IT WAS MAGIC time on Lafayette Street.

A suspected hustler was caught allegedly hosing a woman mark out of over $1000 by incorporating a short con.

The 40-year-old was said to have entreated the woman to a game of chance at around 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 5, according to the criminal complaint.

The woman was seen on CCTV placing a wager on the “shell game” operated by the accused on the street. She was then encouraged by the suspect to “make another wager”. That had the man excorting the gambler to a quick detour to an ATM on nearby Mulberry Street where she withdrew $1,000.

They returned back to his makeshift spot on Lafayette Street. The woman then let the $1,000 roll where the suspect again was seen on the surveillance footage “moving three bottle caps back and forth on top of a board”, the papers say.

The authorities in the complaint described the “three card monte” as a “shell game” and one that involves players placing bets of cash in order to “try to chose which bottlecap the ball is under after the three caps are shuffled on the board”.

Suddenly, after the game was over, the woman’s host bailed. And so did her $1,000.

The suspect was not some green unknown but rather, the authorities contend, “had prior interactions” with him involving the same hustle.

Cops caught up to him on Sept. 16, where he was formally booked for promoting gambling, fraudulent accosting (scam), and three card monte (prohibited).

Per the New York City Administrative Code… it is unlawful for any person to “deal or operate or be in any manner accessory to the dealing or operating of, ‘three-card monte’ on any public street, sidewalk, or plaza in the city, making it a misdemeanor offense.”

The gambling misdemeanor was signed into the books by former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani back in 1999.

It defines three-card monte as a “game or scheme where a player is to receive money for correctly selecting one of a number of objects, which the dealer or operator designates as the winning object before they are shuffled or rearranged.”

The suspect pleaded not guilty when he was first brought up on the charges in court. He is expected to reappear at the end of December, court records show.

HE SWEARS HE was having bike trouble — and definitely wasn’t trying to blow up a city car.

A 36-year-old was witnessed back at around 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 14 wheeling around on a Citibike on the FDR and East 38th Street with a curious accessory: a lighter.

The man who wearing brown pants, a light shirt and black backpack allegedly held the torch to a piece of paper. The leaf tinder started to burn and the perp was seen placing it “inside the fuel cap of a New York City Department of Environmental Protection vehicle” and “shut the fuel cap”, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators pored over the CCTV footage and quickly collared the alleged pyromaniac.

But when he was questioned about what he was doing with the fire while fussing with the gas cap of an official city vehicle — he denied he was up to anything nefarious.

"I was trying to get oil out of the truck to put on the chain of my bike," he allegedly told them, as a can of deodorant spray slipped out of his pocket.

Cops also plucked a lighter from the man’s front pants pocket.

He’s now facing attempted arson.

His arraignment is slated to take place on Dec. 4.

A correction officer was inappropriately accosted by a Rikers prisoner.

At around 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 23, a female correction officer reported carrying out her duties of escorting detainees from their housing quarters to a medicine window.

However, while she was guiding one particular 26-year-old inmate to the window on this particular shift — she claims the prisoner “used her hand to strike [her] buttocks”.

The incident caused the jailer to experience “alarm, annoyance, and fear for her physical safety”, the criminal complaint states.

The suspect, who had been locked up at the time for an assault and contempt case, was summarily slapped with forcible touching, sexual abuse, harassment, and obstructing governmental administration.

She pleaded not guilty to all of her pending cases (including another forcible touching incident a month later on Oct. 16, records show.)

THE CRACKLE OF gunfire could be heard moments before cops caught a suspected teen shooter.

It was minutes before 11 p.m. on Sept. 28 when cops descended on Osborn Street, prompted by a ShotSpotter.

Seven shots were believed to have been fired outside a home on Osborn Street near Pitkin Avenue. There were five spent 9mm shell casings scattered on the roadway. Seven more spent shells were found at the intersection of Belmont Avenue and Watkins Street.

Bodycam footage pulled from multiple officers shows a response as shots are blasting. About a block away from the casings — cops managed to spot the suspected shooter. He is identified as a 16-year-old and dressed in all black attire.

The officers announced their presence and ordered the accused to get on the ground and hold out his hands. They cuffed him.

A loaded pistol was found tossed nearby under a parked car. The authorities suspect that it belonged to the teenage suspect.

No victims appeared to have been admitted at any hospitals to be treated for gunshot wounds. It’s unclear if there was another shooter involved as only one piece was found in the canvas.

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A WOMAN WAS knifed several times after she broke the news to her boyfriend that they had arrived at Splittsville.

The crazed 43-year-old man was allegedly with the woman at the corner of South Road and Union Hall Street at around 11 a.m. on Sept. 28.

It was then that the woman broke the news that he would have to get back into the dating world as she was moving on.

It didn’t sit with him.

Authorities say the suspect reacted by clenching a knife, and then stabbed his now ex in her stomach, chest, and her face.

Cops managed to bust the brute at the scene and he was later charged with attempted murder, assault, and weapons charges.

A RUFFIAN ARMED with a baseball bat was busted after bashing a man.

At around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 28, authorities say the 22-year-old instigator allegedly squared off with three men who had stepped out of a bar located near the corner of Liberty Avenue and 116th Street.

They told cops the suspect along with his two cronies (one being a woman) had confronted them with some fighting words. The accused allegedly stepped away momentarily to his car; only to return wielding a baseball bat.

He then allegedly used it to whack one of the trio, a 21-year-old victim, in the arm.

The accomplices retreated to their grey Hyundai where they made a U-Turn and allegedly clipped a 20-year-old victim in their escape on Liberty Avenue.

The stranded batman was booked for assault and possession of a weapon.

SHE DEFILED THE home and then vowed vengeance.

A 61-year-old suspect was caught after twice in two months smearing feces on a woman’s home and then hurling threats that she would stab and bludgeon her.

Just after noon on Aug. 7, cops say the suspect stepped up to the front door of a home located on Macon Avenue near Wainwright Avenue.

The accused allegedly “smeared feces” onto the front door and caused the partition to be “in need of cleaning”, according to the criminal complaint.

The horror show wasn’t over.

At around 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 — nearly a full month after the shit smearing incident — the suspect left a voicemail message with the victim’s neighbor. The suspect allegedly stated, “I told her I want to stab her in the heart and bat her brains in!”

The neighbor shared the disturbing message with the neighbor who then informed authorities.

A day later at around 10:30 a.m., authorities say the suspect returned to the woman’s home with a fresh sack of shit. She proceeded to throw feces at the woman’s window, the papers say.

The sullied window (like the front door) was described in the document as also being “in need of cleaning”.

On Sept. 10, cops nabbed the suspect and they were brought up on a series of charges including criminal mischief, aggravated harassment, and harassment.

The suspect, who was initially held on a warrant and then a month later released without bail. Also, upon release the suspect was issued an order of protection to steer clear from the victim and pleaded not guilty.

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*When perusing The Blotter, know that arrests do not constitute guilt, and all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, the reported items are merely a snapshot of a criminal matter – what is known at the time of publishing. In most cases, the persons arrested for breaking the law haven’t been convicted (yet). It’s also possible that the charges brought against them may be reduced or even withdrawn.