8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 31, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Con man swindles $25K in northwest rental scam
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Detectives are looking for a scammer
who falsely advertised apartments
for rent around Corona, East Elmhurst
and Elmhurst nearly than a dozen
times last year, swindling prospective
tenants out of thousands in deposit
payments.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said that the tenants met with
the suspect in response to fliers posted
around the neighborhoods advertising
homes for rent. In each of the
11 instances, police said, the suspect
asked for and received security deposits
from the victims, ranging from
$1,850 to as much as $2,900.
But when the tenants tried to follow
up with the suspect, cops said, they
were unable to reach him. In all, police
said, the con artist walked away with
a combined $25,300 from his victims.
Four of the incidents occurred at a
home on 105th Street in East Elmhurst.
Police said the suspect met with his
victims on July 23, July 27, July 30 and
Aug. 6, 2018, at the location, stealing a
combined $9,200.
Law enforcement sources said the
swindler met with a 36-year-old
woman at an apartment on 97th Street
in Corona on Aug. 17, taking her
$2,300 deposit payment and leaving
her without an apartment.
The suspect then duped two more
victims after showing them an apartment
on 43rd Avenue in Elmhurst on
Sept. 5 and Sept. 17. Authorities said
that he stole a combined $4,700 in
deposit payments from them.
On Sept. 22, police stated, the suspect
bilked a 35-year-old woman out of
a $2,300 deposit after showing her an
apartment on 46th Avenue in Corona.
He returned to the neighborhood on
Nov. 8 and swindled an $1,850 deposit
payment from two women to whom he
showed an apartment on 101st Street.
The last two incidents occurred just
after Christmas when he met with two
prospective tenants at an apartment on
104th Street in Corona. Cops said the
suspect swindled a 39-year-old man
out of a $2,900 deposit payment on
Dec. 27, then took a $2,000 payment
from a 43-year-old woman on Dec. 31.
All of the incidents were reported to
the 110th and 115th Precincts.
On Jan. 23, the NYPD released an
image of the suspect taken after one
of the incidents on 105th Street in
East Elmhurst. Police said the perpetrator
identified himself by different
names to his victims, including
Antonio, Toni, Patricio, Emilio,
Tomas, Alfredo, Angel DeJesus and
Jesus Parra.
Anyone with information regarding
the suspect’s whereabouts can call
Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for
Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA), visit the
Crime Stoppers website, nypdcrimestoppers.
com, send a direct message on
Twitter to @NYPDTips or a text message
to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter
TIP577. All calls and messages are kept
confidential.
Real heroes in blue: Jackson Heights cops save toddler’s life
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two cops from the 115th
Precinct in Jackson Heights are
being called heroes aft er they saved
the life of a young boy last week.
Police Offi cers Ricardo Richards
and David Rodriguez were on
routine patrol in Corona last
Wednesday when they were
fl agged down by a family in distress
on Northern Boulevard near 104th
Street, according to the NYPD.
Th e parents said their son
Alexander Ramirez had stopped
breathing around 2:00 p.m. Th e
offi cers took the 2-year-old boy
into their squad car along with
his mother and grandmother and
Offi cer Rodriguez began to perform
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
as Richards sped toward
Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Alexander was still unconscious
when they arrived at the hospital
but the emergency room staff
resuscitated the child minutes
later.
“It was the best feeling to know
that he was okay,” Rodriguez told
reporters back at the precinct. “I’m
very thankful I was there for that.
To be able to rescue a life means
more to me than anything.”
It was the fi rst time either offi cer
helped save a life and the two were
working together for the fi rst time
aft er both of their partners called
in sick, according to the NYPD.
Photo via Getty Images/Inset courtesy of NYPD
Photo via Twitter/@NYPDNews
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