Diplo 'Thief' Feed Shoplift immunity

By JAMIE SCHRAM, Police Bureau Chief

A foreign government worker used a loophole in diplomatic-immunity laws to dodge prosecution after he allegedly pilfered hundreds of dollars of merchandise from the Century 21 department store downtown, The Post has learned.

Oleg Sharifov, 33, who works for the country of Georgia, allegedly pulled a price-tag switch on a wallet and swiped other goodies at the store on Cortlandt Street on Sunday, police sources said yesterday.

A security guard watched as Sharifov allegedly switched a $34.97 price tag on a wallet with a $10.97 tag. Sharifov then allegedly paid for the wallet at the lesser price, the sources said.

But he didn't get far. The guard moved in and nabbed him.

After escorting him to a store office, the guard allegedly discovered Sharifov also had in his bag several stolen items totaling $443.62, the sources said.
Century 21 security personnel called the NYPD, who discovered that Sharifov was in the city accompanying the official delegation of Georgia, including its head of state, police sources said. Georgia was part of the former Soviet Union.

So even though Sharifov is not technically a diplomat, he has full immunity, the sources added.

Cops hauled Sharifov into the 1st Precinct station house and contacted the State Department to verify his credentials, sources said.

"It was verified by the US State Department that he had full diplomatic immunity," one police source said.

Police voided the arrest, and no charges were filed against Sharifov, the sources said.

Sharifov was released to representatives from the UN Mission to Georgia and the Consulate of Georgia.

A rep for the Georgian Embassy in Washington said only, "[Sharifov] is a Georgian citizen, and this incident is under investigation."

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