A panhandler caught by a Post photographer scamming kindhearted folks by using crutches he doesn’t need has been nabbed by cops who watched him pulling the same trick, authorities said.
Joseph White, 42, was allegedly running his scam at West 68th Street and Broadway Wednesday night when cops from the 20th Precinct spotted him.
White, 42, was using crutches to play up the sympathy angle, police say.
After several minutes, police say, White tucked his crutches away, got on his bike and pedaled away, like the seemingly healthy middle-aged man he really is.
Cops stepped in to give him a summons for panhandling.
Police yesterday said White is the same man The Post profiled last August, although his name wasn’t known at the time.
Photographer Lawrence Schwartzwald, who says he nearly got hit when the scammer swung his crutches at him, claims he once saw the panhandler limping away from West 66th Street and Columbus Avenue – then resting his crutches against a building to count his money before heading to his bike.