NEW YORK -- Nobody questions the heroism of all the rescue and recovery workers who were involved on 9/11. But how could theft go up dramatically after the public was not allowed?

At the Tourneau flagship store in Midtown Manhattan, displays that resemble those laid out until Sept. 11 in a store in the concourse under the World Trade Center are still up. But at the company's store in the concourse mall of the World Trade Center, similar appear to have been almost completely cleaned out.

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But police and prosecutors say it wasn't the toppled towers that wiped out Tourneau's downtown inventory -- it was looters. Tourneau's loses amounted in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"There were maybe 20 watches left in the store out of a few hundred," said Andrew Block, senior vice president of Tourneau.

New York Police reports requested by NewsChannel 4 show Tourneau was hardly alone in being victimized. From Sept. 11 to Dec. 11, 2000 -- a year before the attacks -- the downtown area around the World Trade Center had just four burglaries reported to the NYPD.

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Heavy WTC Looting Reported

In the same period in 2001 in what suddenly became the ground zero zone, there were 76 reported burglaries. That's an increase of 1,900 percent in an area where the public was prohibited.

The total loses may be in the millions.

NBC Medical Correspondent Dr. Ian Smith said he went to ground zero with other doctors in search of injured people to treat, but was prevented from entering the concourse with that Tourneau store.

"They said there was a lot of money there, a lot of valuables in the area," Smith said. "And we were not cleared for it."

While under tight control, and as rescuers were busy rescuing, who was committing crimes?

Johnny Dunham was one of them. While posing as a firefighter, Dunham -- who was really an unemployed security guard -- took a handful of Tourneau watches and cash. He pleaded guilty to the charges.

Another imposter, Roland Abarrategui, was convicted of stealing from another store when the jury saw pictures he'd had real police take of him in an NYPD shirt.

But Tourneau's marketing boss said that in an area that was known for security both before and after the attacks, real rescuers had to have been among the culprits.

"I don't want to make those kind of assumptions, but it's hard not to," Block said. "In order to get down to that level, where the store was, I'm sure they had to show credentials."

So far, no city employee has been charged with committing any crimes while working at ground zero, but the prospect is a serious subject.

The police and fire commissioners, as well the mayor's office had no comment on the allegations

The owner of an apartment across from ground zero is talking. D.J. Kerr found her luxury loft looted when she was first escorted back for a look by a police officer.

"He said 'I can't believe this is happening'," Kerr said. "Because he said he knew that only certain people can get in down there."

Reports of missing property also went up by almost 45 percent in days and weeks after the attacks, according to police.