Phony Utility Workers Burglarize Two Homes

Police are searching for a team of burglars who are posing as utility workers in order to gain access to area homes.

According to NBC 4, the impersonating pilferers are targeting elderly women. In the first case last Friday, the male and female team tricked an 89-year-old woman at 109 Ryder Avenue by wearing safety vests and asking to see the gas meter.

“She says to me, ‘I can’t go on the property because it’s private property, you have to come and show me,'” said the victim, who asked not be identified. “So I said, ‘I can’t walk because I walk with a cane. She says ‘You have to do it.””

Once the victim gave into their demands, the man entered the house, taking cash and jewelery.

“He took all my jewelry I accumulated for so many years,” the elderly victim, who has been alone since her husband died last year, told NBC. “I had over $1,000 ’cause I had to pay my bills — he took that.”

The dual-sexed duo repeated the crime at 2047 59th St., when a 90-year-old woman allowed them in through her back door. Once again, the female suspect distracted the victim while the male suspect walked through the home taking jewelry.

The perps were last seen fleeing in a green four-door compact sedan.

Surveillance footage, which can be seen in the video above, shows a clear view of the suspects approaching one of the victims’ homes.

Anyone with information on the incident or the suspects is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.