A former teen underwear model who made headlines bedding a second-grade Queens teacher was busted Thursday for being part of a gang of bandits.
Joshua Walter - once a mop-haired, globe-trotting fashion plate - was arrested on charges he and his alleged gun-toting pals held up a string of markets, bodegas and gas stations in Queens and Brooklyn.
"Everybody knew this kid was a model, but I guess that money wasn't good enough," a police source said.
Walter, 20, of Queens and three of his alleged cohorts were nabbed at about 1:30 a.m. when cops spotted them in a maroon Chevy Astro van matching the description of the getaway car used in the spate of stickups.
When patrol officers pulled the van over at 30th Ave. and 31st St. in Astoria, the occupants spilled out and ran. They were all caught after a short chase and a .380-caliber automatic handgun was found in the van, cops said.
Also arrested were Lamont Adams, 33, and Willie Winston, 30, both of Queens; and James Young, 29, of Brooklyn.
They were charged with robbery and criminal possession of a firearm and were to be arraigned in Queens Criminal Court.
Since June 14, the suspects allegedly used a handgun to commit at least 15 early-morning robberies at mostly 24-hour stores and gas stations.
The last holdups occurred July 8, a day after Walter's birthday, when the thieves hit back-to-back Queens bodegas in 56 minutes.
"I got something to say: Leave my family alone!" a woman who described herself as Walter's mother told the Daily News when approached at her Centreville, Queens, home.
In November, Gina Salamino, a tenured second-grade teacher at Public School 121 in Queens, was fired for having a sexual relationship with Walter and bearing his child.
Salamino was 34 when she hooked up with Walter, then 17 and enrolled at Bryant High School, in August 2006.
The teacher, who still lives with Walter, sued to get her job back, claiming she did not know her boy toy was a high schooler because his modeling career prevented him from attending classes.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich tossed Salamino's suit and upheld the dismissal last month, ruling that education law requires teachers who engage in sexual misconduct with any minor be fired.
Walter's neighbors were stunned that the one-time catwalker was now doing a perp walk.
"I didn't think he would do that," said Fred Steinman, 56. "He's got a kid. He's a model. I didn't think he needed the money. He always has nice clothes."agendar@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/07/17/2009-07-17_fired_teachs_boy_toy_joshua_
walter_gets_busted_with_robbery_gang.html#ixzz0M6WTZwSf
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I don't give a fuck how pretty he is, lock him up for a few years. Armed robbery is serious and a horrible thing to be a victim to. Perhaps when he gets out he'll get a real job like the rest of us, instead of putting a gun in someone's face and stealing something they had worked hard for. Lazy fucker.
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