes its victims are the natives of New York, who temporarily let down their guard. But just as often, Smith robs the homes of new residents or young people who cannot remember the 80-90 crime wave, when the number of murders reached a record 2245 in a year (1990).

Homicides dropped to 292 last year, the lowest number since the end of World War II. Most likely, the same will happen this year - as of December 9, 273 cases were registered.

For the average Brooklyn, Smith looks like any unfamiliar middle-aged man walking down the street. This ordinary view served him well.

“I wear Armani suits. When you see me, you see a man of about 50 with a gray beard,” he says. “You’ll never guess what I do.” It's called being invisible in plain sight."

He can blend into a crowd and remain invisible to others on the street—but not to the NYPD.

“In the last few years, we've been focusing on people like Joseph Smith,” said Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea. By focusing on specific offenders and repeat offenders, we can catch those who commit the most crimes earlier, which has the greatest impact.”

Smith was last arrested just three weeks after the previous release. In the end, he was charged in four cases, and he was released on bail. One of the victims of Gloria Peart 88 years lost two expensive watches stolen by a robber, who slipped into her apartment on the third floor in August.

She brushed off Smith's "blame the victim" stance, noting the thief's route: three floors up a fire escape and breaking in through a window air conditioner recess. “It’s not my fault,” the woman said. “My windows were locked.”

Smith will return to court on January 22. The lawyer assigned to him will likely be the only one to show up on his side - the robber's sister died in 2007, and his brother died a year later.

Smith does not regret that he honestly told about his criminal life.

“When there are so many repeat situations in life, you need to be honest,” he admits.

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