Police hunt ‘Haggler After Midnight’ mugger targeting certain victims in bizarre crime spree

The New York Police Department is hunting a moped-riding, knife-wielding robber whom they have dubbed the “Haggler After Midnight” for his peculiar mugging approach, saying his holdups are getting more brazen and violent.

Since early November, the suspect has targeted 11 victims in Brooklyn and Queens, generally Hispanic men between 20 and 40 on their way home from work in the wee hours of the morning, police said.

Deputy Chief John Mastronardi at the department’s Crimes against Persons Unit told WNBC that the mugger negotiates in both English and Spanish. 

“He’s got a strange M.O. – he likes to haggle with his victims, so we call him the ‘Haggler After Midnight,’” he said. “Oftentimes if a victim produces a property that they’re going to give up, he says ‘No, no, no, I don’t want that, want that.’ So he gets to choose.”

His most recent attack on Dec. 10 was his boldest yet, Mastronardi said. 

“In the last [incident], the male approached one of our victims and put a knife to his throat,” the detective said. 

Thus far, none of the suspect’s victims have been injured.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for any information that leads to the man’s capture.