Hunt is on for bogus DEP worker

Police are looking for a man who has been swindling money from local senior citizens under the guise of working for the Department of Environmental Protection. Authorities say the suspect has been going

News 12 Staff

Sep 26, 2008, 6:04 PM

Updated 5,854 days ago

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Police are looking for a man who has been swindling money from local senior citizens under the guise of working for the Department of Environmental Protection.
Authorities say the suspect has been going door-to-door around Bedford-Stuyvesant and demanding money from residents by threatening to shut off their water.
The con man is suspected of targeting six victims, mostly elderly women, from mid-August to early September on Herkimer, Chauncey, Decatur, Jefferson and Van Buren streets. Police say it is unclear how much cash he stole.
The phony DEP worker is described as a black male, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and between the ages of 40 and 60. He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a button-down shirt with a tie and carrying a messenger bag and a meter.
Police say the suspect flashes an identification card when approaching victims, but they have yet to establish whether it is fake or real.
Anyone with information about the con artist is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.