Crime & Safety

Thief Poses as Company Man, Gets Store to Hand Him $2.5k Piece of Machinery, No Questions Asked

Police say the scammer and accomplices are likely former employees at the maintenance company or grocery store.

Police are looking for a man who posed as a maintenance company supervisor and convinced employees at a Port Chester store to hand over a piece of machinery worth $2,450.

The suspect walked into Pathmark at 140 Midland Ave. last week and asked for the manager, telling employees he was a representative from Diversified Maintenance Company, which has a cleaning contract with the grocery store, Lt. James Ladeairous said.

The man and his accomplices gave every indication they were from the maintenance company, so Pathmark employees allowed them to load up a propane buffer valued at $2,450 and drive away with it. The equipment had been left in the store after a cleaning shift earlier that week.

Just one problem – when a real employee of Diversified Maintenance Company showed up Tuesday to pick up the machine, confused Pathmark employees told him another person from his company had already picked the buffer up. That's when all involved realized they'd been victimized in a scam, Ladeairous said.

Police believe the scammers are former employees of the maintenance company or grocery store, or are familiar with people who currently work for those businesses.

Anyone with information on the scam or suspects is asked to call the Port Chester Police Department at 914-939-1000. All calls will be kept confidential.

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