TIMESLEDGER |10 QNS.COM | JAN. 31-FEB. 6, 2020
104th Precinct
Cops searching Maspeth camera thief
BY ZACHARY GEWELB
Police are searching
for the man who snatched
a camera from a Maspeth
photography store in November.
Authorities say that
the man posed as a
customer entered BlattWorld,
located at 60-18
Fresh Pond Road, around
3:20 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2019,
looking to purchase a
camera. When an employee
handed the man
Maspeth
a camera for inspection,
the thief bolted out of the store and
fled southbound on Fresh Pond Road.
The camera was valued at approximately
$3,500, police said.
The suspect has light skin, a
beard and a mustache and was last
seen wearing a dark colored baseball
cap, a black hooded sweater, a dark
colored shirt, dark colored jeans and
multi-colored sneakers.
Police released surveillance video
and photos of the suspect on Jan. 28.
Anyone with information in regard
to this incident is asked to call
the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline
at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish,
1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can
also submit their tips by logging onto
the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.
NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on
Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are
strictly confidential.
115th Precinct
Corona
111th Precinct
Auburndale
BY JACOB KAYE
The NYPD is looking for the man
behind a citywide scheme to scam elderly
folks into handing over tens of
thousands of dollars.
The scam, which has been run in
Auburndale in Queens, Yorkville in
Manhattan and Concord in Staten Island,
involves a phone call to an elderly
individual, a plea for money from
someone pretending to be related to
the victim and a courier to collect the
money, according to the police. In all,
the wanted individual has made off
with more than $100,000.
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, a 77-year-old
woman in the vicinity of Radcliff Road
and Briarcliff Road in Concord received
a call from someone she believed
to be her nephew around 11 a.m. The
caller said that he had been arrested,
and needed money for bail. The woman
went to a bank, withdrew $12,000 and
handed it over to a courier back at her
home, according to the authorities.
About a week later, on Nov. 2, an 81-
year-old woman in Yorkville got a call
from someone who claimed to be her
grandson around 4 p.m. The grandson
told the woman that he wanted
her to speak to her lawyer and she
agreed, cops say. A man claiming to
be a criminal defense lawyer told the
woman that he’d need $30,600 to protect
her grandson from facing criminal
charges.
The woman complied and agreed to
hand the money over to a courier, who
arrived at her door later in the day.
But the scam wasn’t over.
The person posing as the lawyer
called back and requested an additional
$33,600 from the woman, claiming
her grandson needed money for rehab
and medical expenses. The woman
agreed, the courier returned, and
the scammer made off with a total of
$64,200.
On Nov. 8, around 10 a.m., an 81-
year-old Auburndale man received a
call from an unidentified man claiming
to be a lawyer representing the
elderly man’s grandson, according to
the NYPD. The lawyer asked that the
victim mail him $12,500 but also offered
to have a courier come get the
cash.
The courier later arrived at the victim’s
home and took the money. But
the scam continued, as the 81-year-old
man received another call and another
request for $12,500 to be sent in the
mail to Georgia. The man complied.
The investigation into grand larceny
is ongoing.
Anyone with information in regard
to the identity of this male is
asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)
or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their
tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers
website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.
COM or on Twitter
@NYPDTips.
POLICE BLOTTER
Thief shoots and robs a man in Corona
BY ZACHARY GEWELB
Police are searching for the thief
who shot and robbed a man in Corona
earlier this month.
Authorities say a man approached
a 27-year-old man at 107-11 Northern
Blvd. just before 4 a.m. on Jan. 13 and
shot him in the torso before snatching
his chain and fleeing the scene.
The victim was transported to NYC
Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst by private
means in serious but stable condition.
Police released surveillance video
and photos of the suspect on Jan. 27.
Scammer steals thousands of dollars from
elderly residents in citywide scheme: NYPD
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