Are Criminals Getting Dumber Or Are Their Crimes Just Getting Dumber?

A buffalo wing riot in Brooklyn last week (“Councilwoman Letitia James [. . .] pointed the finger at the management of the sports bar for recklessly promoting its 50-cent ‘Wing Tuesdays’ to students”), and now video game characters jacking cabbies:

The cabbie beat up by thugs dressed as Super Mario Brothers spoke out about his ordeal Sunday and demanded tougher laws against assaults on taxi drivers.

“I was really scared. . . . At the time, I really think I’m going to die,” said Ndiaye Serigne, 48, of Harlem, who was robbed and pummeled by four men dressed as Mario, Luigi and other characters at a gas station.

The Mob Exists Outside The Confines Of David Chase’s Office!

The bad old days are still hanging on:

Manhattan prosecutors on Thursday accused the Luchese crime family of infiltrating the Buildings Department, saying that three of the family’s associates found jobs as building inspectors and that others in the family, including top bosses, committed a wide range of crimes.

In all, six building inspectors were accused of taking bribes to grant building permits, expedite inspections and overlook building violations. The three inspectors said to be Luchese associates were also accused of more traditional mob-related offenses, including bribery, gambling, drug trafficking, extortion and loan sharking.

Maybe The Subsequent Death Threat Was A Little Over The Top

That whole “as-is” disclaimer is an important part of the fine print:

Jovan Ming, 32, of the 300 block of Clove Road, shattered the front and rear windshields of a silver Acura in the lot of Forest Avenue Motors, at 2141 Forest Ave., on Sept. 11, a law-enforcement source said.

Not content with that, the 6-foot, 2-inch, 200-pound Ming allegedly telephoned the salesman “multiple times” four days later and threatened to kill him and torch his business.

Leading Economic Indicators: Moonlighting As A Hobo

Lest you think stealing copper from buildings is strictly for tramps, vagabonds and drifters:

They came to clear overgrown brush from the yard in what they might have thought was an abandoned building in Tompkinsville.

But the building’s owner says workers from the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene were filching copper pipes, tools and whatever else they could grab from the former American Legion post at 43 Van Duzer St.

One Health Department worker, Edwin R. Torres, 54, of Queens, was arrested this morning, according to a law enforcement source, after building owner John Galarza called police when he said an employee saw the men begin hauling their alleged booty into a private van as well as a city Department of Health vehicle.

Three other Health Department workers were questioned as well.

“All the copper pipes are gone,” said Galarza as he walked through the building, which smelled of urine, where the toilet and boiler had pipes removed. He pushed his toe against a buckled wood floor, showing how it had sustained water damage after the pipes were removed. “I’m going to talk to the legal department of the Health Department.”

And Here I Am, About Ready To Put On My Wonder Woman Outfit . . .

You need a license? Seriously? Apparently so:

Their comic-book adventure went awry when cops approached the dynamic duo on 43rd Street to see whether they had the required license to perform in costume in public . . .

There are probably too many police officers.