I walk up Broadway today and as I pass the Sony/AMC Lincoln square movie theatre on Broadway a girl in her, probably, mid 20's comes up to me and says. "Can you help me?" "Do you speak Russian", I say, "Yeah" and start conversing Russian with her. She seemed shaken up by something and told me that she must visit her sister immediately who lives on Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. She got beaten by her Spanish boyfriend and when she heard the news she ran from the house but forgot all her money and the credit cards. I asked for her name and how long she has been in the US. Her name was Nastya and she's only been in the US for a year now. She was so convincing that I couldn't say no to paying for her taxi ride to Brighton 6. I first told her that I have money but that money isn't mine, and that was true since I am on a mission to create a show with a friend of mine who sponsors it. She said that she will call me to arrange the return of the borrowed money tomorrow. She punched in my cell phone number before finding a taxi. I asked the driver how much it would be to go to Brighton 6th in Brooklyn, he said $50, I asked her if she wants to leave a tip, she said $5 is fine, so I gave the driver $60 and asked for $5 back. They took off. When she caught the taxi it was headed towards uptown, but Brooklyn is through downtown. So I keep on walking towards my home uptown and see that the taxi made a u-turn on 7oth street and immediately stopped. I am thinking to myself..."Hmm, that's weird, why would they stop?" And it hits me right away, fuck she can just walk away from the ride. So I head out to the taxi and as I approach she comes out the cab, I say to her, "So you decided not to go?" She didn't expect me and her speech was became to stutter. "The driver changed his mind and doesn't want to take me there now, I will take another taxi...", said she. I said OK, let me find out from the driver, despite her disapproval to do so. I walk up to the driver and say, "What's going on, why aren't you taking her?" He said, she said that her friend called her and that she will go with him, she took the money back. I went back to her and directly told her that I don't want this, I don't trust her anymore, and asked to give me the money back, which she held in her hand. She handed me the money back and disappeared into the dark sidewalk. The taxi was still waiting and blew the horn when I started leaving, so I turned around and came back to the driver. I counted the money there was $45 - two twenty's and one five. So I asked the driver where is the other $10, he said I lost three customers while all this was going on. I told him the story how I met her and asked him to put himself in my situation. I said, "Come on it doesn't cost $10 for just two blocks...?!" So I offered to give him a $5 if he gave me back that $10, and he did. Confused and angry about this situation I continued my walk uptown. Analyzing my whole day, perhaps I did something that may have cause this on heavenly level. And I recalled that when I was leaving the house of my parents in Brooklyn earlier today I found $22 on the street. First a single dollar, then the second, and a whole twenty dollar bill. Is the universal justice system played the justification game on me? I don't know. Once my cousin Mark told me that if you find money on the street, don't take it because you will loose the amount ten times that. Is he right? Well I have her number because I asked her to give it to me in case of anything. So I made her call me when she was already sitting in the taxi while I was paying the driver. I called her numerously to demand the remaining $5 but with no avail, her voice-mail kicks in. So I left a message saying that I will not go to the Police if she peacefully returns that money to me. It's been over four hours since then and she still hasn't called. Who would in her place right? Well although I don't have her picture I have her cell phone number, and I am sure the Police will be interested to finding this con-artist who is playing with innocence and trust of the upper West side dwellers.
Here is her number 646-919-3979

As of 3am into the night I went to the Police precinct to report this incident and an hour later I still couldn't convince them to make a report on this fraud. I wasn't concerned about the missing $5, I was more concerned about making this record and including her tel. phone number for them to trace her should someone report the same incident with her presence in it. In the end they gave me a pocket notebook to fill my info, not hers, instead of the regular Police report form. Seeing al this I sensed that after I fill this out they will simply say, "You can go now". I told them that I knew that you'd do something like that and that I should have gone to another Police precinct right after you said that this incident has no case. The Police of NY is wasting tax money just like the MTA. What a shame.

As of 5am into the night I realized why her second question to me was, "Do you speak Russian?". Before encountering her I was at the Gracious Home store on that same street block and I talked to my cousin Mark speaking Russian. She must have seen me do that and overhearing my conversation about me now living on the upper west side with my friend and that he sponsors our films and all.