The first known Segway sting operation has gone down in New York with a 24-year-old student being arrested on felony scooter theft charges.

Yili Wang entered a Starbucks in Queens, hoping a Segway expert he met on the Internet could help get the gizmo going, according to court papers unearthed by The Smoking Gun. Wang apparently forgot to ask about the keys for the machine when he purchased it for the, uh hem, bargain price of $75 off a man in East Harlem.

Let' s hear it for America, friends. There's video of the whole episode here. (Thanks, Frank).

In an interview with The Smoking Gun, Wang claims he had no idea what the Segway was or how much it was worth. He thought it looked like a nice recreation item. If only he could get the darned thing to work.

He began looking for hot-wiring help on the Internet and found a Segway expert - whatever that means. The Segway guru obtained the scooter's serial number from Wang and sent it off to police. It matched that of a missing scooter.

Wang was released without bail and will go to court on Oct 22. ®

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