Brooklyn Co-Op Members Arrested For Allegedly Shoplifting $18,000 Worth Of Groceries

The Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn was founded in 1973 on the notion of making healthy food affordable with prices 20 to 40 percent lower than other supermarkets in the neighborhood.

However, two members of the co-op, Norman Sussman, 79, and Ankh Smantr, 42, were looking to save even more. The two allegedly stole a combined $18,000 worth of groceries throughout the course of 2016. Both were arrested recently after trying to leave the store with stolen food on separate occasions, New York Daily News reported.

Sussman and Smantr were charged with misdemeanor petty larceny; they have both since been released.

The co-op coordinators released the news of the theft through the Linewaiters Gazette, its bi-weekly newspaper, on Dec. 22:

"Two members have been arrested at the Coop for theft—one on November 30, 2016, and one on December 6, 2016. These two stole approximately $18,000 from the Coop during 2016 alone. Both members came to our attention through reports by checkout workers who noticed not all goods were offered for scanning at their registers. Thank you! "

The investigation of stolen goods is ongoing, as detectives are trying to link Sussman and Smantr to other thefts, in which case they may receive additional charges, according to law enforcement sources.