Think was obviously something this bandit didn’t or was unqualified to do. He had staked out an easy mark, a man fresh from collecting $2,500 in winnings at the New York State Lottery office in lower Manhattan Nov. 17. He didn’t have any trouble picking the plunder from the victim’s pocket and no problem pushing the man to the pavement when he protested. But all this happened on Broadway between Wall Street and Exchange Place, the heart of the financial district, a place swarming with cops these days, as any terrorism-conscious New Yorker is well aware. In a few short minutes, the thief was surrounded and collared by — well, the picture says it all. A blip on the radar screen for New York’s Finest.

Photo by Dennis Van Tine/London Features