Fake water company employees rob two homes
Robberies are second such incidents in both Woodbridge and Edison
BY CHRIS GAETANO and KATHY CHANG Staff Writers
Police in both Edison and Woodbridge Townships have reported robberies involving people who used disguises as water company employees to gain access to their victims' homes.

One incident involved a 65-year-old woman living on Midwood Road. According to Lt. Joseph Shannon, Edison Police Department public information officer, onApril 23 around 10 a.m., thewoman heard a knock at her door. Standing outside was a white man about 5 feet 8, weighing about 170 pounds, clean shaven with dark hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a shirt with the New Jersey American Water Co. logo on it. He said he was fromthe water company and that he needed to check the water inside the house.

After letting him inside, she led him into the basement,where he turned on thewashingmachine and stood in front of it as itwent through an entire wash cycle. During this time, which took about 15 to 20minutes, the woman stood next to him. While doing this, he would occasionally talk to someone on what the woman guessed was a Nextel phone. The woman said that she had heard some noises upstairs,which she thoughtwas

little suspicious, but she stayed with the man at the washing machine.

Once the wash cycle had finished, the man left the house. The homeowner, meanwhile, went upstairs into her bedroom only to find it ransacked, with about $10,000 in assorted jewelry missing.

This is the second incident in Edison this month.A79-year-old woman onHardingAvenue was robbed in a similar incident on April 1. In this case, threemen, all posing as water company employees, gained access to the home by saying they needed to come inside to check the water pressure.

Shannon warned people to be cautious if people say they are fromthe water company and to verify their identification. If a homeowner is still not sure, Shannon said, the police can be called and they will be able to verifywhether the people are utility employees.

"We've been telling people that home security starts at the front door. Typically, if you did not originate the call or solicit the service, do not let these people in your house. Traditional utility companies do not operate like this. They will call and schedule a servicewith you; they do not come ad hoc and say theywant to check the pressure," said Shannon.

Meanwhile, in Woodbridge, police warn residents to be cautious after two white males allegedly posing as Middlesex Water Co. employees stole an undetermined amount of property from a 79-year-old Colonia man's Chain O'Hills Road residence last week.

A similar incident occurred earlier this month.

"Residents can always check and verify with the company that the person identifying themselves from the company does in factwork for the company and is at their residence for a legitimate reason," Lt. Thomas Gennarelli said.

Gennarelli added that residents who do become suspicious can call the police department and have a police officer come and verify the person's qualifications, or even a neighbor who sees an unfamiliar or suspicious person could get a license plate number description and give the information to police.

"These incidents happen periodically and these [suspects] usually prey on the elderly," he said. "People tend to be trusting, especially if the person is dressed the part with identification, a clipboard, and a two-way radio."

The most recent incident occurred at around 10 a.m. onApril 22, police said.

The victim told police that he was working in his backyard when a white male with dirty blond hair walked up to him and said that he was from the Middlesex Water Co. and needed to check the water pressure, the police report said.

The victimsaid the suspect was carrying a clipboard, had a two-way radio on his belt, and was wearing a Middlesex Water Co. badge on his long-sleeved white shirt. The victim added that the suspect had a tie on, police said.

The suspect told the victimthat thewater company is installing new water mains because there were so many leaks, police said.

The suspect asked the victim to go down into the basement and turn on the water in the sink, the police report said.

As the victimwaited by the sink, the suspect walked over to the water meter and spoke on his two-way radio, stating that "the water is on," the police report said.

A few minutes later, the victim heard someone walking upstairs.When the victim asked the suspect who it was, the suspect told the victimthat it was his partner, police said.The second suspect,whowas described to be a clean-shavenmanwith amediumbuild, between 5 feet 8 and 5 feet 9 inches tall, in his mid to later 20s, with short light-colored hair, wearing a white T-shirt and light gray pants, walked down two steps into the basement and said to the first suspect, "I need the radio and the meter to check the flow," the police report said.

The first suspect then walked up the basement stairs out of the house without saying anything to the victim, the police report said.

The victim then went upstairs and noticed that his bed was ruffled, his wallet was open, and his safe missing, the police report said.The safe was described to be an old 12- inch-by-14-inch safe, built in 1900,with black and gold colored trim, the police report said.

A similar incident occurred at 9:43 a.m. onApril 1, police said.

Woodbridge police are looking for twoHispanicmales, one between 60 and 65 years old and one between 20 and 23 years old,who allegedly posed as water company employees and entered a Juliette Street residence in Hopelawn last week.

The older male was described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a medium build, light skin and dark hair, wearing a dark gray jacket [possibly a winter jacket] and dark pants. The younger male was described as 6 feet tall, with a medium thin build, a mustache and dark hair, wearing dark clothing, police said.