While ninjas are mysterious, criminals who consort with ninjas might have some tricks up their sleeves. Like Nazmi Papraniku, a Macedonian national with ties to the legendary Staten Island Ninja Burglar. Papraniku was recently arrested for a burglary in NJ, news that upset some NYC law enforcement officials because he was supposed to be deported.
Papraniku was suspected to be part of the Albanian and Macedonian crew behind a series of burglaries in posh Staten Island neighborhoods. The pattern robbery took on a life of its own when victims (some of whom had left their windows unlocked) would talk about how they stabbed the robbery suspect but he still managed to get away or how the suspect was dressed in black with his face covered. Oh, and maybe the suspect had nunchuks and the victims would say to the intruder, "The Ninja is here!" But cops couldn't pin him to the series of nearly two dozen break-ins (he may have just been learning the Ninja ropes) and he was charged with a different Staten Island break-in instead.
The Staten Island Advance reports the 2007 incident "led to a 45-day jail sentence, five years of probation, and the start of federal deportation proceedings, sources said... Confusion over his status, and the fact that Papraniku remains free to get arrested for burglary again, is particularly frustrating from a law enforcement perspective, the source said." The source said, "Obviously this is a real telling sign that something is broken when someone with questionable citizenship status commits a felony in this country and is not deported," and an NYPD source complained, "It's the federal government. Slow, stop and reverse. That's the only speeds they have."
