#Aqueduct Racetrack security guard charged as ‘inside man’ in $280K heist

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Aqueduct Racetrack robbery suspect Lamel Miller (left) and security guard Lafayette Morrison are charged with armed robbery.
E.D.N.Y.

A security guard at Aqueduct Racetrack was charged Monday as the “inside man” in an armed heist of more than $280,000 in gamblers’ lost wagers.

Lafayette Morrison allegedly provided two accomplices with information about when and where the money would be transported to the racetrack’s vault following the March 7 “Gotham Day” races in Queens.

Morrison, 37, of Queens, was among several Aqueduct employees who were held up at gunpoint when the robbers emerged from a hiding spot in a stairwell around 9:45 p.m., according to the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office.

The crooks grabbed a black duffel bag holding the racetrack’s winnings, then stripped the workers of their cellphones and cash, and forced them all into a closet, officials said.

A surveillance camera recorded video of the bandits, wearing surgical masks, as they made off with the loot and headed to a parking lot about 20 minutes later.

Lamel Miller, 37, of Queens, was accused Monday of being one of the robbers.

“The defendants allegedly gambled that they could pull off a high-stakes robbery with the benefit of inside information, but thanks to the outstanding efforts of ATF Special Agents and NYPD detectives, they ended up on the losing end of that bet,” Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a prepared statement.

Morrison and Miller were both charged with robbery under the federal Hobbs Act, which prohibits crimes that affect interstate or foreign commerce.

They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.