Woman steals furs by putting them under her clothes

Published: January 14, 2011, 3:03 pm

Woman who 'steals' furs by putting them under her clothes busted again

JAMIE SCHRAM, AMBER SUTHERLAND and JENNIFER FERMINO

Last Updated: 7:12 AM, January 14, 2011

Posted: 1:04 AM, January 14, 2011

EXCLUSIVE

She may waddle like a duck, but it's mink or better for this lifelong fur thief.

A stocky Brooklyn klepto who has been preying on high-end Manhattan boutiques since the 1980s -- stuffing the loot under her clothes or a girdle -- has been caged again, authorities said yesterday.

Johnnie Taylor, 50 -- who prison records list as 5-foot-2, 218 pounds -- was caught red-handed last Friday trying to make off with an $8,000 mink coat from a store she previously robbed in September, authorities said.

"She walked like a duck," said Northern Furs Fashion owner Naoum Vantas, who recognized her from the earlier theft, when she took more than $25,000 in furs.

STOCKY-ING UP: Hefty Johnnie Taylor stuffs furs into her girdle, police say.

Vantas said she came into his Garment District shop on Jan. 7 with a bag strapped to her belt and hidden under her skirt so she could hide her loot.

He said he watched her stuff an $8,000 mink coat into the bag but was determined not to let her get away this time.

Vantas confronted Taylor, who tried to escape after a profanity-laced tirade, he added.

"She was nervous. She knew she would be in trouble," Vantas said.

Cops arrested Taylor and charged her with robbery in the third degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree.

The charges also cover the Sept. 14 heist -- a little over a month after Taylor got out of jail for another fur theft -- when she made off with a sable and a mink jacket, a mink coat, and two mink stoles, authorities said.

Taylor has served four separate stints in state prison dating back to 1987, each time for stealing expensive fur coats and high-priced duds from an assortment of the city's poshest retailers.

In 2008, she was convicted of grand larceny for ripping off three different retailers. She made off with a $50,000 Russian sable coat in one heist, two sweaters from Saks Fifth Avenue worth $2,840, and a $1,680 dress from Barneys.

She tried to hide the Saks sweaters by shoving them in her girdle, officials said.

She served a year and a half for those crimes and was released on parole in August.

Woman steals furs by putting them under her clothes

Woman who 'steals' furs by putting them under her clothes busted again

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