Hey, taxi! Take me to jail, and step on it!
A man fleeing from the Midtown bank he had just robbed hailed a taxi to his own arrest yesterday – when the cabby turned out to be an undercover cop, police said.
The suspect, Frank Abate of Staten Island, was quickly cuffed and driven to Police Headquarters, where a source said he confessed to seven additional bank heists or unsuccessful attempts.
Abate’s wild ride began yesterday afternoon, when he entered the Atlantic Savings Bank on Third Avenue and showed the teller what turned out to be a fake gun, police said.
The teller forked over $1,200 and Abate fled.
But a description of the thief – a 6-foot, 200-pound white man in his 30s or 40s, wearing gloves, a blue baseball cap, a tan jacket and green pants – quickly went out over police radios.
Three plainclothes officers, Michael Hennelly, Gregory Thornton and Joseph LePage of the Midtown North anti-crime squad, were cruising in their taxi a few blocks away.
They headed toward the bank and saw a man fitting the description of the bandit standing near 57th Street and Park Avenue.
And the man was hailing them.
Hennelly was driving the “cab,” and quickly pulled over to the curb. Abate then frantically tried to open the locked rear door.
One of the cops opened the door, pulled Abate inside and cuffed him.
“This dope thought it was his lucky day because the driver was about to discharge two passengers,” said a police official.
“He thought he was going to hail a cab to make his getaway. Now he’s going to get away for five to 10.”
After being questioned at Police Headquarters, Abate got a second ride in the fake cab – this time to Central Booking.
There was some good news for Abate: The meter was off during both rides.