Prince’s Cut

There’s the issue of the man who somehow stole $3.6 million from the city to buy jewelry:

In more than a year, a Brooklyn man stole $3.6 million from one of the New York City comptroller’s bank accounts, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said yesterday.

Tracy Ball, 49, made 604 electronic transfers from the bank account to a jewelry retailer, Jewelry Television, which shipped him diamond earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and watches, according to investigators.

But this is probably worse:

Even after a year, the comptroller’s office did not notice the money was missing from a fund used to pay workers’ compensation claims. Jewelry Television noticed that Mr. Ball was making multiple purchases in a day and contacted the bank, JP Morgan, which in turn contacted the comptroller, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney, Jennifer Kushner, said.

. . .

The assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, Andrew Seewald, said it wasn’t yet clear how Mr. Ball gained access to the bank account. Mr. Seewald said Mr. Ball had been arrested on a federal charge in the past, but he did not give details.

Mr. Ball worked for a homeless shelter and addiction recovery group in Greenwich Village called Project Renewal and would sometimes have the jewelry shipped to his work address on East 3rd Street in Manhattan, the district attorney’s office said.

Investigators charged that Mr. Ball would at times make purchases in bulk. On March 11, for example, he ordered 10 pairs of diamond earrings, 15 diamond necklaces, and 15 gold necklaces in the span of 12 minutes, the district attorney’s office said.

When police came to Mr. Ball’s house to arrest him, he was watching Jewelry Television on a plasma screen, Mr. Seewald said. Officers recovered $30,000 in cash and about 100 pieces of jewelry.