A Russian wiseguy wanted for posing as a cop in a string of New York City store thefts was pinched by the feds in Miami Beach this week, an official said Thursday.
Bension Mamedov, 36, had managed to stay one step ahead of authorities since at least October 2009.
But the crook's time on the run ended when he stepped out of a Miami Beach medical clinic Tuesday - and walked straight into a police stakeout.
"He was running from the East Coast to the West Coast and back," said Barry Golden, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, who confirmed the collar.
The NYPD said Mamedov was wanted for at least seven thefts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, stretching from October 2009 to June 2010.
Wearing a phony police shield and an NYPD jacket, he would take merchandise off store shelves, identify himself as a cop and return them for cash, authorities said.
In August, the NYPD told the feds that Mamedov was likely in the Miami Beach area, Golden said.
The federal marshals tracked him to a condo complex but he had already slipped town. Then, the feds in Arizona got wind he was hiding out there, but a dragnet came up empty once again.
Authorities finally tracked him to the Miami Beach medical clinic, Golden said. The feds and local cops staked out the joint - and Mamedov walked right into their trap.
"When he exited the clinic, they took him down," Golden said.
Mamedov was in the Miami-Dade County Jail yesterday awaiting extradition to New York, Golden said.
If this "Russian wiseguy" hadn't been allowed into the U.S. this would never had happened. Close the doors to the U.S. keep other countries garbage where it belongs, at home!!!!!!!!!
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