Busted Again: The Busy Chef Never Rests!

By on June 18, 2009 2:46 pm in crime

080708bzchefBHB has discovered charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of a stolen credit card against “Busted Chef” Daniel Kaufman in Manhattan from earlier this year.

According to the criminal complaint, Kaufman was arrested on Jan. 20 for an incident on Dec. 19 on the Upper East Side in which he allegedly stole a credit card from a friend, whose apartment he was visiting. He then made a purchase at a McDonald’s on the west side, where security cameras there captured his every move, the complaint states.

Cops charged him with a felony count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a credit card and one count of grand larceny. Read the full complaint here [pdf]. Kaufman is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in Manhattan criminal court on June 23.

A call to his Legal Aid attorney was not immediately returned.

Meanwhile, prosecutors at the Brooklyn DA’s office are still investigating Kaufman’s alleged wrongdoings in Brooklyn Heights last summer, a spokesman said. Kaufman allegedly swindled customers out of more than $25,000 by running their credit cards through the machines after they ate at the Busy Chef, Oven, Blue Pig, or Wine Bar restaurants at the corner of Henry and Cranberry streets. That case has been removed from the city’s online criminal tracking system during the course of the investigation.

“I can tell you that our case is alive and well,” said DA spokesman Jonah Bruno. “We haven’t brought the indictment yet, but there is still a case there.”

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  • GHB

    This guy is seriously out of control! And the best place he could find to spend his friend’s $ is McDonalds? Pathetic!

  • jiker

    what kind of punishment could he recieve if convicted?

  • nabeguy

    Holy s***!!! Why is this guy still out on the street? And why are any of our tax dollars going to pay for his legal aid attorney? This is the most disgusting thing I’ve seen since the moldy chili that the Busy Chef served.

  • DAISY

    So glad I never dated that guy like he wanted!

  • AEB

    The psychology of those who commit freud…I mean, fraud:

    http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti199.pdf

  • Mickey

    nabeguy: if it’s any consolation, Legal Aid is not supported by tax dollars.

  • Peter

    Last year, I noticed that I had 20-30 charges on my debit card (in Miami, FLA, of all places) that I did not authorize … my bank told me that someone must have had access to my card (a waiter, they thought) and made a duplicate card, which was sold to someone in Florida. Long story short, my bank was great and I was reimbursed completely. Haven’t thought about that incident again until reading about our “Busy Chef” — I used to frequent the wine bar, I wonder if there is a way to find out if Mr. Kaufman was the culprit?

  • Simon

    I find it odd that no one ever mentions the other loser guy who ran the wine bar and that lame bitterwaitress site. Is he just lame?

  • nabeguy

    Thanks Mickey. It’s small consolation, but I’ll take any in reference to this schmuck. I’m still floored not only by the act itself, but that he did it for a Big Mac. And knowing DK, he probably super-sized it to boot!

  • No One Of Consequence

    @Peter, I think you’re supposed to contact the DA.

  • nabeguy

    You are lucky DAISY. In the end, he only would have plucked you.

  • No One Of Consequence

    Tell us, DAISY, did you google him and find this site? Glad to hear you kept out of it.

  • Monty

    @nabeguy, if he is using legal aid and stealing to support his McD habit, then he is probably flat broke. Take heart in that.

  • Cranberry Beret

    My guess is that he’s homeless and figured he’d rather get a solid meal in the lock-up than be on the streets

  • nabeguy

    Trust me, CB, there are no solid meals in the Tombs. Maybe having spent time there, DK saw Mickey D’s as a step up. At the very least, a 1/2 step up from the USDA-reject cheese on sandpaper that is the norm in NYC lock-ups.

  • my2cents

    He clearly has a mental disorder. that sort of behavior (stealing a friend’s card for use at McD’s?) comes down to compulsion rather than pure criminality.

  • disgusted

    welll daisy, i wasnt so lucky…i dated him this past january…and he lied to me good…i noticed something weird about his stories so i goodled him and found all of this and couldnt believe it!! i ended that relationship quick!! good thing i was only seeing him for a few weeks..but in those few weeks he used me for rides and money! im disgusted!!!