NYC jeweler recounts terrifying $150K robbery outside famed Buddha-Bar
A Diamond District merchant apparently fell victim to the gang of armed robbers targeting patrons of trendy New York City nightspots — when he was stripped of about $150,000 worth of jewelry at gunpoint while leaving Manhattan’s famed Buddha-Bar.
Maksud Agadjani, the owner of TraxNYC, told The Post on Monday that he was wearing three diamond-and-sapphire chains, a diamond pendant, three diamond bracelets and a diamond-encrusted Rolex watch at the time of the stickup, which is under investigation by the NYPD.
“Some of it was for clients. Some of it was my personal jewelry. I just wanted to have a fun night, have my jewelry on me, do my thing,” he said.
“When you’re a jeweler and people see you and you don’t have jewelry on, it’s somewhat strange.”
Agadjani, 35, said he’d finished a business dinner at Buddha-Bar and was heading to his Audi SQ5 SUV, parked on the street nearby, when he was robbed Thursday night.
“They came from around the corner, two guys with two guns,” he said. “They popped out of nowhere.”
One of the crooks “cocked his pistol and ran up on me like he was going to assassinate me,” Agadjani recalled.
“He said, ‘Don’t make any noise. Take everything off.’ They both kind of huddled around me, and I gave it to them,” he said of his jewelry.
“If I’d resisted, who know what would have happened? But I have insurance. I don’t pay for insurance to battle people on the street.”
Agadjani said he pleaded with the robbers to let him keep a gold Star of David medallion on a chain that he’s had since age 7.
They briefly argued over the request before relenting, he said.
Agadjani theorized that the robbers targeted him because of his Instagram account, where he had posted a photo of himself dining at Buddha-Bar.
“They’re watching these people’s Instagram. They’re watching all the celebrities. They’re watching for them to slip up, to show up somewhere,” he said.
“They’re waiting, and they’re watching, and they’re doing stickups.”
Law-enforcement sources said investigators believe that a crew of about 20 bandits who call themselves “OED” for “Own Every Dollar” and are affiliated with the Triniatrios gang have pulled off at least 12 armed robberies outside upscale Big Apple restaurants and clubs since August.
The crimes include last month’s shooting of an outdoor diner at Phillipe Chow on the Upper East Side who fought back after another patron had his Rolex stolen.
Several other Manhattan incidents, including a fatal shooting outside a nightclub in Inwood last month and the alleged casing of a restaurant in Chelsea early Monday — which led to a cop firing three shots at a BMW carrying three suspects — may also be tied to the robbery ring, sources said.
