Cops: Business Owner Fleeced By Former Employee

The following police incidents were reported this week by the Southampton Town Police Department west of the Shinnecock Canal.

Flanders

• A construction business owner in Flanders said an ex-employee had been using the company’s bank account to pay for personal bills worth more than $7,400. The owner of the business called police on Sept. 14 to report the crime. Police are investigating the matter.
• Someone broke into a house on East Street and on Sept. 28 and stole two bicycles and  vandalized the residence. The break-in was reported at about 7 p.m., after a broken back window was discovered. The refrigerator was also spray-painted. The victim said this was the third time his home had been burglarized and vandalized, and he did not believe the perpetrator entered through the broken window because of remaining shards of glass in the frame. In one of the earlier incidents, a key was taken, and the victim believes someone used the key to gain access in this instance and that they might illegally staying in the home.
• A Flanders man was the victim of a complicated money wiring scam that defrauded him of $545 on Sept. 24. According to police the victim was selling a color printer through Craigslist for $400 when he was contacted by the suspect. The suspect mailed the victim a MoneyGram order for $985. When the victim contacted the suspect to tell him he overpaid, the suspect instructed the victim to wire him the difference. The victim deposited the money order and then wired the $545 overpayment via Western Union. Shortly after doing so, the victim was notified by his bank that the money order was a fraud and did not clear. Police are investigating the incident.
• Someone stole a cellphone from a vehicle parked in the driveway of a house on Bell Avenue on Sept. 24.  The victim told police the thief went into his Ford pickup truck sometime overnight and stole a Galaxy S3, worth about $500, from the truck.

Riverside

• A Riverside man said someone stole more than $400 worth of assorted valuables from his nightstand while he slept on Sept. 22. According to police, the victim said he went to bed at around 11 p.m. in his home on Pine Street and had put the valuables next to him. When he woke up, he said the items, which included lotto tickets, cigarettes and car keys, were gone. He also said a bag containing maps and a Garmin GPS were taken out of the trunk of his car. Police questioned the man’s roommates who denied any involvement.