Jason Bietsch is walked out of the NYPD's 40th Precinct on Thursday after he's accused of stealing 100 gumball machines in the Bronx.  Jason Bietsch, 39, was charged with stealing one gumball machine from a laundromat, cops said Thursday.  Jason Bietsch is walked out of the NYPD's 40th Precinct on Thursday after he's accused of stealing 100 gumball machines in the Bronx.  The Gumball Bandit has been stopped in his sticky tracks.  Cops busted a 39-year-old man suspected of stealing more than 100 gumball machines in the Bronx and Westchester, bursting his bubble of freedom on Thursday.  Jason Bietsch was charged with swiping three of the machines at laundermats in Norwood and Mott Haven, police said. Dozens of other cases are still under investigation.  Mei Lin, who owns Mei Laundromat and Dry Cleaner, was overjoyed after hearing the perp had been popped by gumshoes in the 40th Precinct.  “Wow! That’s great news,” said Lin as she and her family celebrated the Year of the Sheep. “Happy New Year.”  Bietsch and an accomplice entered the E. 207th St. laundermat at Bainbridge Ave. on Oct. 26, claiming to work for the company that sells and maintains the machines that dispense gumballs for a quarter, and toys and other treats for 75 cents.  “They had a car out front. They came in and said they were from the company,” Lin recalled. “They said they were here to replace the old machine with a new one. They took the machine and never came back.”  The double-decker machine, which had five dispensers and was mostly filled with gumballs, cost about $1,500.  When the duo never returned, Lin called the company she rented the machines from — and was told that she was not the only victim.  “He told me it wasn’t just me, but a lot of places were hit,” Lin said.  Calls to the vending company were not returned late Thursday.  Bietsch was also charged with snatching two gumball machines valued at $350 each from the Wash & Dry Laundromat on Westchester Ave. near E. 158th St. on Feb. 5.  “All of a sudden he grabbed the machine and started running,” said manager Ramon Rivera, 46, who chased the suspect to the street.  “He slipped on the ice and so I had enough time to see his license plate,” he said. “It was GUM and four other numbers. I couldn’t believe it. It’s crazy his license plate said GUM.”  Police didn’t immediately verify the license plate.  The suspect claimed he was going to bring the gumball machines back. He tossed them into the back of his SUV and sped off. Rivera called the cops.  Bietsch’s accomplice was still being sought late Thursday.  “ ‘Gumball Bandit’ Jason Bietsch caught by 40 Burglary Team & Detectives after stealing over 100 machines Bronx wide!” the precinct tweeted out Thursday.  Bietsch resells the machines for cash to fuel his drug habit, police sources said. He was arrested Thursday morning when he visited his parole officer in White Plains.  Cops did not immediately reveal where the other thefts took place. Apparently none of the machines found their way to his Scarsdale home, his family said.  A woman who identified herself as Bietsch’s mother was perplexed by news of his arrest.  “I don’t know anything about something so stupid,” she said. “I don’t have a single gumball in my house.”
Jason Bietsch’s bubble burst after he was charged with one count of grand larceny for taking a gumball machine.