'I'm Scared Now': Robbers In Westchester Pose As Water Department Workers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Only on 2:
They were wearing what appeared to be water department shirts. And they said they needed to check the pipes.
But CBS 2's Steven Graves reports, they weren't workers. They were crooks and an elderly couple found out the hard way.
Once a safe place in Westchester, a home sure doesn't feel that way anymore.
"I'm scared now."
Eighty-year-old Tandcredi Atteo and his wife Maria sit anxiously, watching the door. On Thursday, they were home alone and let four people they thought they could trust. A now frustrated son, Raplh Atteo translated the Italian-speaking couple's fearful words. They explain how the men wanted to fix the water pressure because of the frigid temps.
"I told him 'Check it out.' Because he told me 'I'm with the city,'" remembered Atteo.
"One asked for a pen to write down info, when the 82-year-old step-mom saw the guys rifling through drawers.
"She screamed right away," said their son Ralph.
But they got away with money, documents including a passport, FOID and Social Security card. The worst: gold jewelry from Ralph's late mother.
"The wedding band, necklaces. She's been dead 40 years."
Westchester Police looking for a truck. The suspects' vehicle was caught on a neighbor's surveillance camera. Officers warning people again about the so-called ruse burglaries, where criminals pose as professional workers.
Sometimes they're violent, like one in Riverside, part of a string of incidents last year. A phony brick worker dragged an elderly man through his home.
"You always want your parents not to get hurt," said their son Ralph.
And thankfully this time, his parents have no physical bruises.
"Westchester Police said they do not have any reason to believe these guys are going to neighboring suburbs and doing the same thing, at least right now. Police think all four men were in their 20's.
