Two valuable silver Torah crowns were stolen from a Queens synagogue during evening prayer services, police said Tuesday.
Young Israel of Queens Valley reported that the crowns, worth around $650 each, were swiped from an ark in the basement Thursday while evening services were going on upstairs.
Officials at the house of worship on 77th Ave. showed cops video of the suspect walking out with the crowns stuffed in a white plastic bag while distracted congregants prayed in the main sanctuary upstairs.
Synagogue leaders initially thought a volunteer had taken them to be polished before Rosh Hashanah.
“We had no idea. This has never happened in the 50 years of the synagogue,” the synagogue's executive director George Srolovits said.
The suspect first casually picked up a prayer book to blend in with the crowd before he sneaked into the unlocked ark, video shows.
He’s a white man seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray pants and a black yarmulke.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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