A 67-year-old woman from Florida, the authorities say, found an unusual way to experience the town on her frequent trips to Manhattan: strolling through Chinatown, picking the pockets of unsuspecting pedestrians.

The woman, Ha Vasko, a retired restaurateur, is accused of a string of thefts that date from June 5, 2010, when she was arrested and charged with stealing $500 from a woman’s bag at the corner of Canal and Mulberry Streets. That arrest, the authorities said, led to a cycle in which Ms. Vasko would return to New York for court dates in Lower Manhattan and then head to Chinatown to lift cash and wallets.

Prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that Ms. Vasko, who was born in Vietnam, told the police that she did not like Chinese people. By the time of her last arrest on March 21, Ms. Vasko, who was living in Melbourne, Fla., had been charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors, including “jostling,” which is legal jargon for trying to pick someone’s pocket or handbag. Prosecutors said all her victims were Chinatown residents.

“This defendant is a calculating thief who robbed her unsuspecting victims of not only credit cards and cash, but also their sense of security in their neighborhood,” Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement.