> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://bklyner.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Red Masked Bandit Arrested For String Of Deli Stickups In Brooklyn & Queens
- URL: https://bklyner.com/feds-arrest-red-masked-crook-in-string-of-deli-stickups-in-brooklyn-queens-bensonhurst/
- Published: 2015-11-24T16:11:37.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-25T16:33:18.000Z
- Author: Rachel Silberstein
- Tags: Bensonhurst, Police & Fire, Western Brooklyn, 62nd precinct, armed robbery, cops, deli heights, nypd, police, red mask robber, string of robberies, #wp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo0ocU9PqjQ

It was the red bandana that did him in.

Feds say they have nabbed the man responsible for a series of [recent bodega stickups](/suspects-in-bath-beach-deli-heist-wanted-for-two-more-stickups-in-queens/#.VlSCeGSrSqQ) in Brooklyn and Queens, [reports the Staten Island Advance](http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/face%5Fmask%5Flinks%5Fman%5Fto%5Fstick-u.html?ref=bklyner.com) — thanks, in part, to one distinguishing item of clothing.

Charles Gelzer, 47, was arrested on November 17 for allegedly sticking up two men, ages 20 and 24, in the handball court behind behind [I.S. 281 Joseph B. Cavallaro](http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/21/K281/default.htm?ref=bklyner.com) on July 21\. Gelzer made off with the victims’ wallets, watches, cellphones, and cash, according to police.

When federal agents caught up with Gelzer in Staten Island last week, they found a red Trinidad and Tobago flag mask he wore in each of the deli heists in his pocket, tying him to the other crimes.

From the SI Advance:

> The mask in his pocket, federal authorities allege, showed up in two stick-ups – the Sept. 3 stick-up of a grocery in Bensonhurst, and the Oct. 12 robbery of the M & M Bagel Store at 1609 Victory Blvd. in Castleton Corners.

> In both robberies, two gun-wielding men – one of whom wore a black vest with two silver buttons on the lapel, and the aforementioned mask – directed store employees to lie on the floor while they raided the cash register.

The red mask slipped from Gelzer’s face in the September stickup, allowing authorities a full glimpse of his face on security cameras, according to reports.

Gelzer, who has a criminal record dating back to 1993, served a 20-year jail sentence for multiple first-degree robbery convictions before he was released on parole in 2012\. He is currently being held without bail.