Police: Syosset man mugs cabdriver in New Hyde Park

A Syosset man riding in a cab Wednesday afternoon attacked and robbed the driver from the backseat at the end of a fare in New Hyde Park, Nassau County police said.

Benjamin Wiener, 22, of 19 Village Rd., was arrested on charges of robbery after police said he attacked a 50-year-old cabbie at about 1 p.m.

After receiving a ride to North Fifth Street, Wiener allegedly punched the driver in the head, bit his finger and choked him, then reached into his pocket and took an unspecified amount of cash.

Third Precinct officers arrested the man on North Fifth Street and White Avenue at about 1:15 p.m.

The driver was treated at a hospital for a concussion and cuts to his head and face, police said.

An investigation revealed that Wiener was suspected in a check-forging scheme where he deposited stolen checks into his own account, as well as a Jan. 29 robbery of a gift shop in Stewart Manor that netted him about $1,000 in jewelry, police said.

Wiener is charged with five counts of forgery and grand larceny in those incidents, police said.

He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.