Fake Con Ed Workers Steal $70K From Elderly Man's Queens Home: NYPD

A man and a woman in New York City posing as utility workers got into an elderly Queens man's home and stole $70,000 in cash before running away, police say.

"It was no more than eight minutes," the victim said of the burglars' quick work. "They knew exactly what they were doing. My mistake was letting them in." 

The suspects went to the 78-year-old victim's home on 74th Avenue in Woodside at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10 and pretended to be Con Edison workers, according to police.

The suspects told the elderly resident they needed to check the fuse box and went into the basement with him, police said. There, they checked the fuse box, plugged a light into a receptacle and told the victim to wait for the light to change color.

As the woman waited with the victim in the basement, the man went upstairs and took $70,000 from the victim's dresser, according to police.

The thieves then fled.

The victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was "idiotic" of him to leave so much money in his home and he regrets his costly mistake. 

"I won't let that happen anymore. I won't let anyone in anymore," he said. "You have to have identification to come into my house." 

"The damage was done. I can't keep things the same, the way they were," he said. 

A spokesman from Con Ed said employees do randomly knock on doors, typically for meter readings, but will always have identification.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.

-- John Chandler contributed to this report. Follow John Chandler on Twitter at @JohnChandlerNBC

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