BLING RING: THE SEQUEL
New crime wave hits H’wood, as robbers called ‘Flockers’ strike while celebs are away
IT started in January, when burglars boosted hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry and cash from “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan. Then, retired Laker and former Knicks coach Derek Fisher’s Tarzana, Calif., home was hit, with thieves taking $300,000 in jewelry, including five NBA Championship rings. Next up: Someone broke a window in Fabio’s Los Angeles house and walked out with a vault that contained $200,000 in gold and watches.
Nicki Minaj, former Laker Nick Young, Emmy Rossum, Jaime Pressly, Amber Rose, Hilary Duff, David Spade, singer Jason Derulo — all were burgled between February and September. Rapper A$AP Rocky had $1.5 million in jewelry stolen from his Beverly Grove home, while Alanis Morissette lost $2 million in jewels from her Brentwood abode.
On Oct. 19, thieves used a ladder to enter a second-story window at Mariah Carey’s Beverly Hills estate. They took just $50,000 in purses and sunglasses, but one high-end jewelry appraiser said it was a wise move: “A lot of Carey’s jewelry is shaped like butterflies. It wouldn’t be smart to try to resell it, and [the thieves] were prepped enough to know that.”
And then there’s Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig. Adding insult to injury, his home was broken into while he and his team were losing Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 1 — months after burglars swiped $500,000 in jewelry from another of his homes.
The crime spree is giving Hollywood flashbacks to 2008 and 2009, when a group of teens known as “The Bling Ring” ransacked more than $3 million in jewelry and designer goods from celebrity mansions.
But, according to a representative in the West Los Angeles precinct of the LAPD, the Bling Ring was “junior level compared to what’s going on now.”
FOR one thing, the members of the Bling Ring were motivated by an obsession with stars and wanting to live — and dress — like them. They stole Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton luggage and anything bearing a Chanel, Gucci, Prada or Yves Saint Laurent logo from Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox and others.
According to LA Sheriff’s Department Detective Sgt. Mike Maher, Hollywood’s current star robbers “do not care about Instagram, or which celebs are hot. They don’t know who they’re robbing. They mostly target the biggest houses. They’re only in it for the money . . . it’s a way to fund gangs.” One particular street gang that’s been named in police reports is
the Rollin’ 30s, which is associ- ated with the Crips. But Maher said that they’re far from the only ones. “They can be Asians, whites, Hispanics or black. Members of rival gangs even work together during the day, then go back to being mortal enemies,” he added.
Maher told The Post that the criminals call themselves “Flockers” based on “Floccin,” a 2011 song and video by rapper Cowboy that celebrates smash-and-grab home break-ins. As the lyrics go, “Ding dong/nobody home/ Take the cash . . . and I’m f - - kin’ gone.”
Like the Bling Ring, who would find out via the Internet when stars would be at movie premieres or on location, Flockers target times when people tend not to be home.
The LA Sheriff’s Department has seen a rise in these “‘knock-knock’ crimes,” said Maher. “They knock on doors of homes — if there’s no answer, they commence a [burglary]. It’s organized.”
Police say Flockers spend days driving around neighborhoods to survey when residents come and go, and when house staff, such as gardeners, routinely work. A large percentage of 2017’s robberies has occurred during weekdays.
In almost all the star crimes — including the ones involving Minaj, who lost $200,000 worth of furniture, among other items, and ex-Laker Young, who had half a million dollars taken from a safe — no one was home. But the plan isn’t foolproof. Amber Rose’s house was hit while she was sleeping.
FOR the most part, Flockers are all about stealing jewelry. “Once they figured out the price of gold was going up, they realized it’s more lucrative than selling drugs — and faster cash,” Maher said.
In February, Morissette had two safes containing $2 million in vintage jewels whisked out of her Brentwood home. That same month, similar crimes were committed com against actresses Pressly and Duff, as well as “Shameless” star Emmy Rossum and her husband Sam Esmail, the creator of “Mr. Robot,” who lost $150,000 in antique gems. Jewelry and cash were lifted from the Beverly Hills manse of Spade and also Derulo’s Tarzana home.
“Jewelry is the smallest thing you can invest money in that’s portable,” said Kimberly McDonald, jewelry designer to the stars. “That’s why so many stars buy it, [even though they tend to borrow] gems for awards shows. And gold does not depreciate.”
As for the thieves’ MO, she noted, gold jewelry “is easy to resell. They can’t resell one-ofa-kind pieces or pieces with very large identifiable stones . . . specially designed pieces can be traced or identified. [But they] can take small or midsize diamond or