Knife-wielding NYC bandits steal more than $200 in Bounty paper towels — but their scheme went down the tubes

Joe Marino, Amanda Woods
·1 min read
A pair of bandits ripped off more than $200 in Bounty paper towels from an Upper East Side CVS store Tuesday -- and one flashed a knife at a worker who confronted them, police said. 
A pair of bandits ripped off more than $200 in Bounty paper towels from an Upper East Side CVS store Tuesday -- and one flashed a knife at a worker who confronted them, police said.

They got picked up in a Quicker-Picker-Upper heist.

A pair of knife-wielding bandits ripped off an obscene amount of Bounty paper towels from an Upper East Side CVS on Tuesday — but didn’t get far before their paper-thin scheme went down the tubes.

The duo ambled into the drug store on Lexington Avenue near East 87th Street around 10:20 a.m. and pulled 20 packs of the name-brand paper products worth more than $200 off the shelves, cops said.

The bandits made off with 20 packs of the name-brand towels, cops said. G.N.Miller/NYPost
The bandits made off with 20 packs of the name-brand towels, cops said. G.N.Miller/NYPost
Cops say one of the suspects threatened a CVS worker with a knife. G.N.Miller/NYPost
Cops say one of the suspects threatened a CVS worker with a knife. G.N.Miller/NYPost

When a 20-year-old male worker demanded that they leave the store, one of them threatened him with a knife, police said.

They then fled the store with the bulky towel packs — worth $227 in total — heading toward the No. 6 train station, authorities said.

Police say the crooks fled toward a nearby subway station. G.N.Miller/NYPost
Police say the crooks fled toward a nearby subway station. G.N.Miller/NYPost

The NYPD had not officially confirmed any arrests by the afternoon — but photos taken by a Post photographer show police restraining a man, with several packs of stolen Bounty paper towels at his side.

Law enforcement sources said that the knife-wielding thief was not in custody but his homeless accomplice was arrested.