Hate crime arrest made in string of vandalized Brooklyn synagogues
WABC
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Emil Benjamin, 39, was arrested on charges of hate crime and burglary, police announced Thursday.
Benjamin is suspected vandalizing four different synagogues located at 1694 Ocean Avenue, 2822 Avenue J, 2201 Avenue L and 1720 Avenue J.
Police say the graffiti included derogatory phrases.
At the synagogue on 1720 Avenue J, Benjamin is accused of illegally entering the synagogue and making graffiti inside before damaging two cabinets and stealing $20.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had directed the state police Hate Crimes Task Force to assist the NYPD in the investigation.
NYPD says Emil Benjamin, 39, desecrated four synagogues in Brooklyn last week
The suspect is accused of writing pedophiles in red marker of one synagogue
The other graffiti also included derogatory phrases, but the NYPD did not reveal any specifics. At one location, he s accused of breaking in and stealing $20
Security footage released by police shows a hooded man walking up the front steps to one synagogue, removing a Sharpie and writing on the front facade
The incidents, which are being investigated by NYPD s Hate Crimes Task Force, allegedly occurred between midnight and 1:30am on December 23