Today's News

Details: Published: 28 April 2010; Created: 28 April 2010; Last Updated: 28 April 2010; Hits: 4336

County Executive Rob Astorino will address the Edgemont Community Council tonight, Wednesday, April 28 at their annual meeting. His topic will be cutting government spending in a time of fiscal austerity. All area residents, including residents of Scarsdale, are invited to hear him speak. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. and will be held in the cafeteria of the Greenville Elementary School in Edgemont.

The ECC will also be giving its annual Silver Bowl award for distinguished community service to long time Edgemont resident John Gerspach. Gerspach, a resident of Old Edgemont, is Chief Financial Officer of Citigroup. He is being honored for having served as an ECC director, Chairman of the School Board Nominating Committee, President of the E Club, an announcer at Edgemont High School football games, an organizer of the annual Christmas festivities at Crane Pond, and host of the annual Edgemont Halloween Parade. In addition, he has coached more than twenty teams.

Everyone is invited to the meeting at the Greenville School at 8 PM tonight to hear Rob Astorino and honor John Gerspach.

Details: Published: 21 April 2010; Created: 21 April 2010; Last Updated: 22 April 2010; Hits: 6089

Today, Scarsdale Police Lieutenant Bryant Clark announced the arrest of one of the perpetrators in the April 12th mugging on Walworth Avenue. Krystal Walters, age 21 of Dobbs Ferry Road, Greenburgh was charged with robbery, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in connection with the incident, where the suspect, along with two others, threw a coat over a woman’s head, stole her purse and sped off in a waiting car.

Ms. Walters was already in the custody of White Plains police on an unrelated robbery and there is an outstanding warrant for her arrest from Riverside, California for yet another robbery.

The three vandals used the credit cards from the stolen purse to make purchases in Westchester and the Bronx. There is an ongoing police investigation to identify the other two accomplices in the Walworth incident.

The owner of La Dentelliere on East Parkway in Scarsdale was caught off guard by some suspicious customers on Monday afternoon 4-19. Three shoppers entered the store and one distracted her by asking questions. While speaking to the man, she noticed that the two others had left the store. The first customer stayed a few more minutes and then left as well, and that is when the proprietor noticed that a money box, containing $200, was missing. Police and Scarsdale Taxi patrolled the area in search of the culprits but were unable to find them.

Post Road residents were the victim of a burglary attempt on Saturday nigh 4/17. The homeowner went out around 5 pm and when she returned at 11 pm she found that a rock had been thrown through a rear window of the house and the window screen had been removed. Fortunately, no one had entered the house and other than the damage to the window, nothing was disturbed.

Several handbags were stolen from a van parked outside a Cambridge Road home sometime on Sunday night 4-18. A side window of the minivan was broken and the bags were taken.

Theft: A Scarsdale High School student’s wallet was taken from a gym locker when the boy went to a track meet on April 16. He had left the locker unlocked and when he returned he found that his wallet, containing a debit car, $20, his driver’s license and high school i.d. were gone.

Missing Toaster: A Black and Decker Toaster Over, delivered to Brite Avenue residents by Fedex on Monday April 12^th was never received by the owners. There were workers present in the area so perhaps one of them is enjoying some toast.

Unwanted Advances: On Monday 4-12 a woman in the St. Pius Church parking lot was approached by a man in a van who said, “you’re very attractive.” When she returned to her car later that day she found a handwritten note on the windshield that said, “Hello I’m Kenny. Stopped you this morning. Please give me a call at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Concerned, she went to the police who identified the man by his phone number. He acknowledged leaving the note on the woman’s car and apologized. Police warned him to refrain from contacting the woman again.

Kids: A woman locked her 4-week old baby in the car on April 15 when the car automatically locked when she got out to tend to the crying baby. The Heathcote Gulf station was called and they were able to unlock the car. The baby was fine.

A 23-month old child wandered out of her Garden Road backyard at 6:30 on April 18^th and her mother called the police to say that her daughter was missing. When police arrived the parents had found the toddler, unharmed, in their neighbor’s yard.

Animals: Burgess Road residents called police at 4 am on April 16^th when they heard noises in their garage. Police arrived, opened the garage door, turned on the lights and found two large raccoons who had been eating a bag of birdseed.

An Edgewood resident complained on 4-18 that her neighbor’s three cats have been killing birds and leaving the remains on her property. The neighbor said that two of his cats do live outside and agreed to monitor their activity. Later that same day, the cat owners reported that they were receiving unsettling phone calls from their neighbor.

Fraud: A Woods Lane man told police that he received a call on April 1 to say that he won $1,500,000 and he needed to wire $500 to cover the taxes. He did not wire the funds. On April 9 he received another call from David Bonds of the Winner’s Circle and on April 12 he got a letter in the mail to inform him that he was the winner of $129,000. A check in the amount of $3,859.42 was enclosed. He went to his bank to deposit the check and told it was counterfeit.

Greenacres residents were advised by Chase Bank that a fraudulent check in the amount of $4050, made out to Garry Joseph Jr. was cashed from their account on April 9th. The fraudulent check had their account number, name and address printed on it. Chase cancelled the checking account and they are investigating.

Two Edgewood women reported that wire transfers, in the amount of $19,816 had been made from their Charles Schwab account on January 27. They notified Charles Schwab identity theft and filed a complaint. Schwab is investigating.

Details: Published: 13 April 2010; Created: 13 April 2010; Last Updated: 16 April 2010; Hits: 6693

Scarsdale Police Report: A 49 year-old woman, walking from the train on Monday night at 7:16 pm was approached from behind in front of 110 Walworth. Two women pulled her coat over her head and snatched her purse. Once they had her bag they fled into a waiting car and sped away on Walworth towards White Plains. The victim described the car as an old light blue car with a rusted hood.

Fortunately the woman was not injured, but she is now without her bag, wallet, $60 in cash, license, credit cards and identification. The robbery is under investigation by the Scarsdale police, who asks anyone with information about the incident to get in touch with them.

Accidents: Samara Solan-Weinberg of Briarcliff Manor caused big damage on Monday 4-5 when her 2009 Mazda hit a curb in front of 199 Heathcote Road. The car hit the curb, drove up onto the sidewalk, struck a tree and then simultaneously hit a utility pole and a fire hydrant. The utility pole split in two and the top half fell on the car. The fire hydrant was also dislodged and water poured out around the car. Con Edison was called to remove the pole and disable the lines and the Water Department turned off the valve to the hydrant. An ambulance arrived but the driver refused medical attention. The cause of the accident? The driver thinks she may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

An 89 year-old driver ran a red light and hit another car at the intersection of Morris Lane and Heathcote Road on 3:50 pm on 4-08. Bernice Clyman, the elderly man’s wife, was injured and taken to White Plains Hospital emergency room. Following the accident, both cars were towed.

Robert Ficchi, age 55 of Yonkers was hit by a car at the intersection of Chase and Popham Roads on Monday 4-5 around 2 pm. He was crossing Popham Road when a car turning left from Chase Road struck the man, who was not in the cross walk.

Mischief: Youths climbed on the roof of the Scarsdale Post Office on Chase Road at 8 m on 4-10. Police got a call, came to investigate and ordered the kids off the roof. They were brought to police headquarters where their parents were called to retrieve them.

A party was broken up on Kent Road at 9 pm on Saturday night 4/10. Police found a large group of kids running from the yard, dropping beer cans in the road. Police spoke to the homeowner who said that his daughter had invited several friends for a barbeque but that many uninvited guests had shown up as well. The father asked the unwanted guests to leave and they complied.

A 21 year-old Scarsdale girl came to headquarters on 4-9 to report online harassment by a former schoolmate from Mamaroneck. The Mamaroneck girl has posted messages on the Scarsdale girl’s Facebook page threatening to kill her. The girl does not know why her classmate is doing this. Police will follow-up and intervene.

A Morris Lane man reported that his home had been egged on Friday night 4-9 at 10:30 pm

A woman was found asleep on a bench at a Kelwynne Road home on the morning of April 8. The homeowner called the police but in the interim the sleeping woman was awakened by the opening of the garage door and left the premises.

A 21 year-old Scarsdale girl unwittingly provided personal information including her social security number and ATM pin number in response to an email phishing scam. Though there did not appear to be fraud on the accounts, the girl’s bank account was frozen and she cancelled her credit cards.

Angry: Village Assistant Court Clerk called police to document an incident with an irate resident who appeared at Village Hall to pay a fine. The man sent in a check to pay the fine, but since it was a personal check it was not accepted. In the interim the fine amount went up. He told the clerk, “I’m gonna get you.” Police contacted the man and he apologized for becoming angry and denied making the threat.

An angry Mount Vernon woman was unable to withdraw funds from her account at the Bank of America on Christie Place due to a block on her ATM card on 4-10. Though the bank manager was trying to help her, she became agitated as she thought it was taking too long. Police managed to calm her down until the problem could be resolved.

A Scarsdale man refused to get off a bus that was not in service around 5 pm on 4-10. Paratransit called police to coax the man off, and they were successful.

Locked Out: A Saxon Woods Road babysitter called police on 4-7 after she took the children outside to play and was inadvertently locked out of the house. Police were able to get in through a window without damaging the frame to let them back in.

Police were called by an Edgewood woman on April 6th to report that her ex-husband had entered her home without her permission and taken some family pictures.

Graffiti was found spray painted on a traffic signal box on Weaver Street on April 10th. The Department of Transportation in Hawthorne was notified.

Greenburgh Police Report:

Westchester Greenhouse Robbed: On the morning of April 9th, the owner of Westchester Greenhouse on Secor Road found that an intruder had broken into the greenhouse office. The lock on the door had been cut, a locked cabinet was open, and keys to the trucks were missing. Equipment valued at $6,900 had been taken from the truck trailer. The owner reported that a former employee who had been fired for stealing may have been involved.

Egged: Dorothy Sargeant of White Plains came outside her Broadview Avenue home on 4/10 to find that eggs had been thrown at her BMW and someone had left a can of beans in her driveway.

Caught: Glendaliz Santiago, the security officer at T.J. Maxx in Hartsdale, caught Mary Santiago, age 52 of Yonkers concealing merchandise in her handbag. Santiago paid for the items in her shopping cart and then left the store with stolen merchandise totalling $128 in her purse. The security officer stopped her, recovered the merchandise and called police who took Santiago to headquarters for booking on 4/10.

Details: Published: 19 April 2010; Created: 19 April 2010; Last Updated: 19 April 2010; Hits: 3762

Bronx resident Timothy Brown was arrested for attempting to deposit a fraudulent check into a Chase Bank account that was being monitored for active fraud. Brown went to the Chase at 353 North Central Avenue on the afternoon of Tuesday April 13th and presented a check for $4,429.71 to the teller for deposit. When he swiped his ATM card, the teller found that the account had an active fraud monitor warning on it. She also found that the check was fake. She called the police but the man had already left the branch. She provided a description of a black male with corn rows, 5’11” in height wearing a gray sweatshirt. Police patrolled the area and found a man matching the description at the T-Mobile store. The Chase employee positively identified the suspect and he was taken to Police Headquarters for booking.

A bag of marijuana was found in the parking lot of 35 East Hartsdale Avenue on April 12th. The caller said that he had called the police the previous night to report that people were loitering in the parking lot.

A White Plains resident left her wallet on top of an automatic shipping machine at the Scarsdale Post Office on Central Avenue on the afternoon of April 12th. She left the post office, but shortly thereafter realized what she had done. When she returned to the Post Office, the wallet was gone.

Just after midnight on 4/12, a resident at 300 South Central Avenue called police to report that two men were removing tires from a black Honda that was parked in the lot. She had heard a loud crash, looked out her window and saw the men attempting to take the tires off the car. She banged on her window and they left,; however, they took one of the tires with them. They also damaged the fender of the car when their car jack collapsed. Police were unable to find the culprits.

On April 15, a 9/11 memorial at Webb Field in Hartsdale was spray-painted in yellow with the words, "How did Ethiopia get to be so poor? Costly foreign wars.” The Hartsdale Fire Department responded and was able to wash off the two-foot yellow lettering.

Police were called early Sunday morning, when the resident of 125 Delhi Road Scarsdale hit a water main while attempting to do a home repair. He excavated the area near a damaged foundation wall, broke the water main and water was seeping into the basement.

A Schwinn tricycle was stolen from the corner of Edgemont and Glenwood Road just after noon on Sunday 4/18. The owner had left it there briefly and was surprised to find it gone.

Details: Published: 08 April 2010; Created: 08 April 2010; Last Updated: 08 April 2010; Hits: 9367

Greenburgh Police alerted residents on April 7 about four recent robberies in Edgemont and Hartsdale. They are asking anyone who has information on these burglaries to contact the Greenburgh Police Department Detective Division at 914-682-5392.

On the afternoon of March 29, an Evandale Road homeowner found that burglars had entered the home by climbing over the fence, and cutting a window screen and lock. The master bedroom was ransacked and jewelry was stolen.

A Fort Hill Road home was entered sometime between 3/27 and 3/29. The resident returned from vacation and found leaves and mud tracked on the floor and that his bed had been moved. The door from the deck was found to be unlocked. He later discovered that jewelry was missing.

On Maplewood Road in Hartsdale, a woman came home on the night of April 2 to find two black males wearing dark clothing in her hallway. When they saw her, they ran. It appears that they entered through a kitchen window. Nothing was taken from the house.

On Saturday 4/2, homeowners on Beechwood Road in Hartsdale found that suspects had broken a kitchen window screen and lock and entered their home. The bedroom and office were ransacked and jewelry valued at $5,000 and a food container was missing.

The burglaries above are similar to recent incidents in Greenacres, as suspects cut screens and broke window locks to enter homes there as well. The Greenburgh Crime Prevention Unit advises residents to keep doors and windows locked and to activate alarm systems. If you go on vacation they recommend that you ask a trusted friend or neighbor to check your house.

In other news from the Greenburgh Police: two 17 year-old New Rochelle boys were found to be spray painting graffiti under an I-287 overpass on Old Kensico Road on Monday afternoon 4/5. The boys parked their Mercury Mountaineer in a nearby driveway and spray painted the concrete. Police were alerted and caught the boys as they were driving away. Their car was impounded and they were placed in custody and taken to Greenburgh Police for booking.

Two Bronx women, detained for shoplifting a Marshalls on Central Avenue assaulted the security officer. When they were confronted on their way out of the store, they refused to stop. The security officer attempted to restrain them when one of the women punched the officer in the head and on the hand. The other woman picked up the stolen belt and struck the officer in the head with the belt. The incident occurred at 2 PM on 4/5 and police were called. The two women, Merlyn Cassandra Gumbs, age 37, and Zenniere Jahira Gumbs, age 19, were arrested for robbery and assault.