Criminals Taking Advantage Post-Sandy

After Superstorm Sandy of course comes the cleanup, so it was probably only a matter of time before criminals saw an opportunity.  Tuesday afternoon, a man wearing a hard hat and a plaid shirt knocked on the door of a home in Evesham Township.  "He just said he was working with the fellas out there," the homeowner told Fox 29.  

Local utility crews had been repairing a sewer line in front of the home, which had been damaged during the storm.  So the homeowner let the man in.  He said that my water was contaminated with lead from the sewer, and that he didn't want me to drink it," the homeowner explained.  "I had to boil the water, and he wanted to come in to check."

We're not revealing the victim's identity to protect her.  The 82-year-old grandmother of 10 led him to the bathroom, at his request, then turned on the water in the sink and bathtub.  "And then he closed the bathroom door," the woman explained, "and I got kind of, why would you close the door?"

What she couldn't see was the man's accomplice, who stole jewelry and hundreds of dollars in cash from her bedroom.  The victim says when she finally insisted on opening the bathroom door, the man left in a white pickup.  But if he had been a legitimate utility worker, his vehicle would have had a township logo on the door, and he would have been wearing a uniform and ID badges.  But she never did ask for identification.  "Stupid, because you read in the papers all these things happening, how they do it, I guess I didn't think," the victim said.

Police say you should never hesitate to call them if you have any doubts.  "If you're unsure of someone knocking on your door, A, don't answer it, and B, call the police right away,"Lt. Walt Miller of the Evesham Twp. Police Department recommended.   "We'll come out there, we can verify their identity, and as in this case we find out they're not legit, we can take action."

The robbers are still on the loose.