Town Couple Victims Of Utility Worker Scam

An elderly Greenwich couple was the victim of a distraction burglary at a private residence on Ute Place in the Chickahominy neighborhood fo town, according to Greenwich Police.

The incident took place April 29.

Here is the statement from police describing the sequence of events that led to the theft of and discovery of the missing jewelry.

At about 1 PM, Suspect #1 a white( possibly Hispanic) heavy set male, with dark hair, in his 50s used a ruse to lure the victim out of his residence. Suspect #1 told the victim, his neighbor wanted to erect a fence and Suspect #1 was concerned in regards to the correct property line and cosmetic look of the fence.

While the Victim and Suspect #1 were outside a 2nd Suspect, a white (possibly Hispanic) male with dark hair in his early 20s entered the residence and engaged the victim’s sick wife in conversation. Suspect #2, advised the victim’s wife that he was with the Water Company and had to check the pressure in the sinks. After turning the water on and leaving it running Suspect #2 walked through the home and stole several thousand dollars of the family’s jewelry from a bedroom.

Suspect #3, who is believed to be the “get-away” driver, is a white female (possibly Hispanic) with long dark hair. She is believed to be in her 30s. She was operating silver colored SUV with orange colored license plates, (possibly New York). Suspect #3 also engaged the victim in conversation and actual waved goodbye prior to departing the scene.





It should be noted that 3 days prior to this incident, the Victim was approached by a Hispanic male, with dark hair and a mustache that had entered onto the property and offered to re-seal his driveway for a modest fee. This subject walked with a pronounced limp. The subject was supposed to return to the residence to seal the driveway on the day of the incident. He never showed up. This description matches the suspect from a similar incident from February of this year. This type of criminal activity is on the rise in our area.

“In light of recent cases around the state where criminals posing as utility workers have gained entrance to people’s homes, we want to stress the importance of being careful and conscientious when allowing anyone into private residences,” said Charles V. Firlotte, Aquarion President and CEO. “Our company follows strict protocols when entering customers’ homes and businesses, which include showing the customer an Aquarion photo ID. We also encourage any customer who is unsure or has concerns, to call our Customer Service Department.” Anyone who has further questions or would like additional information about how to identify an Aquarion employee may contact Aquarion Customer Service at (203)-445-7310. Customers outside the Greater Bridgeport area can call 1-800-732-9678. http://www.aquarion.com/pdfs/PhotoIdentificationSafetyAdvisory.pdf

The Greenwich Police would like to remind our citizens that all the Utilities/Communication companies have a similar ID requirement for their employees. All field employees are required to carry company issued photo identification at all times and to present such identification upon request when entering into a customer’s home. If a worker cannot produce identification, customers should not allow entrance into their home or business and should immediately contact the Greenwich Police at (203) 622-8001. Do your best to write down a description of the subject and the make, model, and license plate of a vehicle if present.