The suspect was dressed as an Apple employee with a blue shirt and the similar Apple logo on the front. Unsuspected of being a stranger amongst the employees, the thief took the phones right out of a drawer in the store’s repair room. He then passed all the 19 iPhones to his accomplice who reportedly hid the phones under his shirt, and the pair walked out of the store. The store location on the Upper West Side was known as a training location for workers so new faces wouldn’t raise questions. As Gizmodo notes, Apple’s new uniforms might be to blame. The company used to make its store personnel wear themed shirts for every new product launch or for every season. While police are still investigating the incident, Apple did not immediately return request for comment. This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred. According to the New York Post reports, it started in February when a woman dressed like an Apple employee took 8 iPhones from an Apple Store on the Upper West Side. A male partner diverted the store’s actual employees while another acted as a lookout. The same store was hit again in March. This time a man dressed as an employee took 59 iPhones out of a drawer at the Genius Bar and had a female partner transfer them to a duffel bag in the bathroom, while a male assistant acted as a lookout. The total value of the iPhones stolen in both thefts was $49,300.
