Metro

NYPD cop busted for stealing from Banana Republic quits

The NYPD sergeant busted for allegedly shoplifting at a Banana Republic store near Police Headquarters in lower Manhattan has quit the department, according to police sources.

“It’s a sad way to end your career,” a source said. “No walkout for him.”

Sgt. Tamas Balatoni, 49, was accused of switching price tags at the store Thursday night, and cops were called.

Balatoni wasn’t arrested but was stripped of his badge and gun and assigned to desk duty.

If he hadn’t quit, he could have been subjected to a disciplinary hearing and gotten canned from his $170,000-a-year job.

A store employee on Wednesday said she had noticed Balatoni acting strangely but didn’t know he was a cop, and then notified her boss.





Management at the store declined to comment on Wednesday.

Balatoni had been on special assignment as a driver for Assistant Chief Edward Delatorre, the top cop on Staten Island.

“You’re driving the chief of the borough, that’s all you have to do every day,” the source said. “It’s just stupid. The best thing that happened to him was that the store didn’t press any charges.”

Balatoni allegedly pulled the stunt amid the crush of Christmas shopping inside the clothing outlet at 552 Broadway, sources said.





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