A Lower East Side landlord was robbed of $13,000 by crooks who attacked him as he collected rent Sunday, the victim and law-enforcement sources told The Post.
Steve Venetis arrived at 38 Jefferson St. at 7 a.m. for his usual rent pickup, which he does the first Sunday of every month.
At around 7:30 a.m., he heard people coming down the building’s stairs.
“I didn’t pay them no mind. I thought they were trying to pay rent or something,” he said. “I was looking down at my rent book and these two guys caught me off guard.”
The armed men, who were wearing ski masks and speaking in Chinese, punched him in the face and pointed a handgun at his fanny pack that had half of the building’s rent in it.
“They planned it. Our schedule is pretty routine,” Venetis, 41, said.
He’s hoping insurance will take care of the loss.
Police are examining the scene and checking nearby buildings to see if any are equipped with surveillance cameras.