Tarrytown Cops: Man Scammed of $5,900

Stinky

On two occasions callers smelled a strong odor of gas outside of Coffee Labs on Main Street.

On Dec. 5 at 12:44 p.m., police and the fire department responded and closed traffic on Main Street from Broadway to Kaldenberg Place.

Con-Edison was called to come and handled with the fire department, police said. No building evacuations were necessary.

The key holder to Santa Fe restaurant was notified, as was Bee-Line to divert their buses. 

At 1:22 p.m. Con-Ed arrived; by 2:05 p.m. the scene was clear with the street reopened. 

Again there was a strong odor of gas reported on Dec. 6 in the same area. Police and fire departments arrived with Con-Edison gas division on the way, reportedly detecting no elevated gas levels. 

Big Money Scam

A resident reported to police on Dec. 6 that he had unknowingly been involved in a scheme that involved a fraudulent check and the sending of cash via Fed Ex. 

He had sent a check for $5,900. 

Lt. William Herguth explained what happened: 

"Complainant received a letter in the mail containing a check for $5,900 made out to them along with instructions to call a phone number and then to deposit the check in their account and to withdraw the money and send it to an address in Queens to cover expenses of transferring the prize money of one million dollars from a publishing company. Subject did this and was unable to contact the phone number as it was disconnected.  Party to whom money was sent in Queens is unknown at that address.  It is a large housing complex."
Police are investigating this as a grand larceny. 

Two Needles

A resident reported to police finding two hypodermic needles on the northwest sidewalk of Riverview Avenue and Franklin Street on Dec. 7 at 2:41 a.m. Officers found the needles and secured them in a biohazard container. 

Suspicious Photographer

A woman reported to police on Dec. 7 at 8:15 a.m. that she had been parked in the riverside lot at the train station that morning when a stranger took two photos of her car. She asked the man what he was doing and he walked off without answering her. She wanted the incident noted for the record. 

Underwear

A Prospect Avenue resident reported finding a pair of underwear near their children's tree house in the yard. Police checked the area and found everything to appear fine. They discarded the underwear.

iPad Theft

A caller reported the possible theft of an iPad from a basement apartment on Grove Street. Officers talked to the complainant, the boyfriend, and person hired to work for the tenant. Detectives are investigating it as a petty larceny case.

Thwarted Suicide

Tarrytown-based State Police asked Tarrytown police for assistance in locating a car that had stopped on the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The driver had apparently then exited the car on Dec. 10 around 5 p.m. and attempted to climb over the barrier in a possible attempt to jump off the bridge. 

The man reportedly returned to his car when numerous motorists stopped to help him. The car, a 2006 black Elantra four-door sedan, was last seen traveling south through the tolls and exiting at exit 9 into Tarrytown. 

Tarrytown police found the car at the entrance to the NYS Thruway on Route 119 northbound. State police arrived and took over the scene. 

Missing Neighbor?

A Martling Avenue resident reported to police on Dec. 11 that her neighbor's mailbox key had been left in the mailbox lock for about one-two weeks. When she went to the neighbor's front door, she found it open with no one answering. She asked police to check on the welfare of her neighbor. 

Police reported finding two dogs there who seemed to be in good health and no residents home. The premises otherwise appeared to be in order and look normal. 

Police locked the home and noted it for the record. 

Strange Man

On Dec. 11, an officer was flagged down by someone on Tappan Landing Road who said he saw a suspicious man in his 20s near his his car. The man was possibly looking into it while it was parked. When the complainant approached him and asked what he was doing, the man ran to a green colored Chevy and drove away northbound on South Broadway. 

Police didn't find the license plate he named on file but noted the incident for the record. 

Egg Toss

A caller on South Broadway said she was driving northbound when she was hit on Dec. 11 around 11:30 p.m. by a egg. She said it came out of a dark green Ford Explorer. Police searched the area and found no such car. 

The caller said her car was not damaged and she only wished it noted for the record.